Adam is available for hire
Hire AdamAdam Flaxman
Verified Expert in Engineering
Software Developer
Location
Denver, CO, United States
Toptal Member Since
August 25, 2022
Adam is a driven, out-of-the-box thinker and a strategist. In his career, he has founded and led three technical divisions for IT companies in various industries. As a technical leader, he has served as CTO, director, engineering manager, and tech lead. At the invocation level, Adam has built system architecture designs, DevOps, back-end APIs, web and native apps, CLI tooling, UI/UX designs, planning and communication systems, and roadmaps.
Portfolio
Timeline Interactive LLC
React Native, Ruby on Rails (RoR), CTO, iOS, GraphQL, Terraform, Docker...
Artkive
Amazon EKS, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Terraform, Terragrunt, Atlantis...
MediaZilla
Team Leadership, Amazon RDS, AWS Elemental MediaConvert, AWS CloudFormation...
Experience
Availability
Part-time
Preferred Environment
MacOS, Linux, GitLab, GitHub, Slack, Notion, ClickUp, Asana, Monday.com, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Serverless Architecture
The most amazing...
...thing I've done is to re-architect, manage and support the reimplementation of several previous companies' technology suites.
Work Experience
CTO and Engineering Manager
2022 - PRESENT
Timeline Interactive LLC
- Restructured teams and their workflow, improving the developer deliverable time by over 200%.
- Diagnosed, architected, and managed the execution of fixes for key on-site technology challenges that were blocking business development.
- Designed, planned, and oversaw the execution of new app flyer integration to improve analytic and conversion tracking.
- Conceived, designed, and directed system stabilization projects, reducing system errors drastically and preventing future production downtime events.
- Managed the recruitment and contracting processes of new technical and QA employees.
- Acted as a core team member who weighed in on product roadmap issues.
- Managed and supported the implementation of documentation and transfer of technology and intellectual property to an investment group.
Technologies: React Native, Ruby on Rails (RoR), CTO, iOS, GraphQL, Terraform, Docker, Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS), Cloud, Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR), Amazon RDS, PostgreSQL, Notion, ClickUp, Figma, Visual Studio, GitHub, Git, AWS Lambda, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon EKS, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Agile Software Development, Slack, MacOS, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Leadership, Technical Recruiting, Project Planning, Product Roadmaps, Engineering Management, IT Product Management, Node.js, React, Bash, Helm, Team Leadership, Redis, Test-driven Development (TDD), Behavior-driven Development (BDD), RSpec, Jest, TypeScript, Authorize.net, Jira, Sentry, Full-stack Development, AWS DevOps, Continuous Integration (CI), Bash Script, Ruby, JavaScript 6, SQL, JavaScript, API Integration, Strategy, Agile Project Management, Management, Twilio API, SMS, Online Gaming, Fantasy Sports, AWS Cloud Development, Online Payments, Material UI, Engineering, Team Management, Agile, Architecture, Software Design, Mobile, Software Development Management, People Management, Cloud Architecture, Full-stack, NoSQL, Front-end, Amazon EC2, Back-end, APIs, Relational Databases, CI/CD Pipelines, Automated Testing, Intranets, DevOps, Technical Leadership, Salesforce API, Responsive Web Design (RWD), REST APIs, HTML5, CSS3, Microservices, AWS Cloud Architecture, Technical Architecture, User Interface (UI), Fastify, Prisma, Express.js, Redux, REST, Startups, Code Review, Lambda Architecture, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), DYNAMO, Serverless Architecture, Event-driven Architecture, Software Architecture, Product Management, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Web Development, Vercel
Director of Product and Engineering
2019 - 2022
Artkive
- Hired and managed a team of 20 engineers, designers, QA testers, and managers that were remote teams all over the globe up to 10 hours apart.
- Managed the redesign of all customer-facing user interfaces.
- Architected and implemented trunk-based Git management with feature-based deployments.
- Rebuilt an entire AWS ecosystem using a multi-account strategy, adding test-driven development (TDD) and behavior-driven development (BDD) throughout.
- Created internal CLI to manage cloud resources for developer access using Yargs.
- Built a new Next.js account service and architected a new Ruby on Rails V2 API.
- Reduced time to process an order in a factory by conceiving, designing, and overseeing the implementation of factory worker automation and streamlining image processing to be 20 times faster.
- Designed and implemented complex ad tracking integrations and established best practice marketing systems for analytics and retargeting leveraging Segment.io and Drip.com post-Apple's ITP2 update.
- Trained multiple product and QA team members facilitating their success, and elegantly transitioned out of the director role by elevating key team members to take over my responsibilities.
- Had complete ownership of budgeting and fund allocation to accomplish projects.
Technologies: Amazon EKS, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Terraform, Terragrunt, Atlantis, Technical Recruiting, Project Planning, GitLab CI/CD, AWS CloudFormation, Amazon RDS, MySQL, Amazon DynamoDB, Product Roadmaps, Engineering Management, IT Product Management, Node.js, Next.js, React, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Figma, Bash, Linux, Docker, Helm, Test-driven Development (TDD), Behavior-driven Development (BDD), Selenium, Mocha, Chai, Jest, TypeScript, Asana, ClickUp, Notion, Slack, Sentry, Authorize.net, SaaS, Continuous Integration (CI), AWS DevOps, Full-stack Development, ECMAScript (ES6), Delayed Job, Agile Software Development, User Experience (UX), GitLab, GitHub, Leadership, Team Leadership, RSpec, Product Design, SCSS, CSS, HTML, Pulumi, QA Leadership, Bash Script, Webpack, Ruby, JavaScript 6, Prisma, MacOS, SQL, JavaScript, Storybook, API Integration, CTO, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Strategy, Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR), Visual Studio, Git, Agile Project Management, AWS Lambda, Management, Photoshop CC, eCommerce, AWS Cloud Development, Online Payments, Material UI, Engineering, Team Management, Agile, Architecture, Software Design, Mobile, Software Development Management, Delivery Management, People Management, Cloud Architecture, Full-stack, NoSQL, Front-end, Amazon EC2, Back-end, APIs, Relational Databases, CI/CD Pipelines, Automated Testing, Intranets, DevOps, Technical Leadership, Responsive Web Design (RWD), REST APIs, HTML5, CSS3, Microservices, AWS Cloud Architecture, Technical Architecture, User Interface (UI), Sharp, Express.js, Redux, REST, Startups, Code Review, Electron, Lambda Architecture, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), DYNAMO, Serverless Architecture, Event-driven Architecture, Software Architecture, Product Management, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Web Development
Lead Engineer and UX Designer
2017 - 2019
MediaZilla
- Assisted in core product re-innovation while redesigning and repackaging customer and admin UI.
- Advised founders on the best product and resource strategy.
- Hired and managed a team of six engineers, including ticket delegation.
- Designed and coordinated implementation of AWS ecosystem using a multi-account strategy.
- Architected and implemented dynamic SAAS integrations with both Braintree and Stripe.
- Managed challenging database migration from an unconventional MySQL JSON-based approach to a relational structure.
- Implemented AWS Elemental Cloud video processing with queued and optimized threaded multi-part upload to S3 leveraging nested permissions policy via AWS Cognito.
- Transitioned existing mp4 video streaming to Dash encoded chunked video streaming.
- Managed all technical staff, budgeting, and timelines.
Technologies: Team Leadership, Amazon RDS, AWS Elemental MediaConvert, AWS CloudFormation, AWS CodePipeline, Linux, Docker, Bash, GitHub, PostgreSQL, Redis, ECMAScript (ES6), Node.js, Next.js, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Sideqik, Test-driven Development (TDD), Behavior-driven Development (BDD), Puppeteer, RSpec, Mocha, Chai, Adobe Experience Design (XD), Product Design, Scrum Master, Slack, Asana, Stripe, BrainTree, Confluence, SaaS, Continuous Integration (CI), AWS DevOps, Full-stack Development, Agile Software Development, User Experience (UX), Leadership, Project Planning, Amazon DynamoDB, Product Roadmaps, Engineering Management, IT Product Management, React, SCSS, CSS, HTML, Sentry, QA Leadership, Bash Script, Webpack, Ruby, JavaScript 6, MacOS, SQL, JavaScript, API Integration, Stripe API, Stripe Checkout, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Notion, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Technical Recruiting, Jest, Strategy, Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR), Visual Studio, Git, Agile Project Management, Management, Photoshop CC, Online Payments, Material UI, TypeScript, Engineering, Team Management, Agile, Architecture, Software Design, Mobile, Software Development Management, B2B, People Management, Cloud Architecture, Full-stack, NoSQL, Front-end, Instant Messaging, Amazon EC2, Back-end, APIs, Relational Databases, CI/CD Pipelines, Automated Testing, Intranets, DevOps, Technical Leadership, Responsive Web Design (RWD), REST APIs, HTML5, CSS3, Microservices, AWS Cloud Architecture, Technical Architecture, User Interface (UI), Express.js, Redux, REST, Startups, Code Review, AWS Lambda, Lambda Architecture, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), DYNAMO, Software Architecture, Product Management, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Web Development
Full-stack Engineer and UX Designer
2015 - 2017
Artkive
- Collaborated on product vision for web platform reshaping core business.
- Designed and implemented the first customer-facing web eCommerce application.
- Created and implemented an account application, including a multi-step checkout with a dynamic book preview section.
- Maintained and modified dynamic PDF generation for print.
- Built and implemented SAAS integration with Authorize.net.
- Maintained and added features to the legacy Ruby on Rails service and MySQL database.
- Generated new API endpoints with corresponding data persistence.
- Managed tasks for agency DevOps and full-stack engineers.
- Created Dropbox and Box.com integrations for end user use cases.
- Worked with ownership to establish timelines and cost analysis before project launch.
Technologies: Ruby on Rails (RoR), MySQL, Amazon RDS, Authorize.net, jQuery UI, jQuery, ES5, SCSS, CSS, HTML, Bitbucket, Jira, Slack, Full-stack Development, Delayed Job, Agile Software Development, User Experience (UX), GitHub, Project Planning, Node.js, Bash, Product Design, SaaS, Ruby, MacOS, SQL, JavaScript, API Integration, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Bash Script, Git, Management, Photoshop CC, eCommerce, Online Payments, Engineering, Team Management, Agile, Engineering Management, Leadership, Architecture, Software Design, Mobile, Software Development Management, Delivery Management, People Management, Cloud Architecture, Full-stack, Front-end, Amazon EC2, Back-end, APIs, Relational Databases, Automated Testing, DevOps, Responsive Web Design (RWD), REST APIs, HTML5, CSS3, Technical Architecture, User Interface (UI), Express.js, AWS DevOps, REST, Startups, Code Review, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Software Architecture, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Web Development
IT Consultant
2013 - 2015
Freelance Clients
- Worked with multiple clients designing and building portfolios and eCommerce sites.
- Guided and generated content and copy for public-facing pages.
- Managed marketing campaigns advising best platform and spend.
- Created marketing design and content, including photos and video.
- Generated numerous print designs for multiple use cases.
Technologies: ES5, jQuery UI, jQuery, CSS, HTML, JavaScript, API Integration, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Git, eCommerce, Online Payments, Engineering, Agile, Software Design, Full-stack, Front-end, Responsive Web Design (RWD), HTML5, CSS3, User Interface (UI), REST, Startups, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Web Development
Experience
Optimized Images
Challenged with reducing image upload time and bugs, I reimagined our monolithic Ruby on Rails API image upload process, which was prone to issues and sluggishness, negatively affecting users and admins.
Leveraging AWS CloudFormation and Gitlab CICD, I installed the AWS Serverless Image Handler (built on Sharp), eliminating the need for creating different image sizes and formats during upload, significantly streamlining the process. Next, I reconfigured API endpoints and adapted downstream client logic, enabling direct image uploads to Amazon S3 and bypassing the Ruby on Rails API. This modification not only expedited uploads but also remedied persistent bugs.
The impact was substantial, with a 20-fold decrease in upload time and the resolution of prevalent bugs, dramatically improving system performance and user satisfaction.
Leveraging AWS CloudFormation and Gitlab CICD, I installed the AWS Serverless Image Handler (built on Sharp), eliminating the need for creating different image sizes and formats during upload, significantly streamlining the process. Next, I reconfigured API endpoints and adapted downstream client logic, enabling direct image uploads to Amazon S3 and bypassing the Ruby on Rails API. This modification not only expedited uploads but also remedied persistent bugs.
The impact was substantial, with a 20-fold decrease in upload time and the resolution of prevalent bugs, dramatically improving system performance and user satisfaction.
Factory Automations
To expedite physical order processing, I collaborated with senior staff in the Los Angeles-based factory, where I conceived, led, and partially implemented key components of a more optimal processing system.
This involved interfacing with stakeholders, factory worker team restructuring and mentorship, photoshop scripting, full-stack programming architecture and solutions, physical worker station design and testing, project planning and management, software architecture, and implementation.
The outcome of this effort was a 60% reduction in processing time per order, significantly decreasing the fulfillment cost making for a more profitable business.
This involved interfacing with stakeholders, factory worker team restructuring and mentorship, photoshop scripting, full-stack programming architecture and solutions, physical worker station design and testing, project planning and management, software architecture, and implementation.
The outcome of this effort was a 60% reduction in processing time per order, significantly decreasing the fulfillment cost making for a more profitable business.
Sport Data Scrapper
In order to resolve known bugs, reduce latency, and simplify the complex developer experience produced by a cron process managed within the existing Rails monolithic server, I developed a new, self-scheduling serverless sport radar data scraping system. This service utilized advanced technologies like Node.js, TypeScript, and the Nx monorepo, as well as a host of AWS tools, including CDK, Lambda, Step Functions, and DynamoDB.
To enhance the developer experience, I replaced the existing Terraform infrastructure as code (IaC) with AWS CDK, simplifying our previously laborious deployment process, expediting development cycles, and decreasing operational burden. To optimize sport radar queries and cut costs, a self-scheduling mechanism was implemented so that only the necessary API requests were made instead of batching all records every time. The integration of this new serverless data scraping process mapped the output of new processes to the existing Ruby on Rails API and data structures, seamlessly replacing the old cron logic without disrupting service or operations.
Overall, these improvements streamlined runtime, enabled real-time updates for the downstream React Native application, and reduced cloud costs.
To enhance the developer experience, I replaced the existing Terraform infrastructure as code (IaC) with AWS CDK, simplifying our previously laborious deployment process, expediting development cycles, and decreasing operational burden. To optimize sport radar queries and cut costs, a self-scheduling mechanism was implemented so that only the necessary API requests were made instead of batching all records every time. The integration of this new serverless data scraping process mapped the output of new processes to the existing Ruby on Rails API and data structures, seamlessly replacing the old cron logic without disrupting service or operations.
Overall, these improvements streamlined runtime, enabled real-time updates for the downstream React Native application, and reduced cloud costs.
Feature-based Test Deployment Pattern
By leveraging hosted GitLab runners running on EKS with Helm templating and establishing a fluid QA test pattern, I was able to optimize the development workflow at Artkive so that multiple, stable daily releases were a common occurrence, and many more features and fixes were successfully released.
Sprint and Ticket Management Optimization
When first beginning this management role, a priority responsibility was to streamline developers and the overall development lifecycle. From my vantage point, one of the most critical pain points was the workflow centered around a single Jira board and multiple long daily meetings.
The first effort was to mitigate multiple long daily meetings. This was easily accomplished by establishing an asynchronous scrum pattern implemented through a Slack integration and a weekly team call. The outcome of this act doubled the developer's time on keys but exposed communication gaps.
To resolve communication gaps and misunderstandings, I streamlined the company's ticket management by replacing Jira and Notion with ClickUp and encouraging ticket/comment-based communication. This was accomplished rapidly and without issue affording contextualized, project-based communication, much less confusion, and quicker time to the market with fewer fixes.
The first effort was to mitigate multiple long daily meetings. This was easily accomplished by establishing an asynchronous scrum pattern implemented through a Slack integration and a weekly team call. The outcome of this act doubled the developer's time on keys but exposed communication gaps.
To resolve communication gaps and misunderstandings, I streamlined the company's ticket management by replacing Jira and Notion with ClickUp and encouraging ticket/comment-based communication. This was accomplished rapidly and without issue affording contextualized, project-based communication, much less confusion, and quicker time to the market with fewer fixes.
Skills
Languages
ECMAScript (ES6), TypeScript, ES5, CSS, HTML, JavaScript 6, SQL, JavaScript, HTML5, CSS3, DYNAMO, Bash, SCSS, Bash Script, Ruby, GraphQL
Frameworks
Ruby on Rails (RoR), Material UI, Express.js, Redux, Next.js, Jest, React Native, Fastify, Selenium, Electron
Libraries/APIs
Node.js, React, REST APIs, Chai, Authorize.net, Stripe, Delayed Job, Stripe API, Sharp, Terragrunt, Puppeteer, jQuery UI, jQuery, Twilio API, Salesforce API
Tools
Prisma, Google Analytics, GitLab, GitHub, Slack, Notion, Asana, Terraform, GitLab CI/CD, Figma, RSpec, Mocha, Adobe Experience Design (XD), Sentry, Webpack, Stripe Checkout, Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS), Git, Amazon EKS, AWS CloudFormation, Helm, Bitbucket, Jira, Confluence, Babel, Photoshop CC, Canvas, Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR), Visual Studio, Photoshop 7, AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK), AWS Step Functions
Paradigms
Agile Software Development, Continuous Integration (CI), Agile Project Management, Agile, Automated Testing, DevOps, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Microservices, REST, Lambda Architecture, Serverless Architecture, Test-driven Development (TDD), Behavior-driven Development (BDD), B2B, Event-driven Architecture, Management
Platforms
AWS Lambda, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon EC2, MacOS, Linux, Docker, Mobile, Vercel, Sideqik, iOS, Android
Storage
Relational Databases, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), MySQL, Amazon DynamoDB, PostgreSQL, NoSQL, Redis, MongoDB
Other
User Experience (UX), Leadership, Project Planning, Product Roadmaps, Engineering Management, IT Product Management, Team Leadership, Scrum Master, Full-stack Development, AWS DevOps, API Integration, CTO, Strategy, eCommerce, Online Payments, Engineering, Team Management, Architecture, Software Design, Software Development Management, People Management, Cloud Architecture, Full-stack, Front-end, Back-end, APIs, CI/CD Pipelines, Intranets, Technical Leadership, AWS Cloud Architecture, Technical Architecture, User Interface (UI), Startups, Code Review, Software Architecture, Product Management, Google Tag Manager, Web Development, ClickUp, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Technical Recruiting, Amazon RDS, AWS CodePipeline, Product Design, Pulumi, SaaS, BrainTree, QA Leadership, Storybook, Cloud, Fantasy Sports, AWS Cloud Development, Delivery Management, ChatGPT, OpenAI GPT-4 API, OpenAI GPT-3 API, Monday.com, Motion Graphics, Atlantis, AWS Elemental MediaConvert, Scripting, SMS, Online Gaming, Instant Messaging
Certifications
JANUARY 2015 - PRESENT
Computer Programming Certification
General Assembly Full Stack Intensive (2015)
SEPTEMBER 2013 - PRESENT
Digital Media
Otis College of Art and Design
SEPTEMBER 2008 - PRESENT
UX/UI
Santa Monica Community College
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