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I'm a software developer with 2+ years of professional development experience. I started web development from an early age, styling MySpace profiles (I know...) and hobby websites. I pursued a degree in Chemistry, but just couldn't keep away from coding, and eventually returned to work at a digital agency as a front-end developer.
I recently completed an intensive software development course to further expand my skillset and learn best practices. I'm looking for exciting opportunities ✨ to contribute right across the stack and put my fantastic training to good use. I'm open to learning new programming languages as necessary.
| Name | Description | Technologies |
|---|---|---|
| Snapogram | A social photo-sharing app with optional filters to make your photos pop | Ruby on Rails, PostgreSQL, ImageMagick, AWS (S3) |
| Battlecodes | A real-time multiplayer game where players race against each other to complete a coding challenge | Node, Express, Socket.io, Mocha, Chai, Sinon, Zombie |
| Unicorn Framework | A lightweight and amusing web-framework for Node with a Handlebars-inspired templating engine | Node, Mocha, Chai, Zombie |
| Chitter | A clone of popular social media site, Twitter | Sinatra, DataMapper, PostgreSQL, BCrypt |
| Name | Description | Technologies |
|---|---|---|
| The Guardian — The Lone Denier | A custom clone of a Space Invaders game, as a light-hearted approach to climate change deniers | Pixi.js, Grunt |
| Chatham House — Syria and its Neighbours | A map-based story detailing the conflicts surrounding Syria within the last 5 years | CraftCMS, Vagrant, Paper.js, ScrollMagic, Greensock, Gulp |
See more of my work at vann.io/projects.
I learn by throwing myself in the deep-end and using shiny new technology on real projects. I was incredibly interested in websockets, and successfully learnt how to use the technology by building a real-time multiplayer game.
I enjoy deconstructing and rebuilding things to understand how they work, much to my parents' dismay when I took my first computer apart. In an attempt to further understand how a popular framework like Express works, I built a web framework from scratch, using only default Node packages for static file serving and HTTP requests. It even includes a custom-built template rendering engine.
I always like to keep busy and am often working on a side project of some kind. Ask me what I'm working on now!
My background in Chemistry comes into use surprisingly often. I've learnt to take a more scientific and systematic approach to solving a problem, starting off with a hypothesis and testing it out, either by writing unit tests or intentionally breaking code (and subsequently fixing it, of course). I'm no stranger to puzzles and can even navigate my way around a Rubik's cube.
Once I commit to something, I give it my all. As well as trying to finish every side quest in Skyrim and Dragon Age, I complete projects as thoroughly as I can down to every last detail. I enjoy seeing projects evolve from vague client requirements through to a polished piece worthy of industry recognition.
Rails Girls London
Dec ‘15 — ongoing
- Pair-programming with attendees as they learn basic Ruby
- Helping attendees create their first Ruby on Rails application
- Diagramming and explaining concepts such as MVC
Nice and Serious
Mar ‘14 — May ‘16
- Developing innovative animated websites, primarily with JavaScript, SCSS and HTML
- Deploying to staging and production servers, including cloud-based servers
- Exploring new frameworks and technologies to improve productivity and work flow
- Wireframing and designing responsive layouts
- Testing and debugging websites for cross-browser issues, including legacy browsers
University Alliance
Nov ‘12 — Mar ‘14
- Web and print design, aiming to influence Government
- Event co-ordination and facilitation
- Diary management for entire team
Makers Academy
May ‘16 — Aug ‘16
- 12 week software development course, learning best practices for clean code
- Test-driving web applications, with tools such as RSpec and Mocha
- Object-oriented design, abiding by SOLID principles
Imperial College London
Oct ‘13 — Oct ‘15 (part-time)
- Presenting science-related topics to non-experts
- Units taken include Science Policy and The Media Representation of Science
- Grade Merit
Manchester Metropolitan University
Sep ‘08 — Sep ‘11
- Member of Student Committee, responsible for bridging the gap between students and staff
- Grade 2:1