Andrew is available for hire
Hire AndrewAndrew Duck
Verified Expert in Engineering
Software Architecture Developer
Location
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Toptal Member Since
January 23, 2020
A seasoned CTO, Andrew has over 22 years of experience founding, growing, and exiting startups and major companies. Working across government, media, hospitality, and blockchain-related industries, he has secured partnerships with the world's largest companies and driven over $100 million growth. Andrew has architected, launched, and grown platforms to support hundreds of millions of users globally.
Portfolio
GiggedIn
Node.js, React, React Native, MySQL, PHP, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Linux...
Prophet
MySQL, WebSockets, Redis, PHP, Vue, Go, PostgreSQL, AWS HA, AWS Outposts...
Aversafe
Vue, MySQL, CockroachDB, RabbitMQ, Redis, React Native, Go, Hyperledger Fabric...
Experience
Availability
Full-time
Preferred Environment
Kubernetes, Docker, Advisory, AWS IoT
The most amazing...
...project I've developed is the largest distributor of media in the world—serving hundreds of millions of customers across 206 countries.
Work Experience
Board Member, Advisor to CEO and CTO
2018 - 2022
GiggedIn
- Advised the CEO on hiring a remote team, conducting interviews, onboarding, and managing team responsibilities.
- Provided advice to the CTO on technology changes to support the addition of a new website and mobile application to support the business.
- Gave advice to the CTO on scaling existing infrastructure to support peak traffic following significant media exposure of a recent funding round.
- Joined the board of directors to support continued business growth, strategy, product, and technical direction.
Technologies: Node.js, React, React Native, MySQL, PHP, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Linux, Management, Leadership, Team Leadership, API Integration, Mobile Apps, Web Development, Architecture, CTO, Architectural Patterns, SaaS, Software as a Service (SaaS), API Architecture, Cloud Architecture, Cloud Patterns, Separation of Concerns (SoC), Serverless Architecture
CTO
2018 - 2022
Prophet
- Architected a fintech-based secondary markets platform to allow a peer-to-peer exchange of futures contracts that launched in the UK in 2019.
- Architected the transition from a secondary markets platform to a primary betting exchange and the migration from the UK to the US market.
- Built and led the technology team from company inception through launch in regulated markets.
- Handled vendor selection and technical engagements for partnerships and new business opportunities.
- Engaged in significant work with regulators to ensure compliance on both business and technology scopes for a product which had not previously been licensed in the US.
Technologies: MySQL, WebSockets, Redis, PHP, Vue, Go, PostgreSQL, AWS HA, AWS Outposts, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Linux, Software Architecture, AWS IoT, Management, Team Mentoring, Fintech, Cloud Security, Leadership, Team Leadership, API Integration, Mobile Apps, Web Development, Architecture, Team Management, Full-stack, CTO, Architectural Patterns, API Architecture, Cloud Architecture, Cloud Patterns, Microservices, Microservices Architecture, Separation of Concerns (SoC)
CEO and CTO
2017 - 2021
Aversafe
- Developed a decentralized attestation and verification network to prevent the forgery and counterfeiting of documents, licenses, and credentials.
- Architected and built attestation schemas on top of Hyperledger Fabric to provide immediate verifications for government and multinational entities across the network.
- Built and led the engineering, product, business, and operations teams necessary to launch the company.
- Partnered with leading international universities and governments on developing standards for interoperability and data protection across borders.
- Delivered a self-sovereign identity management solution bundled into mobile applications for end-users to manage and share their documents, licenses, and credentials.
- Implemented embeddable widgets for employers to access shared network data from within their existing HR tools with minimal integration effort.
Technologies: Vue, MySQL, CockroachDB, RabbitMQ, Redis, React Native, Go, Hyperledger Fabric, Node.js, PHP, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Linux, Software Architecture, AWS IoT, Management, Team Mentoring, Cloud Security, Leadership, Team Leadership, API Integration, Mobile Apps, Web Development, Architecture, Team Management, Full-stack, CTO, Architectural Patterns, SaaS, SaaS Design, Software as a Service (SaaS), API Architecture, Cloud Architecture, Cloud Patterns, Microservices, Microservices Architecture, Separation of Concerns (SoC), Serverless Architecture
CTO
2014 - 2017
Zinio
- Increased product lines from two to ten over three years, leading to new B2B and B2C revenue opportunities.
- Replatformed the underlying technology stack that had previously powered the company for the previous ten years to improve responsiveness, decrease the page load and API response times, and simplify partner interactions with the business.
- Developed and launched an app automation platform to deliver thousands of in-market iOS, Android, and Windows mobile and tablet applications for the world's leading publishers.
- Architected and launched a digital version of the New York Times International Weekly partnered with the world's leading national newspapers.
- Delivered content syndication APIs for Amazon and Relay, providing content for their respective marketplaces.
- Handled thousands of servers and computed instances across AWS EC2, VMWare and colocated hardware (RHEL, CentOS, Ubuntu, Alpine, and Windows).
- Architected and delivered an analytics platform for mobile devices in Go to capture 100s of millions of data points a day.
Technologies: MongoDB, Redshift, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, Redis, Ruby, C++, Java, Kotlin, Swift, Symfony, PHP, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Linux, Software Architecture, AWS IoT, Management, Team Mentoring, Cloud Security, Leadership, Team Leadership, API Integration, Mobile Apps, Web Development, Architecture, Team Management, Full-stack, CTO, Architectural Patterns, SaaS, SaaS Design, Software as a Service (SaaS), API Architecture, Cloud Architecture, Cloud Patterns, Microservices, Microservices Architecture, Separation of Concerns (SoC)
Managing Director, CTO, and Co-founder
2011 - 2014
Audience Media
- Organized and led a team of over 70 to build the world's first multi-channel editorial management system to streamline editorial and publishing operations in print and digital for magazine and newspaper publishers.
- Architected an Adobe InDesign plugin to simplify designing magazines and the content flow from the Audience Media platform into InDesign.
- Developed a flat-planning tool to lay out and plan magazine and newspaper layouts visually.
- Architected and launched an automated application development platform to launch branded iOS and Android applications for publishers.
- Implemented a distributed content model allowing assets to be housed within geographic regions relevant to the publisher, speeding up response times, and improving customer satisfaction.
- Led product management, design, engineering, quality assurance, operations, HR, and project departments as the company grew from one to over 70 employees.
- Built and developed a Go-based image and video asset management system that automatically transcoded, subtitled, and resized assets for consumer web and mobile devices.
- Constructed a distributed, highly available network infrastructure for global media distribution across multiple data centers and AZs using VPNs and VPCs.
- Architected and developed Adobe InDesign/InCopy plugins for MacOSX and Windows.
Technologies: MongoDB, Python, Ruby, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), MySQL, Java, Objective-C, Go, Redis, PHP, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Linux, Software Architecture, AWS IoT, Management, Team Mentoring, Cloud Security, Leadership, Team Leadership, API Integration, Mobile Apps, Web Development, Architecture, Team Management, Full-stack, CTO, Architectural Patterns, SaaS, SaaS Design, Software as a Service (SaaS), API Architecture, Cloud Architecture, Cloud Patterns, Microservices, Microservices Architecture, Separation of Concerns (SoC)
CTO and Co-founder
2008 - 2014
Quiqcorp
- Architected and oversaw the development of the Japanese Wall Street Journal.
- Provided training and consulting services for eZ Publish-related installations for the entire southern hemisphere and Asia.
- Partnered with a leading provider of education and curriculum development services to deliver technology direction and development for the Ministries of Education and Health for the New Zealand government.
- Developed online booking systems for hotel chains in conjunction with Micros POS systems for global hotel chains, including the Hilton, Hyatt, and Intercontinental.
- Deployed and customized SugarCRM and vTiger for enterprise clients in the US/UK.
Technologies: SAML, iOS, Python, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby, PHP, eZ Publish, Linux, Software Architecture, Management, Team Mentoring, Leadership, Team Leadership, API Integration, Web Development, Architecture, Team Management, Full-stack, CTO, Architectural Patterns, API Architecture, Cloud Architecture, Separation of Concerns (SoC)
Experience
Aversafe
http://www.aversafe.comA document issuance and verification network to reduce instances of the document, license, and credential fraud. As the CTO, I built the team, architected the solution, and led development to deliver a platform used by universities, governments, and multinational companies to protect against fraud.
Zinio
http://www.zinio.comThe largest eCommerce and media distribution platform globally serving the magazine and newspaper industry. I was the CTO of Zinio and responsible for all engineering efforts across web, tablet, mobile, and syndication of content to third parties.
Audience Media
https://corp.zinio.com/This is the world's first multi-channel editorial management system. I was the founder, MD, and CTO of Audience Media. I led the hiring of 100 engineers to build the platform that underpinned content editing for clients, including The New York Times, Elle, Cosmopolitan, National Geographic, and Oprah, among hundreds of others.
Wall Street Journal Japan
https://jp.wsj.comThis is a Japanese language edition of The Wall Street Journal. I was the CTO and technical architect in charge of the build of the JWSJ project in 2009, including its back end, front end, mobile deployments, a wire translation system for translating content into languages and sharing them between bureaus, and a stock alerting system leveraging Dow Jones stock assets.
Fractional CTO
http://www.hellochef.comI worked with the CEO and leadership team to grow the engineering culture and team within the organization, as well as re-vamped the existing in-house ERP product and improved order handling and warehouse operations.
My work also included overseeing the hiring and mentoring of software engineers and introducing data analysis and machine learning models to forecast subscription abandonment and menu uptake.
My work also included overseeing the hiring and mentoring of software engineers and introducing data analysis and machine learning models to forecast subscription abandonment and menu uptake.
Fractional CTO
http://optimizeapp.comI worked with the CEO and technology team to re-architect the technology platform underpinning OptimizeApp. I migrated the platform to a modern, highly available Kubernetes and AWS stack with Terraform.
Prophet
http://www.prophetbettingexchange.comI architected and launched the first regulated primary sports betting exchange in the US. I also worked with regulators on compliance and approvals for the software architecture as well as payment providers, AML/KYC, and market makers.
GuardRails
http://www.guardrails.ioA cybersecurity product that helps safeguard companies against security issues introduced in the software development lifecycle. I mentored the CTO on infrastructure and software architecture principles, including on-premise deployments and data-driven engineering.
Skills
Languages
PHP, Go, Swift, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, SAML, Objective-C, Java, Kotlin, C++
Frameworks
Laravel, Symfony, AWS HA, Django, Ruby on Rails (RoR), React Native, Ruby on Rails 4
Libraries/APIs
Vue, Node.js, Stripe, jQuery, Vue 2, React
Tools
Jira, SugarCRM, VPN, Git, AWS Outposts, Atom, PhpStorm, RabbitMQ
Paradigms
Agile, DevOps, REST, Management, API Architecture, Microservices, Microservices Architecture, Serverless Architecture
Platforms
Amazon Web Services (AWS), iOS, Linux, Hyperledger, Hyperledger Fabric, AWS IoT, Android, Apache Kafka, Kubernetes, Blockchain, CentOS, Docker
Storage
MySQL, Redis, Memcached, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, CockroachDB, Realm, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Microsoft SQL Server, Redshift, On-premise
Industry Expertise
Cybersecurity
Other
Freelancing, CTO, CEO, eZ Publish, Consulting, Funding Strategy, Strategy, APIs, Scalability, Content Delivery Networks (CDN), Advisory, Mentorship & Coaching, Leadership, Cloud Security, Fintech, Team Mentoring, Software Architecture, Architecture, Team Leadership, API Integration, Mobile Apps, Web Development, OpenAI, Team Management, Full-stack, Architectural Patterns, SaaS, SaaS Design, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud Architecture, Cloud Patterns, EventBus, Separation of Concerns (SoC), Consul, IT Networking, High Availability Disaster Recovery (HADR), Large Language Models (LLMs), RHEL, WebSockets, Mobile Security, IT, Message Queues, Change Data Capture
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