Alex Piashko, Developer in Ottawa, ON, Canada
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Alex Piashko

Verified Expert  in Engineering

Front-end Developer

Ottawa, ON, Canada

Toptal member since July 20, 2020

Expertise
C++Agile Software DevelopmentJavaScriptNode.jsElectronUnit TestingC#PHPReactHTML5TypeScriptFirebaseCSSObjective-CJava
Bio

Alex is a seasoned from-end developer with over a decade of experience contributing to a range of projects with clients like the Cartoon Network (a video-streaming application for children) and Corel (an app for artists with a rich user experience and versatile infrastructure). Alex can work well with a range of languages, frameworks, libraries, and paradigms, but he specializes in JavaScript, C++, Electron, Node.js, and agile software development.

Portfolio

Toptal
Slack API, Electron, React, JavaScript
Self-employed
Front-end, Desktop, Web
You.I TV
Video Streaming, Front-end, Web

Experience

Agile Software Development - 10 yearsJavaScript - 6 yearsNode.js - 5 yearsReact - 4 yearsHTML5 - 3 yearsElectron - 2 yearsVue 2 - 2 years

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

Cisco Webex Meetings Server, Slack, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Xcode, Microsoft Visual C++, Ubuntu, MacOS, Windows

The most amazing...

...project was the Saba TalentSpace where I developed and maintained the user front end as plugins in all versions of Outlook.

Work Experience

Senior Software Developer

2020 - PRESENT
Toptal
  • Developed a custom solution for slack integration using Electron and React.
  • Structured frequent drops of software to client so the client had a chance to refine the requirements while work was in progress.
  • Provided estimates to client on project as whole and on additional tweak and features requested.
Technologies: Slack API, Electron, React, JavaScript

IT Consultant

2017 - PRESENT
Self-employed
  • Developed a variety of client-requested solutions along with providing plans, timelines, and milestones.
  • Organized the work of small development teams ( 4-8 developers) and ensured that the work was tractable and transparent.
  • Developed Outlook 365 Add-on to allow users to quickly collect emails with remarks to database. Material-ui, Node,js, REST api, OAuth2.
  • Engaged in private contracts locally in Ottawa, as well as worked as part of online freelance agencies.
  • Developed an Electron ( mac and win ) application for system performance monitoring with Angular and ApexCharts.
  • Developed a solution for posting, searching and presenting advertisement data with Vue.js 2 and Firebase on GCP.
Technologies: Front-end, Desktop, Web

Senior Software Developer

2015 - 2016
You.I TV
  • Contributed to many small projects for several well-known clients in the video-streaming industry.
  • Worked on many aspects of video/audio streaming over the internet including HLS, commercial breaks insertion, alternate streaming for geolocations, broadcasting blackouts, and so on.
  • Worked on on-demand, download, and play-later streaming as well as digital rights management solutions.
  • Collaborated with the development team at Adobe and Turner to help them achieve their goals.
Technologies: Video Streaming, Front-end, Web

Software Developer | Senior Software Developer | Tech Lead

2000 - 2015
Corel
  • Worked as part of a large development team that was developing a large codebase app.
  • Contributed to many initiatives in various tech areas, ranging from ASM optimization to website development.
  • Developed, in a pre-Jira world, an internal website in Python to track stories.
  • Created back ends and front ends for desktop app crashes diagnostics in ASP.NET.
  • Developed a desktop app UI using MFC. QT, WPF, Cocoa, and a few homemade UI frameworks.
  • Implemented content sharing over internet solutions for graphic apps.
  • Developed professional color-management solutions.
  • Helped to integrate a V8 engine to CorelDRAW to enable JavaScript automation.
Technologies: Web, Image Processing, C++

Software Developer

1999 - 1999
AGFA
  • Developed real-time A0 duplex six-plate separation that streamed to the printer at 60 pages per minute for a Chromopress project.
  • Built a SCSI driver interface on Windows to send images to embedded printer hardware.
  • Implemented a DCOM debugging tool that could troubleshoot printers remotely.
Technologies: Embedded Systems, C++

Corel Painter

https://www.painterartist.com/
That is where my heart would be if I had to choose one project. It is a fantastic app for artists with a rich user experience and versatile infrastructure.

I worked on the web-based built-in custom advertising engine and the trial and payment systems. I also managed the back end and built the client onboarding web page and the Mongoose server for HTTP communication with mobile companion apps.

Video-streaming App

https://apps.cartoonnetworkhq.com/
This is the project with a client that my children loved the most: Cartoon Network. I worked as a developer on a team that implemented a cross-platform mobile front end for the Cartoon Network streaming service. It has a REST API, HLS streaming, and a rich kid-friendly UI and works with iOS, Android, Apple TV, and Fire TV.

Talent Management Software

https://www.saba.com/products/performance-management/saba-talentspace-smb
The Saba TalentSpace is a system that HR would normally run to get employees properly assessed and developed. My part of the project was to develop and maintain the user front end as plugins in all versions Outlook: authorization, searches, ensuring that it works with email in Outlook, and deposits processed data to the back-end using the REST API.

The front end was implemented with Office UI Fabric.js and Angular with an earlier version of Outlook employing .NET plugins.
1993 - 1998

Bachelor's Degree in Radio Physics

Belarusian State University - Minsk, Belarus

NOVEMBER 2019 - NOVEMBER 2021

Certified ScrumMaster®

Scrum Alliance

Libraries/APIs

Node.js, Vue 2, React, Slack API

Tools

Microsoft Visual C++, Xcode

Languages

JavaScript, C++, HTML5, C#, PHP, TypeScript, CSS, HTML, Objective-C, Java, Python 2

Frameworks

Electron, Angular

Paradigms

Agile Software Development, Unit Testing

Platforms

Firebase, Windows, MacOS, Ubuntu, Web, Desktop, Visual Studio Code (VS Code)

Storage

MongoDB

Other

Mobile Apps, Private NPM Modules, Embedded Systems, Image Processing, Front-end, Video Streaming

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