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Albert Gao
Verified Expert in Engineering
Full-stack Developer
London, United Kingdom
Toptal member since July 19, 2021
Bio
Albert has been working as an IT professional for over a decade. He specializes in full-stack JavaScript from development to deployment with the AWS tech stack and has delivered multiple products end-to-end. He excels at delivering large-scale applications and has a demonstrated history of solving complex problems. A good team player who's led teams of various sizes, Albert continuously strives to pick up the latest technologies to enable enterprises to reach the next level.
Portfolio
Citibank
JavaScript, Go, TypeScript, Python, OpenShift, Red Hat OpenShift, Jenkins...
New Zealand Automobile Association
Node.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, GraphQL, Material UI, React, Next.js...
Lotto New Zealand
TypeScript, Node.js, PostCSS, Cordova, React, Redux, Styled-components...
Experience
- Node.js - 8 years
- React - 7 years
- TypeScript - 5 years
- React Native - 4 years
- Next.js - 3 years
- MongoDB - 3 years
- GraphQL - 2 years
- OpenAI GPT-4 API - 1 year
Preferred Environment
TypeScript, JavaScript, React, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Next.js, GraphQL, MongoDB, React Native, Express.js, Cypress
The most amazing...
...thing I've done was migrate a social platform with a million-person user-base from ASP to Node.js within three months and without needing to pause the service.
Work Experience
Senior Software Engineer
2022 - PRESENT
Citibank
- Acted as lead project developer, prepared a demonstration to the board member of Citibank, and designed the architecture for complex documentation analysis service with React, OpenAI, prompt engineering, RAG, and LangChain (Python).
- Designed the front-end architecture with React router, React query, and Redux toolkit for a scalable and maintainable structure.
- Led the design of an in-house primitive UI library for better developer velocity.
- Adopted a concrete testing strategy for delivering complex Go applications, including front and back end.
Technologies: JavaScript, Go, TypeScript, Python, OpenShift, Red Hat OpenShift, Jenkins, React, Databases, MongoDB, AG Grid, Software Design, Full-stack, Web Development, Architecture, OpenAI, OpenAI GPT-3 API, OpenAI GPT-4 API, Retrieval-augmented Generation (RAG), Language Models, Flask, Tailwind CSS, Full-stack Development, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Test Automation, DevOps, Large Language Models (LLMs), Next.js, Chatbots, AI Chatbots
Senior Full-stack JavaScript Developer
2021 - 2022
New Zealand Automobile Association
- Developed a strongly typed component library with MUI for rapid development so the developers would not need to worry about the style.
- Constructed an authentication layer for an SSR website with Next.js and customized it against Auth0.
- Built a type-gen workflow against Contentful to auto-generate types against Contentful GraphQL and the best practices of adopting TypeScript in scale.
Technologies: Node.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, GraphQL, Material UI, React, Next.js, Contentful, Content Management Systems (CMS), CSS, HTML, CSS3, HTML5, React Apollo, Swagger, E2E Testing, Auth0, Auth0 API, Auth0 Management API v2, Web Development, Web App Development, Front-end, Front-end Development, Front-end Architecture, Front-end Build Tools, SaaS, REST APIs, Back-end, Software Design, Full-stack Development, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Test Automation, DevOps, Supabase
Senior Front-end Developer
2019 - 2021
Lotto New Zealand
- Rearchitected and implemented a modal module while reducing 95% of the code (from 2,000 LOC to 200) using React, Redux, and TypeScript: my work here won me the "Achieving the Impossible" award.
- Built complex animations for an enhanced drawing experience using React-Spring and TypeScript within one month—beating the expected 3-month timeline.
- Advocated best practices for React component testing along with TypeScript and JavaScript with monthly representation and reduced bundle size by 30% from 2.2 MB to 1.6 MB.
- Earned four nominations throughout the project lifecycle, including "Achieving the Impossible," "Helping Others," "Time-savers for Teams," and "Sense of Humour."
- Mentored junior developers and had them start meaningfully contributing within two weeks on projects involving Cordova, React, Redux, Sass, and TypeScript.
Technologies: TypeScript, Node.js, PostCSS, Cordova, React, Redux, Styled-components, React Router, Moment.js, Cucumber, Jest, Enzyme, React Native, react-spring, Agile, Software Architecture, GitHub, GitLab, Product Development, Functional Programming, Xcode, Android, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), WebStorm, Mobile Apps, REST APIs, Jira, Git, Optimization, Refactoring, HTML5, CSS3, REST, CSS, API Integration, Web App Development, Web Development, Scalability, Web Scalability, Web Performance Optimization (WPO), Website Performance, Architecture, Mobile Development, APIs, Technical Leadership, Web Architecture, Progressive Web Applications (PWAs), E2E Testing, Front-end, Front-end Development, Front-end Architecture, Front-end Build Tools, Mobile App Development, Mobile, Cross-platform, Software Design, Full-stack Development, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Test Automation, DevOps
Technical Lead
2019 - 2019
Accordo Group Ltd.
- Led a team of five to deliver a payment system based on Stripe and worked on this from the beginning to delivery, including front-end and back-end development.
- Created a layered back-end code structure to enable a rapid iteration and make it test-friendly for AWS Lambda.
- Communicated with multiple stakeholders to ensure high quality and the requirements were well-aligned between the development team and business.
Technologies: TypeScript, JavaScript, Node.js, Jest, Mocha, React, Redux, Amazon Web Services (AWS), AWS Lambda, Agile, Bitbucket, Microservices, Product Development, Functional Programming, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), API Design, REST APIs, Git, HTML5, HTML, CSS, CSS3, Payment APIs, Payment Gateways, Stripe, Stripe API, Stripe Payments, API Integration, Full-stack, Scalability, Web Scalability, Web Development, Web App Deployment, Web App Development, Architecture, APIs, Lambda Functions, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Lambda Architecture, JSON, Solution Architecture, Amazon API Gateway, Amazon Cognito, Technical Leadership, Web Architecture, E2E Testing, Cypress, Front-end, Front-end Build Tools, Front-end Development, Front-end Architecture, Back-end, Software Design, Python, Full-stack Development, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Test Automation, DevOps
Senior Front-end Developer
2018 - 2019
Vensa Healthcare
- Invented a cohesive front-end framework—styling/state management, network requests, and lifecycle—explicitly designed for Vensa's business case to enable rapid interaction.
- Used the above-mentioned front-end framework so that DevOps can contribute to complex features within weeks.
- Introduced in-house primitive components with built-in design systems (the component layer) for a consistent UX and faster feature shipping.
- Migrated progressively to TypeScript, including moving the whole building procedure to a modern approach and introducing more automation tools like Prettier and Husky for front-end CI and so on (i.e., the tooling layer).
- Introduced end-to-end tests to prevent regression and delivered the 1st version to cover all critical user paths while saving the manual tests before each release (i.e., the testing layer).
- Rewrote the network layer with Redux middleware, MobX customized actions, and a more flexible HTTP layer, which resulted in 80% less code that is very test-friendly.
Technologies: TypeScript, JavaScript, React, Redux, React Router, Styled-components, CSS, MobX, Jest, Team Leadership, Leadership, GitHub, Product Development, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Functional Programming, REST APIs, Git, Optimization, Refactoring, HTML5, CSS3, HTML, Startups, API Integration, Scalability, Web Scalability, Web Development, Web App Deployment, Web App Development, Full-stack, APIs, Architecture, Technical Leadership, Mobile Development, Progressive Web Applications (PWAs), E2E Testing, Front-end, Front-end Build Tools, Front-end Development, Front-end Architecture, Mobile App Development, Expo.io, Software Design, Cross-platform, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Test Automation
Senior Full-stack Developer
2016 - 2018
Technology Holdings Limited
- Developed modules for sharing native code between iOS and Android through Kotlin Native.
- Built and maintained an in-house front-end framework with Kotlin.
- Delivered a complex back-end system for supporting communication between merchants and customers using Python 3.
Technologies: Python, Kotlin, Java, JavaScript, Swift, Android, iOS, Cucumber, Xcode, Android Studio, Bitbucket, Jira, Product Development, WebStorm, API Design, PostgreSQL, Mobile Apps, REST APIs, Git, HTML, HTML5, CSS, CSS3, API Integration, Full-stack, Web Scalability, Scalability, Web Development, Web App Deployment, APIs, Architecture, Solution Architecture, Technical Leadership, Mobile Development, React Native, Front-end, Front-end Build Tools, Front-end Development, Front-end Architecture, Mobile App Development, Software Design, Mobile, Cross-platform, Flask, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Test Automation
Full-stack Specialist
2014 - 2016
Alibaba Group
- Led a small team that supported a new project, which eventually reached 1 million users.
- Invented an intelligent system for the efficient categorization of users with customized notifications to maintain app retention.
- Developed and maintained an analysis admin portal for easier reporting and data filtering using Node.js and SQL.
Technologies: Node.js, React, React Native, HTML, HTML5, CSS, CSS3, MongoDB, Full-stack, Scalability, Web Scalability, Performance, Website Performance, Web Performance Optimization (WPO), Web Development, Mobile Development, Technical Leadership, Web Architecture, Mobile App Development, Software Design, Architecture, Mobile, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Test Automation
Manager of Product and Development Division
2012 - 2014
eLong
- Led a team of 30 to migrate a 15-year-old ASP back end to Node.js for 1 million user-based online forums.
- Balanced resources among three departments to ensure timelines were met for multiple projects in parallel.
- Designed the product and roadmap for 1 billion user-based social platforms from a tech and product perspective.
Technologies: C#, Node.js, PHP, MongoDB, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Full-stack, Scalability, Web Scalability, Web Performance Optimization (WPO), Architecture, Web Architecture, Technical Leadership, Mobile Development, Software Design, Mobile, Cross-platform, Web Development, Responsive Web Design (RWD)
Onsite Front-end Lead
2009 - 2012
Asiainfo-Linkage
- Led a team of seven—a mix of developers and designers—to maintain an enterprise-grade web application used at China Telecom.
- Reviewed the teams' project work and third-party partners to present the project's spirit; maintained client satisfaction by providing high-efficiency communication.
- Demonstrated the product's development stage and the business's feature roadmap via presentations.
Technologies: JavaScript, HTML, CSS, jQuery, Web Architecture, Technical Leadership, Web Development, Web App Development, Mobile Development, UI Design, SaaS, Software Design, Architecture, Mobile
Experience
MyLotto
https://mylotto.co.nz/A major rewrite for all lotto applications across the web, Android, iOS, and modern front-end technology. This is a government project that requires the highest performance and highest security standards. I contributed to the architecture and core modules, including the major game modules (Strike and Instant Kiwi), modernization of front-end tooling, and so on.
Payment Gateway
When I worked for the Accordo Group, I led a team of five to deliver a payment gateway from end to end. We used AWS for the back end, React for the front end, and implemented Stripe for payments. We also have our own subscription model that allows users to change their plans and view all the charges easily.
It's a crucial component of this company and we made it within three months.
It's a crucial component of this company and we made it within three months.
O2O Module for Alibaba
https://pages.tmall.com/wow/qnww/act/indexWangxin is used by millions of users, and I was involved in developing from scratch a module for enabling O2O business between online customers and offline businesses. With this module, businesses can publish events and the customer can attend. We also implemented a unique user filtering system to promote specific events to targeted customers.
Crypto Wallet
I delivered a crypto wallet in React Native for EOS. It requires loads of work since the official EOS does not have a signer compatible with React Native, and the documentation is very lacking. The final product contains a create account feature and save and load keys from secure storage; it can read transaction history from the chain and calculate EOS token information with five different methods.
A Mobile Trading Application Written in React Native
A React Native-based application for trading stocks.
I contributed to a major part of the application, including the biometric authentication, the overall application architecture, the back-end integration with Firebase, and better abstractions for maintainable and scalable code.
I contributed to a major part of the application, including the biometric authentication, the overall application architecture, the back-end integration with Firebase, and better abstractions for maintainable and scalable code.
Native Mobile Application
A React Native application for iOS and Android.
I used Node.js to connect data sources to the front end and introduced Hasura for rapid back-end development. Improved experience using GraphQL.
I used Node.js to connect data sources to the front end and introduced Hasura for rapid back-end development. Improved experience using GraphQL.
Education
2019 - 2021
Master's Degree in Information Technology
University of Auckland - Auckland, New Zealand
2016 - 2017
Graduate Diploma in Computer Science
University of Otago - Dunedin, New Zealand
Certifications
MAY 2014 - MAY 2016
MCSD: Windows Store Apps Using C#
Microsoft
APRIL 2014 - PRESENT
MS: Programming in C# Specialist
Microsoft
Skills
Libraries/APIs
React, Node.js, React Router, Moment.js, MobX, jQuery, REST APIs, Auth0 API, Auth0 Management API v2, react-spring, Stripe, Stripe API, AG Grid
Tools
PostCSS, Mocha, GitHub, Xcode, Android Studio, GitLab, WebStorm, Bitbucket, Jira, Git, Amazon Cognito, React Apollo, Auth0, Front-end Build Tools, Expo.io, Cucumber, Visual Studio, Figma, Prisma, Jenkins
Languages
TypeScript, JavaScript, GraphQL, CSS, HTML, HTML5, CSS3, C#, XAML, Python, Kotlin, Java, Swift, SQL, PHP, Go
Frameworks
Next.js, React Native, Express.js, Cypress, Redux, Jest, Material UI, Swagger, BAC, Flask, Tailwind CSS, NestJS
Paradigms
Agile, Microservices, Functional Programming, Refactoring, REST, Mobile Development, Lambda Architecture, Web Architecture, E2E Testing, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Test Automation, DevOps, Web Performance Optimization (WPO), UI Design, Cross-platform
Platforms
Amazon Web Services (AWS), AWS Lambda, MacOS, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Android, Contentful, Mobile, iOS, Blockchain, Kubernetes, Apache Kafka, Firebase, OpenShift, Red Hat OpenShift, Memberstack
Storage
MongoDB, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), JSON, PostgreSQL, Neo4j, Hasura, Cloud Firestore, Firebase Realtime Database, Databases
Other
Software Development, Cordova, Styled-components, Enzyme, Storybook, Team Leadership, Leadership, Software Architecture, Product Development, API Design, Mobile Apps, Optimization, API Integration, Full-stack, Scalability, Web Scalability, Performance, Web Development, Web App Deployment, Web App Development, Website Performance, Architecture, APIs, Lambda Functions, Solution Architecture, Amazon API Gateway, Technical Leadership, Progressive Web Applications (PWAs), Front-end, Front-end Development, Front-end Architecture, Mobile App Development, OpenAI GPT-4 API, OpenAI GPT-3 API, Frameworks, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Software Design, OpenAI, Full-stack Development, Payment APIs, Payment Gateways, Stripe Payments, Startups, Content Management Systems (CMS), Sports, EOSIO, EOS, Crypto, SaaS, Cloud, Okta, Back-end, App Store, Retrieval-augmented Generation (RAG), Language Models, Large Language Models (LLMs), Chatbots, AI Chatbots, Supabase
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