Andrew Dobson, Developer in Welwyn Garden City, United Kingdom
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Andrew Dobson

Verified Expert  in Engineering

Back-end Developer

Welwyn Garden City, United Kingdom

Toptal member since February 5, 2022

Bio

Andrew is an experienced full-stack developer experienced in Java, PHP, Node.js, and React Native. He has built scalable, performant, and secure apps using Java and is skilled in server-side scripting and database integration using PHP. He also used Node.js to create high-performance real-time apps and developed responsive mobile applications using React Native. Andrew is a passionate problem solver and a real team player.

Portfolio

AJ Development
Swift, Objective-C, Xcode, React Native, Node.js, Laravel, PHP, React, Figma...
International Baccalaureate Organization
JavaScript, React Native, Flutter, CSS, HTML5, Node.js, React
FDJ Gaming Solutions
Java, Oracle, REST, Apache Kafka, Spring, APIs, Concurrency, Multithreading...

Experience

  • Apache Tomcat - 10 years
  • REST - 10 years
  • Java - 10 years
  • JUnit - 10 years
  • Spring - 4 years
  • React - 3 years
  • React Native - 2 years
  • Node.js - 2 years

Availability

Full-time

Preferred Environment

MacOS, Eclipse, Slack

The most amazing...

...thing I have contributed to was achieving the goal of processing an extremely large amount of sports feed data in a record amount of time in a performant way.

Work Experience

Freelance Mobile App Developer

2022 - PRESENT
AJ Development
  • Developed a leading fitness application for iOS and Android in React Native, which involved creating a Node.js server to talk to Shopify to expose many endpoints for use within the app.
  • Developed a React application to take payments from users using Stripe and verified the payment with a Java back-end to confirm the payments' validity.
  • Provided maintenance and added new functionality to an iOS application written in Objective-C for a leading provider of examination papers in the UK.
  • Worked on both the front and back ends for a food delivery mobile application. The front end was written in React Native, and the back end was written in Laravel.
  • Cooperated with a client to specify, estimate, and build a dating application. This involved taking the client's requirements, turning them into a detailed specification, breaking them down into actionable tasks, and estimating them.
Technologies: Swift, Objective-C, Xcode, React Native, Node.js, Laravel, PHP, React, Figma, PostgreSQL, Stripe

[FT/PT] Cross-plaftorm Developer, Flutter or React Native | Evaluation Card-based Application

2022 - 2022
International Baccalaureate Organization
  • Developed an interactive card-based game using React that allowed students to pick cards and build up a motif, which could then be exported and printed.
  • Liaised with the client to deploy test versions, manage feedback and outstanding issues, and make the relevant changes.
  • Ensured the application was translatable into three different languages.
Technologies: JavaScript, React Native, Flutter, CSS, HTML5, Node.js, React

Senior Java Developer

2017 - 2022
FDJ Gaming Solutions
  • Worked as a back-end engineer to develop an extremely performant Java application that took a large number of bets from players in a short time span. This involved complex algorithms to process the bets and calculate potential returns.
  • Ensured the API evolution was controlled by securing that any changes to the API were well thought out and followed industry and internal standards.
  • Overhauled how the company receives feed information, from taking a single feed in a strict format to multiple feeds in various formats. Ensured performance targets were maintained.
  • Implemented and rolled out our product to new North American clients with the quickest launch and most significant release in recent years. Defined key requirements and efficiently delivered the product on time.
Technologies: Java, Oracle, REST, Apache Kafka, Spring, APIs, Concurrency, Multithreading, Apache Tomcat, JUnit, Unit Testing, Git, JSON, Agile, ELK (Elastic Stack), Liquibase, Swagger, Back-end Performance, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Docker, Jira, PostgreSQL, Kafka Streams, Hibernate, PSQL, Jersey, Pull Requests, JConsole

Development Team Leader

2012 - 2017
Capita IB Solutions
  • Acted as the main point of contact for multiple projects, oversaw the team's resources, worked closely with clients to provide day-to-day support, scheduled bug fix releases, scoped new functionalities, and ensured deadlines were met.
  • Created bespoke web applications using Java within a Tomcat environment and played a key role in all stages of the development lifecycle—from initial analysis with clients to design the proposed solution, development, and testing.
  • Designed and developed a new web-based system to keep track of people attending training courses and added additional functionality to the existing expense management system used by NHS.
Technologies: Java, Oracle, Apache Tomcat, JUnit, Team Leadership, PSQL

Experience

Fitness and Nutrition App in React Native

I developed a leading fitness and nutrition app for iOS and Android in React Native. The project involved creating a Node.js back end to talk to a Shopify back end to pull all the data and developing the React Native application to use the API endpoints.

Owe—iOS Debt Tracker and Planner

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/owe-debt-tracker-planner/id674210560?ls=1
An iOS app that tracks debts and payments, allowing users to track their finance and check who owes them and whom they owe.

Since it was a part-time project on the side, I developed the entire application, including all of the graphics assets. The app includes functionality to track recurring monthly and weekly payments, which is achieved using a local SQLite database on the device.

Music Roulette

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/music-roulette-music-guessing/id1086459730?ls=1
Music Roulette is a music guessing game that lets users create an anonymous playlist perfect for parties or long journeys. It allows users to join and add songs to an anonymous playlist. Users can play the playlist and guess who added each song.

I developed an iOS application written in Swift and used Firebase to store all the data and authenticate the users. The app uses Spotify SDK to allow users to search for songs and play the playlist.

Education

2008 - 2012

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science

University of Hertfordshire - Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

Skills

Libraries/APIs

Liquibase, Firebase iOS SDK, Spotify API, React, Stripe, Stripe API, Node.js

Tools

Apache Tomcat, Git, Slack, ELK (Elastic Stack), Jira, Xcode, Kafka Streams, JConsole, Figma

Languages

Java, Objective-C, PHP, Swift, GraphQL, JavaScript, CSS, HTML5

Frameworks

Spring, JUnit, React Native, Swagger, Hibernate, Jersey, Unity, Flutter, Laravel

Paradigms

REST, Unit Testing, Agile

Platforms

Eclipse, Oracle, Apache Kafka, MacOS, Docker, Firebase, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Shopify

Storage

JSON, PostgreSQL, PSQL

Other

Web Services, APIs, Concurrency, Multithreading, Pull Requests, Web Applications, Team Leadership, Back-end Performance

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