Brian Quinn

An award-winning iOS app to help people drink less, while also collecting data for science. It was featured by Adrian Chiles on BBC TV5. DrinkLess was built on Swift and Objective-C over a Node.js/ParseSDK/MongoDB back end. I rescued the v1 version from a failed development cycle and have developed features and optimized code for over six years. I also consult on UX and feature viability and perform data analysis on five million back-end records.

2Be 2Be is an MVP under development to facilitate ticketed online streaming akin to Twitch and Eventbrite. I built a scalable, high-fidelity broadcast streaming platform on Nginx, which interfaces with a Ruby-on-Rails API and front end. The system architecture is configured via Docker Compose and deployed to DigitalOcean via Kubernetes. I also created the initial design using Canva and Material Design for Bootstrap. The site includes a streamer interface built in React, customized analytics, and eCommerce.

Early-stage planning and prototyping for building a social network based around food by famous restauranteur, Sir Alan Yau (Wagamama, Hakkasan). I led a small planning team through strategic and detailed discussions around UX, viral business strategy, systems architecture, and design language. I also constructed a natural language bot for the landing page and the scaffolding for the API (RoR) and cross-platform app (React Native).

Mega Events runs a number of large UK festivals. Their Ruby-on-Rails, React, and React Native infrastructure involves high-volume, event-driven, server-side architecture with sophisticated analytics and CRM features.

On the Rails/website side, I was responsible for extending the multi-site functionality, optimizing existing code, implementing new features, and creating DevOps and SysOps tools and documentation. I, along with another developer, worked on the cross-platform app using React Native. I specialized in the iOS side.

Currently, I am leading the project (part-time) to rebuild the multi-site front end in React.

Pointr is a rapidly growing indoor location startup that produces an SDK for mobile, web, and kiosk systems that are used by major airports, government buildings, and large commercial spaces around the world. They utilize patented data and AI algorithms to create precise positioning from Bluetooth beacons and translate this into 2D maps and 3D augmented reality (AR) experiences, which I pioneered.

I was initially contracted to manage the growing Turkey-based development team and to fix and optimize some performant C++ concurrency code. To do this, I developed a novel Git-based workflow (akin to GitFlow) to organize many developers working on three independent but version-connected codebases: iOS, Android, and shared C++ SDKs.

I then initiated the project to create a React Native cross-platform solution for the SDK and was the lead developer in building the beta. Later, I began work on an AR indoor navigation feature. Along the way, I developed additional AI tracking algorithms to handle the precision requirements of AR. These innovations are now patent pending.

Motion Picture Company (MPC) brought me in as the iOS team leader to develop a new app for the latest season of the hit TV show, X Factor. The app enabled users to video themselves lip-syncing over popular songs. The videos were then processed by compositing servers to produce high-definition music video clips. Select user videos were featured during commercial breaks. This was a high-profile project with a tight deadline and national exposure.

GlassEye engaged me to architect and develop this visually rich and high-scale web technology for Universal's movie promotion for The World's End. I chose a React/Node/Redis-based stack on Heroku for its speed, scalability, and ease of deployment.

The system also comprised a web front end with multiple scenes, CSS-based animations, and a rich user interface. In addition, it had to work cross-browser and cross-platform mobile with uncompromising accuracy and user-friendliness.

The front-end application communicated with a third-party image compositing API to generate social media banners and graphics for the user to download. The full-stack application utilized Redis to coordinate the complex communication across the APIs, back end, front end, and multiple web and worker nodes on Heroku.

AC Sabre is a gestural musical instrument with professional features for iOS devices. As an amalgamation of many technical and visual skills, the interface is a beautifully simple yet feature-laden UX work of art. It utilizes OpenGL and custom GLSL shaders for the real-time movement feedback and lighting effects.

Behind the scenes are real-time, high-accuracy data streaming over Bluetooth; event-driven architecture in Swift and Objective-C; and DSP audio processing in C++. The companion app, AC Central, allows auto-configured wireless connections to other iOS devices for networked play.

SapientNitro is one of the largest global media organizations. They engaged me on behalf of the UK bank, NatWest, to co-develop prototypes for the "Future of Banking." This involved UX planning, rapid development of custom user interfaces, and integration with back-end systems. The work later received the Cannes Gold award for Best Mobile Innovation.

Bar Pass was part of the prestigious AB InBev's 100+ Accelerator and was one of the first apps to facilitate app-based pre-paying for drinks and food at events and venues.

I was contracted to lead a small development team to build the four-tier system consisting of a Ruby-on-Rails-based eCommerce CMS and API, user-side native iOS app, and a Backbone.js/PhoneGap-based single-page JavaScript application.

The project launched successfully at the Queens Club Tennis Championship at Wimbledon.

Octer (formerly Shareight) held the record for the fastest Seedrs investment round ever, raising over £1 million in two weeks. Octer's platform is a powerful aggregator of high street products, and its numerous platforms (mobile and web) allow users to search across brands and find the best prices.

I was initially engaged to co-design the UX and build Octer's v2 iOS app. Later, I worked on the design and implementation of a Python/Scikit machine learning model to facilitate targeted advertising.