Bruce Failor, Developer in Idaho Falls, ID, United States
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Bruce Failor

Verified Expert  in Engineering

Software Developer

Location
Idaho Falls, ID, United States
Toptal Member Since
February 22, 2014

Bruce is an experienced developer who has moved from computer science to web applications over the past four years using Ruby on Rails, jQuery, HTML, and CSS. His toolset also includes MiniTest or RSpec and Capybara for BDD and TDD. He prefers coding with Linux OS.

Portfolio

Roomsie
React, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby
ETSZONE
Solr, Elasticsearch, eCompliance, CoffeeScript, JavaScript, Bootstrap, MySQL...
PhotosynQ
PostgreSQL, RSpec, JavaScript, Bootstrap, Ruby on Rails API...

Experience

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

Emacs, RSpec, minitest, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Linux

The most amazing...

...Rails app I've developed saves college instructors time by scraping online course student progress data into a single, concise table.

Work Experience

Rails Developer

2017 - 2017
Roomsie
  • Added feature specs to the codebase during the first week of the project.
  • Used TDD to build a large number of React components and meet specific deadlines.
  • Extended legacy code by first covering with tests and then adding additional feature mainly via React.
Technologies: React, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby

Full-stack Ruby on Rails Developer

2016 - 2017
ETSZONE
  • Modified both RSpec tests and codebase in the first week so that ~20 tests changed from failing to passing.
  • Successfully migrated a Ruby on Rails database from MySQL to PostgreSQL.
  • Removed a Solr dependency from a Ruby on Rails app by using either SQL queries or the DataTables jQuery plugin.
  • Improved the UX by implementing client-side form validation with Bootstrap Validator.
  • Implemented an RSpec feature testing using Capybara, which is now being used across all the Ruby on Rails apps.
Technologies: Solr, Elasticsearch, eCompliance, CoffeeScript, JavaScript, Bootstrap, MySQL, RSpec, Ruby on Rails (RoR)

Ruby on Rails + Back-end Developer

2016 - 2016
PhotosynQ
  • Modified the Bootstrap carousel approach in order to create a user interface that allows browsing projects, users, and other database table records as "cards" in a tableau.
  • Implemented a global project map for the site homepage (http://photosynq.org/ - scroll to the bottom of the page).
  • Created an API endpoint for user comments, including the ability to upload Base64 images and Google Cloud Messaging notifications.
  • Transitioned Dropzone UI for uploading images from using a dedicated media server to using AWS S3 via CarrierWave.
  • Used test-driven development to implement the above features and also debugged existing RSpec tests that passed individually but failed when executed as a group.
Technologies: PostgreSQL, RSpec, JavaScript, Bootstrap, Ruby on Rails API, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby

Senior Ruby on Rails Developer

2015 - 2016
A Hundred Years/TEDEd
  • Created a service object for pulling available subtitle languages from the YouTube API for a given TEDEd lesson.
  • Added the ability to filter TEDEd lessons by the subtitle languages available to the UI (http://ed.ted.com/lessons).
Technologies: Elasticsearch, YouTube API, Haml, CoffeeScript, JavaScript, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby

Senior Rails Developer - Web/Mobile

2013 - 2016
RaceMenu
  • Created RSpec and/or Cucumber tests as needed.
  • Supported a Rails JSON API.
  • Supported Rails JavaScript response rendering.
  • Created a method to clone an existing race event into another one, reducing the time required from about an hour to five minutes.
  • Created a method for registering for a series of events through a single season pass event without the need to replicate multiple records in the database.
  • Replicated, explained, and corrected bugs in a legacy (i.e., code without tests) codebase.
Technologies: GitHub, Git, Heroku, Ruby on Rails (RoR)

Senior Ruby on Rails Developer

2015 - 2015
Toptal Engagement
  • Supported the capture and parsing of information from a number of commercial API endpoints (including SOAP XML).
  • Supported the capture of downloads via automated “human” interactions with an embedded ShockWave object using Curl to build AMF requests.
  • Aggregated a table of business process failures by parsing captured commercial API data.
  • Created two different site on-boarding processes that branched, depending on the URI, and, if successful, allowed device-specific password selection.
  • Created dashboards that had Pundit-policy dependent formatting and content.
Technologies: Ruby on Rails API, RSpec, minitest, Sidekiq, Pundit, Devise, PostgreSQL, Heroku, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby

Web Developer

2012 - 2013
Virginia Community College System
  • Worked with math instructors to create a UI that provided authentication and a dashboard that displayed critical student progress information.
  • Created a data scraping process that captured student progress data from the Pearson MyLabsPlus website.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Headless Software, RSpec, Selenium WebDriver, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby

Staff Physicist

1991 - 2012
L-3 Pulse Science
  • Developed object-oriented software using IDL to analyze high-speed (~1 million frames/sec) x-cinematography data.
  • Used Perl scripts to fully utilize a ~100 CPU cluster for MCNP calculations.
  • Used MCNP to estimate the performance of an e-beam-driven neutron source with a subcritical neutron multiplier.
  • Used MCNP to evaluate the efficacy of different gamma-ray and neutron probes for detecting special nuclear material in support of Homeland Security.
  • Led an effort to use electronic cameras to record x-ray image data in lieu of a film.
Technologies: Monte Carlo, IDL

Edibles

https://bitbucket.org/bhfailor/edibles/overview
Use this service, in conjunction with a Google Sheet, to track weekly nutritional intake. This service returns a record of nutritional information pulled from the USDA database (https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list) that can be pasted into the sheet named "data" of a Google spreadsheet workbook of the type found at (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1crP1tpb7hCJXW_k53fV2YljaBTTYbEE-zHU5lQ39umM/edit?usp=sharing)

The goal is to quickly (i.e., inexpensively) reproduce the capabilities of http://nutritiondata.self.com/ with (1) much less latency, (2) much more transparency regarding how the nutrient values are calculated, and (3) more flexibility in the assigment of custom nutritional information.

The spreadsheet (1) allows USDA database foods to be combined into composite foods that can, in turn, be used to construct other composite foods, (2) displays the RDA status for tracked nutrients, and (3) calculates the composite food cost.

Frameworks

Ruby on Rails (RoR), Capybara, minitest, Bootstrap

Tools

RSpec, Bitbucket, Git, Emacs, Solr, GitHub, Vagrant, Cucumber, Codeship

Paradigms

Behavior-driven Development (BDD), Agile Software Development, Test-driven Development (TDD)

Languages

Ruby, IDL, CoffeeScript, Haml, CSS, JavaScript, HTML

Libraries/APIs

Devise, Ruby on Rails API, Selenium WebDriver, YouTube API, React, Facebook API, Sidekiq, jQuery, Resque, Pundit

Platforms

Linux, Heroku, Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Storage

PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch, MySQL

Other

Monte Carlo, Headless Software, eCompliance

1981 - 1986

Master's Degree and Doctorate in Engineering Applied Science, Plasma Physics

University of California - Davis, California

1979 - 1981

Bachelor's Degree in Physics, Mathematics, Asian Studies

Brigham Young University - Provo, UT

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