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Jacob Shtokolov
Verified Expert in Engineering
PHP Developer
Yerevan, Armenia
Toptal member since March 6, 2017
Bio
Jacob is a professional web developer with more than 10 years of experience. Generally, he uses PHP, Python, and JavaScript to build complex web applications, but he is also versed in low-level languages for special cases. Jacob is particularly good at web scraping with Python.
Portfolio
Freelance
Laravel 5, EaselJS, Backbone.js, CoffeeScript, Twisted, Scrapy, Python...
Keyword.com
MariaDB, SQL, Webpack, ECMAScript (ES6), Jenkins, Fluentd, Kibana, Grafana...
ProfitMiner
Vue, Laravel, PHP, Linux, MySQL, CSS, Database Architecture, SQL, JavaScript...
Experience
- HTML - 11 years
- SQL - 11 years
- JavaScript - 11 years
- PHP - 11 years
- Python - 8 years
- Laravel - 8 years
- Backbone.js - 2 years
- Twisted - 2 years
Work Experience
Full-stack Web Developer
2014 - PRESENT
Freelance
- Implemented AllCharge payment service integration for a local Israeli Forex broker.
- Created an iframe-integrated economic calendar service with theming support (for white-label partners).
- Created a roulette mini-game for a Netherlands-based eCommerce startup.
- Participated in the integration of the PayOne.de payment services on a cleaning company website.
- Refactored and supported a Scrapy-based web scraping tool with a Django dashboard.
- Created an esports betting system.
- Supported and developed a Kohana-based SaaS helpdesk system.
Technologies: Laravel 5, EaselJS, Backbone.js, CoffeeScript, Twisted, Scrapy, Python, CodeIgniter, PHP, CSS, Database Architecture, SQL, JavaScript, HTML, REST, JSON, Documentation, Full-stack Development, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), RESTful Development, Web Scraping, Software Architecture, Front-end Development, Test-driven Development (TDD), Front-end, Full-stack, Back-end, OAuth 2, eCommerce, Payment APIs, Payment Gateways, HTML5
Tech Lead
2019 - 2020
Keyword.com
- Finalized the transition of key modules from legacy to the new application.
- Reduced plain back-end API response time down to approximately 50 ms.
- Solved complex database query optimization problems.
- Developed a transition strategy for the project infrastructure and helped execute it.
- Created and delivered an MVP for a new company product.
- Initiated and maintained product technical documentation.
- Worked closely with the customer support team to fix bugs and deliver new features.
- Managed the engineering team as a tech lead by utilizing best coding practices, code reviewing, planning, removing roadblocks, etc.
- Interviewed and evaluated new developers and technical staff.
Technologies: MariaDB, SQL, Webpack, ECMAScript (ES6), Jenkins, Fluentd, Kibana, Grafana, Docker, Vue, Laravel, PHP 7, PHP, Linux, MySQL, CSS, Database Architecture, JavaScript, HTML, Twisted, REST, JSON, Documentation, Full-stack Development, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), RESTful Development, Stripe, Web Scraping, Software Architecture, DevOps, Team Leadership, Front-end Development, Test-driven Development (TDD), Front-end, Full-stack, Back-end, Payment APIs, Payment Gateways, HTML5
Full-stack Developer
2019 - 2019
ProfitMiner
- Fixed existing bugs in the front-end and back-end code.
- Actively developed new front-end and back-end features.
- Introduced unit tests for critical subsystems to the project.
- Proposed and refactored one of the internal subsystems using distributed queues following the best OOP design principles.
- Documented the refactored subsystem, including UML and ERD diagrams.
- Defined features and requirements of a bug report, which saved the team time spent on acceptance testing and code review.
- Contributed to improving the development process by proposing modifications to the existing Agile model.
Technologies: Vue, Laravel, PHP, Linux, MySQL, CSS, Database Architecture, SQL, JavaScript, HTML, REST, JSON, Documentation, Full-stack Development, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), RESTful Development, Front-end Development, Test-driven Development (TDD), Front-end, Full-stack, Back-end, HTML5
Full-stack Developer
2017 - 2019
EmailMeForm
- Refactored a legacy billing system and connected the newest Braintree API to the client and server sides.
- Implemented a secure storage system compliant with PCI on the client- and server-side, allowing users to collect credit card data and other private information through their forms.
- Replaced the old PayPal integration with Braintree's PayPal Checkout API.
- Proposed and introduced various enhancements that helped organize collaboration inside the engineering team and improved the release schedule.
- Created several in-house tools, web apps, and scripts that improved the QA process.
- Integrated PHPUnit as a server-side unit testing framework with the legacy code.
- Shaped and proposed a refactoring and migration plan for the critical subsystems.
- Initiated improvement and refactoring process of the business logic layer in the legacy code.
- Supported the product and fixed various critical bugs and security vulnerabilities.
- Implemented a modular multi-factor authentication subsystem with TOTP, compatible with Authy and Google Authenticator.
Technologies: GitFlow, REST APIs, OAuth, Intercom, Authorize.net, PayPal, BrainTree, Babel, Vue, ECMAScript (ES6), ES5, Node.js, MySQL, PHP, Laravel, Linux, jQuery, CSS, Database Architecture, SQL, JavaScript, Redis, HTML, REST, JSON, Documentation, Full-stack Development, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), RESTful Development, Software Architecture, Front-end Development, Test-driven Development (TDD), Front-end, Full-stack, Back-end, OAuth 2, eCommerce, Payment APIs, Payment Gateways, HTML5
CTO and Chief Architect
2016 - 2017
Cong Engineering
- Created a uniform authorization server integrated with social networks for multiple REST API services.
- Built a REST API for audio content and audio playback with token-based authentication.
- Designed a REST API and database schema for a voice messaging app.
- Designed and implemented a complex, scalable content auto-updater.
- Established and maintained the development workflow for the engineering team.
- Actively participated in the interviewing process, as well as searching for candidates.
Technologies: PostgreSQL, Twisted, Lumen, Python, PHP, Laravel, Linux, CSS, Database Architecture, SQL, JavaScript, HTML, REST, JSON, JSON Web Tokens (JWT), Documentation, Full-stack Development, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), RESTful Development, Beanstalkd, Web Scraping, Software Architecture, DevOps, Team Leadership, Front-end Development, Test-driven Development (TDD), Front-end, Full-stack, Back-end, OAuth 2, HTML5
Full-stack Web Developer
2013 - 2014
Wireheads s.r.o.
- Supported a large CodeIgniter application with a complex control panel and 3rd-party service integrations.
- Developed a lightweight Flask REST API and Backbone.js/CoffeeScript-based front end (radio program scheduler).
- Integrated the Flask back end with the IceCast streaming server.
- Developed a dashboard prototype for the well-known Ukrainian IPTV provider.
- Developed a dashboard for a movie portal with various ticket-selling system integrations.
Technologies: Python, Flask, CoffeeScript, Backbone.js, Icecast, SQLAlchemy, jQuery, Yii, CodeIgniter, PHP, Linux, MySQL, CSS, SQL, JavaScript, Redis, HTML, REST, JSON, Documentation, Full-stack Development, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), Team Leadership, Front-end Development, Test-driven Development (TDD), Front-end, Full-stack, Back-end, HTML5
Mobile Back-end Developer
2012 - 2013
iTrack
- Created a back end with a control panel and data import and export system for an iOS application.
- Supported a 3rd-party API web service for a well-known Russian portal about CMS and web studio rankings.
- Actively worked with new developers to help onboard them quickly.
Technologies: REST APIs, PHPExcel, jQuery, Bootstrap, Silex, Yii, PHP, XML, Linux, MySQL, CSS, Database Architecture, SQL, JavaScript, HTML, REST, JSON, Full-stack Development, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), RESTful Development, Team Leadership, Full-stack, Back-end, HTML5
Web Developer (PHP)
2012 - 2012
Mitlabs
- Created modules for an internal closed-source PHP framework.
- Created a multi-threaded web parser in Python for the Russian IMDB-like website.
- Built a couple of websites based on an internal PHP framework.
- Helped to administer and maintain internal VPN servers.
- Created an XLS data import module for an eCommerce website.
Technologies: Python, jQuery, JavaScript, PHP 5, PHP, XML, Linux, MySQL, CSS, Database Architecture, SQL, HTML, JSON, Full-stack Development, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), Web Scraping, Front-end Development, Front-end, Full-stack, Back-end, HTML5
Project History
Keyword.com
https://keyword.comAn SEO rank tracker with fast updates, reports, and comprehensive stats for the user keywords and domains. I was a consultant and tech lead who finalized the transition from legacy code to an entirely new application built with modern technologies to improve product maintainability and overall user experience significantly.
ProfitMiner
ProfitMiner is an automotive industry multichannel marketing platform that provides solutions to connect car dealerships with their customers and automate marketing campaigns.
My role in the project was to refactor the internal core subsystems related to campaign scheduling and develop new features to help the in-house team prepare the product for a massive scale.
My role in the project was to refactor the internal core subsystems related to campaign scheduling and develop new features to help the in-house team prepare the product for a massive scale.
Kinombo
A web portal about movies that allows the user to create his own "Watchlist" and buy tickets through integrated third-party services. As a part of the team, I supported the client side and participated in the control panel creation. Also, I managed to optimize SQL queries and an asset subsystem.
Pointex HD
The project was a furniture catalog with in-app purchases for iOS. On this project, I was a lead back-end developer. The back end was a control panel with a content management system. The administrator was able to perform CRUD operations on records, upload data from XLS documents, and publish new catalog releases.
All users were informed about new catalog releases by push notification (APNS).
All users were informed about new catalog releases by push notification (APNS).
Education
2006 - 2011
Specialist's Degree in Applied Informatics in Management
Voronezh Institute of Innovative Systems - Voronezh, Russia
Certifications
MARCH 2025 - PRESENT
ClickHouse Developer Course
ClickHouse
NOVEMBER 2020 - PRESENT
Machine Learning
Coursera
Skills
Libraries/APIs
Stripe API, Stripe, jQuery, SQLAlchemy, Backbone.js, Braintree API, PHPExcel, REST APIs, Node.js, Authorize.net, EaselJS, Vue
Tools
IntelliJ IDEA, Git, Babel, MATLAB, Grafana, Kibana, Fluentd, Jenkins, Webpack, Browserify, Scraping Hub, Vim Text Editor
Languages
PHP, HTML, XML, Python, CoffeeScript, SQL, JavaScript, CSS, HTML5, PHP 5, ES5, ECMAScript (ES6), Octave, PHP 7, Vala
Frameworks
Laravel, JSON Web Tokens (JWT), Lumen, Scrapy, Twisted, CodeIgniter, OAuth 2, Yii, Silex, Bootstrap, Laravel 5, Kohana, PhalconPHP, Flask, Yii 1, Yii 2
Paradigms
Object-oriented Programming (OOP), RESTful Development, REST, DRY, Test-driven Development (TDD), Anomaly Detection, Management, DevOps
Platforms
Linux, Docker, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Storage
JSON, Database Architecture, SQLite, Redis, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, ClickHouse, RDBMS, Column-oriented DBMS
Other
Documentation, Full-stack Development, Web Scraping, Full-stack, Back-end, Software Architecture, Team Leadership, Front-end Development, Front-end, eCommerce, Payment APIs, Payment Gateways, elementary OS, Icecast, BrainTree, PayPal, Intercom, OAuth, GitFlow, Machine Learning, Statistics, Support Vector Machines (SVM), Neural Networks, Regression Modeling, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Recommendation Systems, Beanstalkd, Software Engineering, Business Processes, Business Process Flow (BPF), Cloud Architecture
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