Chris is available for hire

Chris Kowalski

Verified Expert in Engineering

Scala Developer

Location

Kraków, Poland

Toptal Member Since

May 6, 2014

Chris started coding in the 90s with IBM PC/AT. He's written apps using a broad variety of programming languages running on small embedded systems and also worked on large multilayer cloud-powered solutions. He's worked with companies of all sizes as well as NGOs as a full-stack developer, DevOps engineer, server/DB administrator, team leader, and engineering manager. He prides himself on his attention to detail.

Linux Amazon Web Services (AWS)Debian Linux Jira HTML5 Java CSS PHP Spring Scala Heroku MongoDB AngularJS Kubernetes Payment Processing

Portfolio

NGO Stowarzyszenie Pomocy Krolikom

Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby

Freelance

JavaScript, HTML5, Java, PostgreSQL, PHP, Play Framework, Scala

Novem

CSS, JavaScript, PHP

Experience

Amazon Web Services (AWS) - 12 years Java - 9 years Scala - 5 years

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

JVM

The most amazing...

...thing in software is open source whenever applicable.

Work Experience

Web Developer

2011 - 2015

NGO Stowarzyszenie Pomocy Krolikom

Worked on various systems used in the NGO, such as Google Apps suite, RoR website, PHP-powered forums, and server stack.

Technologies: Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby

Developer

2011 - 2014

Freelance

Developed multiple successful projects over several years.
Worked with clients all around the globe.
Implemented tools as needed to decrease development time and to improve quality.

Technologies: JavaScript, HTML5, Java, PostgreSQL, PHP, Play Framework, Scala

Advertisement Solutions Programmer

2009 - 2011

Novem

Designed and developed web and mobile applications.
Designed and optimized databases.
Developed landing pages for large companies, including mobile operators, insurance companies, and banks—Play Mobile, BZWBK, Aviva, BGŻ, BP, FMBANK, and more.
Worked on a large volume of mailings.
Integrated Web API for different providers.
Developed affiliate and advertiser dashboards.

Technologies: CSS, JavaScript, PHP

Hosting Programmer/Administrator

2008 - 2009

Wirtuale.pl

Worked on the development of an automated hosting platform.
Integrated domain registration APIs with the system.
Worked on integrating a Parallels stack with company requirements.
Administered a server environment.
Developed PHP applications.
Wrote PERL plugins for Parallels Business Automation.

Technologies: APIs, PHP

Full stack Developer

2007 - 2008

CANEA

Developed web applications in PHP and JavaScript. Administered web servers.
Wrote shell scripts to automate background processing tasks.
Worked on server migration. Worked on PHP 4 to PHP 5 migrations.

Technologies: CSS, JavaScript, PHP

Experience

ESW Capital

https://www.eswcapital.com/

As a full-stack developer team lead and software engineering manager, I worked on the applicant tracking system. My responsibilities were team management, software development, hiring, and the DevOps role.

Heavy Equipment Monitoring Application

http://www.rovitracker.com/

A cloud-based Internet of Things (IoT) solution for mining and heavy equipment rental companies. The project was done with Play framework development and AWS. I started as a software developer and took on a DevOps role.

Medical Equipment Price Database

http://www.medicalpriceonline.com/

Worked as a lead full-stack developer on an online price comparison service focused on professional-grade medical equipment. Developed web crawler collecting data from various sites and applications to display this dataset.

Skills

Languages

HTML5, Java, PHP, Scala, CSS, JavaScript, Python

Frameworks

Spring, Play Framework, AngularJS

Tools

Apache HTTP Server, Jira

Paradigms

REST, Microservices, DevOps

Platforms

Amazon Web Services (AWS), Heroku, Debian Linux, Linux, Kubernetes, Docker, Oracle, JVM

Storage

MongoDB, PostgreSQL

Other

Unix Shell Scripting, Payment APIs, Payment Posting, APIs, Hiring, eBay, Big Data, Web Crawlers, Payment Processing

Education

2008 - 2014

Master's Degree in Computer Science

AGH Technical University - Cracow

2004 - 2008

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science

Kielce Technical University - Kielce, Poland

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