Chris Bolin
Verified Expert in Engineering
Web App Deployment Developer
Boston, MA, United States
Toptal member since July 26, 2016
Chris is an MIT-trained full-stack engineer with a passion for the front-end. He currently uses JavaScript, React, Node.js, MongoDB, and Meteor to build applications. He also has strong experience with Python and MySQL as well as data science. Communication is a priority for him professionally and personally. He has led teams, delivered technical talks, taught software classes, and interviewed dozens of candidates.
Portfolio
Experience
- Web App Deployment - 5 years
- Python - 5 years
- JavaScript - 4 years
- Meteor - 2 years
- MongoDB - 2 years
- Node.js - 2 years
- React - 1 year
Preferred Environment
Atom, OS X
The most amazing...
...success I've had was a recommendation engine that combined collaborative filtering and predictive modeling. It alone increased profits by $100,000 a month.
Work Experience
Lead Engineer
Jumpshell
- Designed, built, and maintained a web application for rental agents to communicate with clients, manage work, and report leases.
- Provided on-call support 24/7 for maintenance and troubleshooting of multiple deployments and applications.
- Created a Google Maps and React web application to explore city neighborhoods.
- Created a server-side rendering system (including data fetching and routing) to allow complex client React pages to be crawled by search engines.
- Interfaced directly with users and stakeholders to define features and test prototypes of web applications.
- Led the visual design (including mockups) for a mobile and desktop web application.
Web Designer and Developer
Ionic Materials
- Designed the company's public web presence. Created mockups and prototypes to solicit feedback.
- Built the front-end using SCSS and Javascript.
- Hosted the site using Github Pages CDN.
Software Engineer
LogicNow
- Modeled and built a web application for finding IT professionals using Python and Django. Based the application on provided mockups and specifications.
- Created client pages and forms from mock-ups and stylesheets using Angular JS.
- Implemented a geographic search and index system on MySQL.
- Deployed the application on Amazon Web Services (AWS) using Elastic Beanstalk and Docker containers.
- Collaborated with a distributed remote team of four.
Lead Data Scientist
Dealix
- Created data processing systems, web services, and web scrapers in Python.
- Designed predictive models in Python and R for user behavior and preferences. Analyzed user data with MySQL and R.
- Built a recommendation engine for similar products; increased profit by over $100K per month.
- Created a web scraper to retrieve real-time data from a partner. Used data to increase profit by $30K per month.
- Designed advertisement optimization and learning system. Implemented it on a web server and increased profit by $20K per month.
Graduate Researcher
MIT
- Implemented econometric and Monte Carlo analyses in R, SAS JMP, and Excel.
- Developed a forecasting model for global automobile usage and emissions in 2050.
- Led the first comprehensive life-cycle assessment (LCA) for Cummins, Inc.
- Presented results of LCA to Cummins’ CTO and the Director of Global Environmental Sustainability.
- Served as a teaching assistant for a class of 40 MIT undergraduate and graduate students.
Software Systems Engineer
National Instruments
- Selected as a founding member of the Product Partner Program, charged with nurturing NI’s external developer community through consulting and product features.
- Managed development of a large outsourced partner project. Served as technical liaison to major software partners.
- Created product feature specifications and led a team of engineers through implementation and testing (C++).
- Traveled internationally to present technical sessions and meet with key accounts.
- Selected as a founding member of the Product Partner Program.
- Achieved highest LabVIEW certification (Architect) in three years – youngest in the company.
Software Product Support Engineer
National Instruments
- Led software quality efforts for NI’s largest and most popular product, LabVIEW (C++ code base).
- Assisted key customer accounts with troubleshooting. Actively worked with developers to generate solutions.
- Trained NI Applications Engineers around the world and served as their technical expert.
- Created software certification examinations for internal and external use.
Applications Engineer
National Instruments
- Created proof of concepts for customers and sales managers in LabVIEW and C#.
- Assisted customers with automated vision, motion control, real-time OS, and FPGA products.
- Taught software courses to professors and engineers. Presented products at trade shows.
Experience
Digital Business Card
• Single-source state. The entire state of the page is determined by a single variable: The vertical scroll position. Therefore, the whole application is literally "functional"—a function of this only variable. One of the entertaining consequences is that the entire process is reversible, allowing users to scroll up and down arbitrarily.
• DOM elements for visuals. I wanted to create visuals from simple DOM elements like divs and text that "felt" like Canvas or WebGL.
• Styling in JavaScript. The site's dynamic styling is driven by JavaScript, not CSS, using React's style property.
The code in context with CSS and HTML counterparts can be found in the above link.
Education
Master of Science Degree in Computational Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Cambridge, MA, USA
Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering
University of Nebraska-Lincoln - Lincoln, NE, USA
Skills
Libraries/APIs
React, Node.js, Twilio API, SendGrid API, Mailchimp API, Google Maps, Slack API
Tools
CodePen, Git, GitHub, Slack, Chrome Developer Tools, Sublime Text, Atom, Sketch 3, Sketch, Microsoft Excel, LabVIEW, GitHub Pages
Languages
JavaScript, HTML5, SCSS, CSS, HTML, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), C++, C#, Python, R
Frameworks
Express.js, Web.py, Pyramid, Django, AngularJS
Platforms
MacOS, Heroku, Meteor, OS X, Linux, Amazon Web Services (AWS), AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Firebase, KeystoneJS, Docker
Storage
MongoDB, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Redis, NoSQL, MySQL
Paradigms
Functional Programming, Pair Programming, Agile
Other
Front-end Development, Software Development, CSS3 Animation, Typefaces, Machine Learning, Predictive Analytics, Web App Deployment, Cordova, Design, Slackbot
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