Ben Mishkin, Developer in Austin, TX, United States
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Ben Mishkin

Verified Expert  in Engineering

Cloud Architecture Developer

Location
Austin, TX, United States
Toptal Member Since
March 10, 2017

Ben has 18 years of experience as a cloud technology leader and architect. He's proficient in AWS and GCP and has managed dozens of projects and teams of 5-20 cloud engineers in various industries (healthcare, social networks, eCommerce, and others). Ben has a background in computer science, machine learning, and finance; he also has HIPAA, PCI, and SOC2 compliance experience. Ben primarily works as an architect and strategic leader for cloud infrastructure buildouts and migrations.

Cloud ArchitectureAgile Software DevelopmentAmazon Web Services (AWS)RubyRuby on Rails (RoR)Test-driven Development (TDD)AWS DevOpsGitMySQLPostgreSQLGoogle CloudLinuxDevOpsjQueryRedis

Portfolio

Elevance Health / Carelon / Anthem Inc
DevOps, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Continuous Delivery (CD)...
MFT
Amazon Web Services (AWS), HTML5, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby...
BigCommerce
gRPC, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby...

Experience

Cloud Architecture - 14 yearsGit - 12 yearsAmazon Web Services (AWS) - 12 yearsDevOps - 10 yearsTest-driven Development (TDD) - 10 yearsGoogle Cloud - 3 yearsService-oriented Architecture (SOA) - 2 years

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

Git, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Amazon Web Services (AWS), Terraform, Slack, Agile Software Development, Test-driven Development (TDD), Google Cloud, Kubernetes

The most amazing...

...project I've delivered from the ground up is a HIPAA-compliant GCP cloud platform entirely in code for a Fortune 20 client, with a team of 15 infra engineers.

Work Experience

Senior Director | TechOps

2020 - PRESENT
Elevance Health / Carelon / Anthem Inc
  • Delivered a greenfield GCP platform for B2C and B2E applications.
  • Managed DevOps, cloud infrastructure, and tools for 150 people in the Carelon Digital business unit.
  • Recruited and managed a team of 15 DevOps engineers.
Technologies: DevOps, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Continuous Delivery (CD), Continuous Integration (CI), AWS DevOps, Terraform, Kubernetes, Docker, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), GitLab CI/CD, Agile Software Development, Linux, SAML, Software Development, Google Cloud, Databases, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Auth0, gRPC, VPN, Encryption, Networks, HIPAA Compliance

Principal Consultant

2007 - 2022
MFT
  • Built an in-house custom accounting and ERP platform.
  • Developed a streaming video application and marketplace.
  • Improved and managed an employee perks delivery application.
  • Refactored a social networking application from PHP to Ruby on Rails.
  • Supported a nonprofit home equity insurance program.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), HTML5, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby, Agile Software Development, Test-driven Development (TDD), Linux, SAML, Software Development, Databases, Machine Learning, Encryption, Networks

Engineering Manager

2018 - 2020
BigCommerce
  • Managed 3rd-party applications and themes team and migrated themes billing to an integrated platform.
  • Hired and trained additional managers and five engineers.
  • Extended a billing platform to support a 3rd-party resale integration.
  • Architected a billing platform with SOA decomposition.
Technologies: gRPC, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby, Agile Software Development, Test-driven Development (TDD), Linux, Service-oriented Architecture (SOA), Software Development, Databases, Auth0, Encryption, PCI Compliance, Networks

VP of Engineering

2017 - 2018
Dropcountr
  • Worked with the CEO to build a scalability strategy and revamp the client onboarding roadmap.
  • Converted a data ingestion ETL to queue-based Sidekiq architecture.
  • Rebuilt native mobile apps in React Native targeting iOS and Android platforms.
  • Recruited and hired lead front- and back-end developers.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), React Native, Sidekiq, Sinatra, Ruby, Agile Software Development, Test-driven Development (TDD), Linux, JavaScript, SAML, Service-oriented Architecture (SOA), Software Development, Databases, Chef, Encryption, Networks, iOS, Android

Leader, Technology Operations

2016 - 2017
Scout RFP
  • Managed the AWS infrastructure, DevOps, security, and compliance for 13-person US and Latvia teams.
  • Partnered with the VP of engineering to refactor agile work, CI, and planning tools.
  • Migrated the legacy architecture to AWS RDS, Elastic Beanstalk, ElastiCache, Elasticsearch, and CloudFront.
  • Envisioned, communicated, and executed strategic security and scalability plans.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Auth0, Sidekiq, Redis, Elasticsearch, PostgreSQL, Ruby, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Agile Software Development, Test-driven Development (TDD), Linux, SAML, Service-oriented Architecture (SOA), Software Development, Databases, Chef, Encryption, PCI Compliance, Networks

Chief Technology Officer

2014 - 2016
Diagnotes
  • Extended the API to support client-driven events and external calls.
  • Integrated with clients' electronic medical records systems.
  • Deployed and managed the VPN connectivity to our client's systems.
  • Managed the development pipeline and overall product strategy.
  • Delivered HIPAA-compliant secure messaging, medical records, and on-call scheduling.
  • Recruited and hired developers, systems administrators, and a mobile team.
  • Extended an application to multiple new revenue opportunities (mobile apps).
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), PostgreSQL, Android, iOS, Resque, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Agile Software Development, Test-driven Development (TDD), Linux, JavaScript, SAML, Service-oriented Architecture (SOA), Software Development, Databases, Chef, Encryption, PCI Compliance, Networks, HIPAA Compliance

Chief Technology Officer

2011 - 2014
TheRegistrationSystem.com
  • Architected and built a live e-ticket sales application (Ruby on Rails 3) in four weeks.
  • Built a bidirectional API to support a multi-platform mobile application.
  • Upgraded and extended the architecture to support high peak volume event sales.
  • Recruited and managed the overseas development team.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Resque, Redis, MySQL, jQuery, Ruby, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Agile Software Development, Test-driven Development (TDD), Linux, JavaScript, Software Development, Databases, VPN, Encryption, Networks

Chief Technology Officer

2011 - 2014
WhatNext
  • Extended and maintained a healthcare-focused social networking application.
  • Optimized Sphinx searching, the Redis cache functionality, and a new feature pipeline.
  • Managed a remote team for incremental improvements.
Technologies: Redis, MySQL, jQuery, Sphinx Search Engine, Ruby, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Agile Software Development, Test-driven Development (TDD), Linux, JavaScript, Software Development, Databases, VPN, Encryption, Networks, HIPAA Compliance

Chief Technology Officer | Co-founder

2004 - 2009
Sagebit LLC
  • Designed the business plan and raised capital for a tech consultancy.
  • Hired and trained a team of six developers and four interns.
  • Managed migration of social networking site from PHP to Ruby on Rails.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), MySQL, PostgreSQL, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby, Agile Software Development, Test-driven Development (TDD), Linux, JavaScript, Software Development, Databases, VPN, Encryption, Networks

ASmallWorld.net

https://www.asmallworld.com/
Designed and executed the rebuild and migration of a PHP-based social networking web application to Ruby on Rails. Led a team of six developers in re-architecting the data model. Built a CI/CD platform for rapid deployment and agile development.

A GCP Platform

Led team to build a greenfield, HIPAA-compliant GCP environment for B2C and B2E applications, primarily using Terraform and GitLab CI/CD. Managed relationships with InfoSec, Compliance, and Legal. Delivered in six months.

Migration of an On-prem Project to AWS

https://my-trs.com
Migrated a volunteer management system from co-lo datacenter to Amazon Web Services. Managed network, data, and computing environments. Built CI/CD pipelines. Added test framework and monitoring infrastructure.

Languages

Ruby, JavaScript, HTML5, SAML

Frameworks

Ruby on Rails (RoR), Sinatra, React Native, gRPC

Paradigms

Agile Software Development, HIPAA Compliance, Test-driven Development (TDD), Service-oriented Architecture (SOA), DevOps, Continuous Delivery (CD), Continuous Integration (CI)

Platforms

Amazon Web Services (AWS), iOS, Android, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Linux, Kubernetes, Docker

Other

Software Development, Cloud Architecture, AWS DevOps, Encryption, PCI Compliance, Networks, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Algorithms

Tools

Git, Auth0, Chef, VPN, Terraform, GitLab CI/CD

Storage

MySQL, PostgreSQL, Google Cloud, Elasticsearch, Sphinx Search Engine, Redis, Databases

Libraries/APIs

Sidekiq, jQuery, Resque

2003 - 2005

Master of Science Degree in Computer Science

Brown University - Providence, RI, USA

1996 - 2000

Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science

Dartmouth College - Hanover, NH, USA

NOVEMBER 2017 - NOVEMBER 2020

AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional

AWS Training and Certification

OCTOBER 2015 - NOVEMBER 2020

AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate

AWS Training and Certification