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Sally Mclean
Verified Expert in Engineering
Software Developer
Berlin, Germany
Toptal member since July 22, 2020
Bio
Sally is a seasoned professional with over 14 years of experience in full-stack web development. Over the past six years, she has specialized in working with cutting-edge technologies such as React.js (ES6), React GraphQL, Node.js, AWS Serverless, and Next.js. She has a keen interest in AWS serverless architecture and is AWS-certified. Additionally, Sally has experience in Ruby on Rails development and .NET.
Portfolio
HGV Halo LLC
React, CSS, Next.js, Chakra UI, Tailwind CSS, Responsive UI, Mobile First...
Yahoo! - CBO - EMEA
JavaScript, HTML, CSS, React, Ember.js, TypeScript, REST APIs, REST, PostgreSQL...
Ping Pong Labs GmbH
ASP.NET MVC, C#.NET, TypeScript, JavaScript, AWS Lambda, Serverless...
Experience
- SQL - 15 years
- JavaScript - 13 years
- Git - 6 years
- Ruby on Rails (RoR) - 5 years
- Node.js - 5 years
- React - 5 years
- PostgreSQL - 5 years
- GraphQL - 3 years
Work Experience
Next.js Developer
2024 - 2024
HGV Halo LLC
- Handled the re-development of a React app's front end based on Figma designs.
- Focused on moving from a web-only interface to mobile-first.
- Ensured that the user interface is fully responsive across all devices.
Technologies: React, CSS, Next.js, Chakra UI, Tailwind CSS, Responsive UI, Mobile First, React Testing Library
Front-end Developer
2022 - 2023
Yahoo! - CBO - EMEA
- Provided front-end feature updates as required for an existing AngularJS administration application.
- Worked on a small agile team to take over ownership of an existing internal React component library. Provided updates and bug fixes as requested by internal teams.
- Migrated the React component library project to a new packaging and deployment strategy using Nx and Rollup, a module bundler for JavaScript which compiles small pieces of code into something larger and more complex, such as a library or application.
- Converted the existing codebase of the React component library to TypeScript.
Technologies: JavaScript, HTML, CSS, React, Ember.js, TypeScript, REST APIs, REST, PostgreSQL, Node.js, Next.js, Front-end Development, Tailwind CSS, Cypress, React Testing Library, Webpack
Senior Software Developer
2020 - 2022
Ping Pong Labs GmbH
- Implemented design and functional features to create a custom interface for the software per the client's requirements, starting from a fork of the open-source Jitsi video conferencing software.
- Worked on ASP.NET C# MVC API and implemented the entire API test suite for using xUnit.net/MOQ.
- Set up automated tests to run in GitHub Actions as part of the CI/CD pipeline.
Technologies: ASP.NET MVC, C#.NET, TypeScript, JavaScript, AWS Lambda, Serverless, AWS Command Line Interface (CLI), React, APIs, Unit Testing, MySQL, Next.js, Front-end Development, Full-stack Development, Tailwind CSS, Webpack
React and Node.js Software Engineer
2020 - 2022
Gartner - Digital Markets Engineering - Capitalizable
- Worked on a high-traffic software reviews collection site developed with React, AWS Lambda, Elasticsearch, Ruby on Rails, and DynomoDB.
- Monitored error logs daily and did performance tracking, documenting and prioritizing errors and performance issues.
- Created and implemented an initiative to refactor all existing code, from using complicated callback code to using promises and async/await syntax. Significantly simplified the code and improved error handling.
- Enhanced error handling for the application and improved error logging with stack trace detailing to rollbar logs to significantly improve the team's ability to recognize and resolve bugs and performance issues quickly.
- Created Elasticsearch indexes as required for our project from company data and Kafka topics created for our consumption.
- Was involved in grooming new features from the product team and suggesting effective, performant technical implementation solutions.
- Filled in for the lead engineer for six weeks, managing two new developers and successfully leading the team to complete two main features on time.
- Involved in the migration that leveraged Next.js.
Technologies: React, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Node.js, Elasticsearch, Serverless, AWS Lambda, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Next.js, REST APIs, REST, NoSQL, PostgreSQL, API Gateways, RDBMS, JavaScript, Back-end Development, Front-end Development, Full-stack Development, Cypress, React Testing Library, Webpack
Node.js and Ruby on Rails Developer
2020 - 2020
Walton Capital Management, LLC
- Worked for a company that had acquired some software that they had not used for a few years. They had a respiratory and Heroku account and needed someone to investigate.
- Had the software deployed to Heroku and running within the 1st week of the engagement, allowing the client to review.
- Worked through all the issues getting the project running. Most issues were caused by packages being updated and needing to be fixed at an earlier version. I updated packaged dependencies accordingly and documented fixes.
- Worked through issues on over 50 failing tests and fixed them.
- Investigated the features of the software and reported to the client.
- Implemented design/front-end updates to the legacy Angular app as requested by the client.
Technologies: Ruby on Rails (RoR), Node.js, PostgreSQL, React, JavaScript, MongoDB, Back-end Development, Front-end Development, Full-stack Development, Webpack
Full-stack Software Engineer
2017 - 2020
Welltok, Inc.
- Developed, as part of a scrum team, a large Node.js, React, and GraphQL application that functioned as the central administration system for the entire product.
- Tracked down and built a fix for a performance issue that significantly slowed the user's experience after logging in. It required changes to database design, storage, retrieval of data from multiple microservices, and implementation of lazy loading.
- Worked for two months on the production bug-fixing team with fortnightly deployments to production and immediate hotfix patches for urgent high-severity defects. Traced back an obscure production bug to a caching issue and resolved it.
- Maintained a Ruby on Rails gem that implemented the role-based authentication for our application and fixed a significant performance issue with a query that had been an issue for over a year.
Technologies: GraphQL, React, Node.js, Ruby on Rails (RoR), MongoDB, RabbitMQ, REST APIs, REST, NoSQL, PostgreSQL, RDBMS, JavaScript, MySQL, Back-end Development, Front-end Development, Full-stack Development, Express.js, Cypress, React Testing Library, Webpack
Contract Web Developer
2016 - 2016
Shopboostr
- Developed a web application to store research projects for a German government department.
- Implemented Elasticsearch to implement fast searches of all of the projects.
- Developed a React-based front end to search the projects and display results.
Technologies: Elasticsearch, React, Ruby on Rails (RoR), REST APIs, Node.js, REST, PostgreSQL, RDBMS, Amazon Web Services (AWS), JavaScript, MySQL, Front-end Development, Full-stack Development, Webpack
Senior Web Developer
2007 - 2014
Natural Resource Management Services
- Developed many applications for various Victoria State Government departments using ASP.NET and Microsoft SQL Server.
- Conducted requirements gathering, implemented system analyses, and created database designs for new projects.
- Produced documentation and training materials for clients.
Technologies: ASP.NET MVC, Microsoft SQL Server, ASP.NET, jQuery, JavaScript, REST APIs, REST, RDBMS, Back-end Development, Front-end Development, Full-stack Development
Analyst Programmer
2005 - 2007
Sunrider Australia
- Upgraded the company's internal custom-built ordering system to the new Cognos/HP-US/Oracle system.
- Rewrote their COBOL program that used a complex marketing plan to calculate monthly global sales representative payouts to the PL/SQL script, which decreased the amount of time to run from 2 hours to 30 seconds.
- Created an automated data export of sales and warehouse inventory and an Excel spreadsheet program for use by the warehouse manager to forecast future sales and stock levels. It then created warehouse orders to ensure products were kept in stock.
Technologies: Oracle PL/SQL, Unix, HP-UX, IBM Cognos, REST, RDBMS, Back-end Development
Project History
Schengen Calculator
https://www.schengen-calculator.comI built an application to track European Schengen visa stays, which can be challenging to calculate because of the 90-day rule within a rolling 180-day window. Initially developed in Ruby on Rails when I moved to Europe 10 years ago, I recently refreshed the UI and redeployed it as a serverless solution on AWS. This modern deployment utilizes infrastructure as code (IaC), leveraging AWS Lambda, API Gateway, S3, CloudFront, and Neon for PostgreSQL.
Tidepool.life
https://tidepool.lifeI developed a real-time artificial life evolution simulator where creatures with neural-network brains can survive, eat, mate, mutate, and speciate across islands and open waters. Users can design species with 46 genes across diploid chromosomes, tune the environment, and observe natural selection in action. The simulator is built with React, TypeScript, and the Phaser.js game engine, and deployed via AWS Serverless using SST.
Education
2002 - 2005
Bachelor's Degree in Information Systems and Business
Swinburne University of Technology - Melbourne, Australia
Certifications
DECEMBER 2023 - DECEMBER 2026
AWS Certified Developer - Associate
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Skills
Libraries/APIs
React, Node.js, jQuery, REST APIs, React Redux, React Testing Library
Tools
Git, MS Server 2003, Jira, AWS Command Line Interface (CLI), AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK), Webpack, Codex, Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft Dynamics AX, IBM Cognos, RabbitMQ
Languages
JavaScript, SQL, HTML, GraphQL, VB.NET, CSS, ECMAScript (ES6), Sass, CSS3, TypeScript, HTML5, C#.NET, Java, Python
Paradigms
Unit Testing, Database Design, REST, Serverless Architecture, API Architecture, Management
Platforms
Windows, Linux, AWS Lambda, Amazon Web Services (AWS), MacOS, Docker, WordPress, HP-UX, Unix, Oracle
Storage
PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle PL/SQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Amazon DynamoDB, MongoDB, NoSQL, RDBMS, Elasticsearch, IndexedDB
Frameworks
Ruby on Rails (RoR), ASP.NET Web Forms, ASP.NET MVC, Redux, Jest, Next.js, Tailwind CSS, Express.js, Cypress, AngularJS, ASP.NET, Ember.js, Phaser.io, SST
Other
Front-end, Serverless, API Gateways, APIs, Web Development, Back-end Development, Front-end Development, Full-stack Development, Business Analysis, Full-stack, Responsive UI, Mobile First, Large Language Models (LLMs), Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), Tax Accounting, Amazon RDS, Chakra UI
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