David Baumgold
Verified Expert in Engineering
Open Source Developer
David is a web developer who is truly full-stack. Front-end JavaScript, API integration, web application programming, databases, server administration, security, and automated testing fall into his wheelhouse. He prefers to work in Python when possible and has extensive experience with Django and Flask on the back end. On the front-end, he's a React wiz and uses Redux and GraphQL to build complex, dynamic browser-based applications.
Portfolio
Experience
Availability
Preferred Environment
GitLab, GitHub, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), MacOS, Mapbox
The most amazing...
...project I've worked on is an extension for the Flask web framework which makes OAuth a snap—what usually takes 200+ lines of code can be done in ten.
Work Experience
Senior Full-stack Developer
Cassini Technologies
- Rearchitected the front-end system to use modern, open-source components, like React Router.
- Organized back-end codebase, increasing maintainability, and automated test coverage.
- Worked with customer representatives to design, architect, and build new features to fit their needs.
Senior Full-stack Developer
Ribbon Home
- Converted a homegrown front-end component library to an open-source Chakra UI component library.
- Refactored a database representation of core data to improve the consistency and reliability of database queries.
- Mentored junior developers to help them learn how to write reliable code with automated tests.
Senior Software Developer
Nylas
- Shipped products that earned millions of dollars in ARR.
- Migrated a large codebase from Python 2 to Python 3.
- Mentored other junior developers on my team by reviewing their code and answering questions.
- Demonstrated and presented best practices for faster, high-quality development.
Senior Front-end Developer
Impraise
- Led a small team to develop a dynamic React-based front-end for the Impraise web application.
- Assisted in migrating from a legacy REST-based backend to one based on GraphQL.
- Mentored other developers in how to properly use GraphQL.
Web Developer
MIT Office of Digital Learning
- Worked in a team to develop an interactive website where MOOC learners could find information about their courses.
- Created a new code base to replace a legacy website for hosting video files. The new code base used AWS for hosting and transcoding video files.
- Wrote automated tests in Python (pytest framework) and React (Enzyme framework).
- Assisted in prioritizing features, based on feedback from users and past experience.
- Assisted in running Scrum meetings and increased team productivity.
Software Developer | Developer Advocate
edX
- Led the development of major components of the Open edX course management system.
- Organized the open source community around Open edX and facilitated communication and collaboration among community members.
- Created automated tools to increase visibility and efficiency in planning and executing development work.
- Assisted in planning and architecting components of the Open edX system.
- Ran the release process for the Open edX software—testing the release candidates and organizing bug fixes as necessary.
Software Engineer
CloudLock
- Assisted with a major architectural restructuring to work with App Engine’s eventually-consistent data store.
- Increased developer productivity through communication, education, tooling, and automated testing.
- Advocated for more reliable development techniques, such as automated testing.
- Provided constructive criticism to help my coworkers improve the quality of their code.
- Refactored major components of the application to be more maintainable and performant.
Software Engineer
TripAdvisor
- Fixed UI bugs as reported by customers.
- Wrote and debugged data loaders for various airlines.
- Implemented features based on data-driven prioritization.
- Manually tested and verified changes, both for myself and my coworkers.
Junior Systems Administrator (Guru)
Brandeis University Computer Science Department
- Handled the installation and updates for all servers and desktop workstations owned by the computer science department.
- Assisted students and faculty with routine account maintenance, such as password resets.
- Created RPM packages for existing software for the ease of installation and management.
- Tracked, prioritized, and resolved support requests from the faculty.
- Scripted and automated many routine tasks associated with server management, including patching security vulnerabilities.
Experience
Flask-Dance
https://github.com/singingwolfboy/flask-danceThis allows you to build a website that allows logging in with Facebook, Google, Twitter, GitHub, and many other websites—all in about 20 lines of code.
N-queens Problem Solution
https://github.com/singingwolfboy/nqueens/blob/master/nqueens.pyBot for Integrating GitHub and JIRA
https://github.com/edx/openedx-webhooksMany people spent many tedious hours keeping these two websites in sync, so I wrote a bot to do so automatically. This bot listens for activity on GitHub pull requests and records it in linked JIRA issues. It also listens for when JIRA issues change state and updates the state on linked GitHub pull requests.
Skills
Languages
TypeScript, CSS, HTML, ECMAScript (ES6), JavaScript, Python 3, Python, PHP, SQL, Java, Bash Script, GraphQL
Frameworks
Nose, Flask, Django, Django REST Framework, Bootstrap 3, Redux, Sphinx Documentation Generator, Bootstrap, Jasmine
Libraries/APIs
Moment.js, SQLAlchemy, REST APIs, jQuery, Backbone.js, React, Node.js, Lodash, Pydantic, React Router, Playwright
Tools
GitHub, Git, Pytest, Homebrew, Apt-get, Travis CI, Docker Compose, NGINX, GitLab, React Apollo, Vim Text Editor, Babel, Webpack
Paradigms
Automated Testing, Scrum, Functional Programming
Platforms
Linux, Open edX, MacOS, Google App Engine, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Docker, Amazon EC2, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Mapbox
Storage
Amazon S3 (AWS S3), PostgreSQL, MySQL
Other
Code Review, Python Mockups, Web App Security, Regular Expressions, SSH, Tech Conferences, Open Source, Technical Documentation, Conference Speaking, APIs, Back-end Development, Architecture, Web Development, Full-stack, FastAPI, Server Security, Server Administration, Enzyme, Security, EdX, Wagtail CMS, Developer Relations, Technical Training, Front-end Development, Web Applications, Linux Server Administration, GitHub Actions, Apollo, Team Leadership, Development
Education
Bachelor's Degree in Psychology
Brandeis University - Waltham, MA, USA
Master's Degree in Computer Science
Brandeis University - Waltham, MA, USA
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