Jeff is available for hire
Hire JeffJeff Davidson
Verified Expert in Engineering
IT Leader and Full-stack Developer
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Toptal member since November 9, 2020
Bio
Jeff has been passionate about technology since designing and building his first working computer at age twelve. Now, he's a lead developer and tech manager, working primarily with RoR, Python, Django, Flask, Node.js, and React. Jeff has worked for clients such as NBCUniversal, the Library of Congress, The Moth, and the Publicis Groupe. His formal education includes an MS in computer science from Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA.
Portfolio
Reconstruction US Inc.
Python, Django, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Flask...
Payne Training Solutions LLC dba All In PM Prep
Node.js, APIs, GitHub, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Webpack, Team Leadership, Startups...
Preston Financial LLC
Algorithmic Trading, Trading, Python, Interactive Brokers API, Algorithms...
Experience
Availability
Part-time
Preferred Environment
Docker, Redis, PostgreSQL, Django, Node.js, React, Python, Ruby on Rails (RoR)
The most amazing...
...project I've worked on was Honeyshed for the Publicis Groupe—think QVC meets MTV on the internet. As CTO, I played with a bunch of cool video technologies.
Work Experience
Python Full-stack Engineer
2023 - PRESENT
Reconstruction US Inc.
- Rebuilt a Python Streamlit prototype using Next.js 13.4 and deployed to Vercel and Firebase.
- Recommended and implemented the onboarding of a value-added reseller for the cloud hosting platform.
- Worked closely with the CEO, a world-renowned Harvard economics professor, the product owner, and a team of 8-10 different stakeholders to build the site.
Technologies: Python, Django, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Flask, Startups, Code Review, Cross-platform, FastAPI, Amazon Cognito, Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS), Full-stack Development, ETL, Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS), Redshift, Amazon DynamoDB, NoSQL, Data Analysis, Third-party APIs, User Interface (UI), Webflow, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Vanilla JS, OpenAI, OpenAI GPT-3 API
Back-end Developer
2023 - PRESENT
Payne Training Solutions LLC dba All In PM Prep
- Handled DevOps for this Next.js web site using Vercel for deployment and Firebase for data storage.
- Took advantage of new app routing and React Server Actions that came with Next.js 13.4.
- Suggested several features that the owner of the project had not considered that are currently being implemented.
Technologies: Node.js, APIs, GitHub, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Webpack, Team Leadership, Startups, Code Review, Cross-platform, Amazon Cognito, Full-stack Development, ETL, NoSQL, Data Analysis, Third-party APIs, User Interface (UI), Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Vanilla JS, Vue
Software Developer
2024 - 2024
Preston Financial LLC
- Collaborated with the founder of this hedge fund to develop an options strategy using advanced statistical methods.
- Built a backtesting testbed to test trading hypotheses.
- Developed an interactive front end with Steamlit, allowing researchers to modify strategies and view real-time results.
Technologies: Algorithmic Trading, Trading, Python, Interactive Brokers API, Algorithms, Security, Finance
MVP Developer (via Toptal)
2023 - 2024
Hearst - Technology
- Built a testbed for evaluating the use of LLMs to examine medical records and confirm that conditions met insurance company guidelines.
- Evaluated a wide range of LLMs to find the appropriate fit. Got a great overview of the current offerings by all major companies.
- Used OpenAI models deployed to a private Azure cloud.
Technologies: Python, Artificial Intelligence (AI), AI Programming, Data Scientist
Python Full-stack Engineer
2023 - 2023
Reconstruction US Inc.
- Created multiple versions of the same website using various technologies as requirements shifted and changed.
- Used ChatGPT to create lesson plans from user input.
- Worked with the design team to implement designs from Figma.
Technologies: Python, Django, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Flask, FastAPI, Next.js, AWS Amplify, Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS), Full-stack Development, ETL, Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS), NoSQL, Data Analysis, Third-party APIs, User Interface (UI), Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Vanilla JS, OpenAI, OpenAI GPT-3 API
Senior Python Developer
2023 - 2023
The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, INC (CLINIC)
- Built a web scraper to pull in data from the Department of Justice web site.
- Turned the work around that was required very quickly.
- Used innovative, custom-created machine learning algorithms.
Technologies: Web Scraping, Python, PDF Scraping, Scraping, Startups, Code Review, Cross-platform, Full-stack Development, ETL, Data Analysis, Third-party APIs, User Interface (UI), Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Vanilla JS
Chief Technology Officer
2021 - 2023
mathisit inc.
- Developed computer vision learning models to recognize and classify sports trading cards and NLP models to parse card descriptions from user input.
- Implemented Elasticsearch for both search and NoSQL storage.
- Created a full suite of APIs for marketplace functionality.
- Managed on-shore and off-shore front-end, back-end, and mobile teams.
- Handled all DevOps using the Google Cloud Platform and made extensive use of Kubernetes, Pub/Sub, Cloud SQL, and Google Cloud Storage.
Technologies: Social Media APIs, Ruby on Rails (RoR), REST APIs, Ruby, React, GitLab, Jira, Kubernetes, PostgreSQL, Google Cloud, Elasticsearch, APIs, Go, MySQL, Web Scraping, Python, Architecture, JavaScript, Project Management, Databases, Software Architecture, Business Analysis, SQL, Technical Leadership, Systems Analysis, Microservices, Back-end, NestJS, No-code Development, Membership Sites, TypeScript, Software Development Management, GraphQL, Mapbox, AWS Amplify, CSS, React Native, HTML5, AWS Lambda, Serverless, Lambda Functions, GitHub, Database Design, Project Scoping, Mentorship, Agile, Software Troubleshooting, Jenkins, Cloud, Front-end, DNS, Data Architecture, Full-stack, Web Development, Mobile Development, Next.js, Tailwind CSS, Express.js, API Integration, HTML, Bootstrap, Server-side Rendering (SSR), MongoDB, Data Scraping, Scraping, Amazon RDS, Amazon EC2, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Crypto, Redux, Visualization, Data Science, Data Visualization, Styled-components, Automated Testing, Single Sign-on (SSO), CI/CD Pipelines, OAuth, Retool, DB, Git, Twilio, Cloud Native, Networking, Web Platforms, Microservices Architecture, Cloud Infrastructure, Rust, OpenAI GPT-4 API, API Development, HTTPS, Apollo, Webpack 4, Automation, DevOps, Leadership, Requirements Analysis, Mathematics, System Architecture, SaaS, ChatGPT, Mobile, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Unit Testing, Software Design, Performance, Integration, Scalability, Beautiful Soup, Scrapy, CTO, Serverless Architecture, AWS AppSync, AWS CloudFormation, Amazon Cognito User Pools, Vercel, Webpack, Team Leadership, Startups, Code Review, Cross-platform, Confluence, Charts, Dashboards, Graphs, D3.js, Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS), Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS), Full-stack Development, ETL, NoSQL, Data Analysis, Third-party APIs, User Interface (UI), Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Vanilla JS, Stripe, Stripe API, Stripe Payments, AI Programming, Data Scientist
Full-stack Ruby Developer
2021 - 2021
Inheritance Funding Company, Inc
- Replaced the Angular front end with a modern React interface.
- Worked closely with the finance team to update workflows.
- Migrated data storage from on-premise servers to Azure cloud.
Technologies: Ruby, APIs, MySQL, Architecture, JavaScript, Project Management, Databases, Software Architecture, Business Analysis, SQL, Technical Leadership, Systems Analysis, Microservices, Back-end, Project Consultancy, Azure, Software Development Management, CSS, HTML5, GitHub, Database Design, Project Scoping, Mentorship, Agile, Software Troubleshooting, Cloud, Front-end, DNS, Data Architecture, Full-stack, Web Development, Mobile Development, Express.js, API Integration, HTML, Bootstrap, Server-side Rendering (SSR), Amazon RDS, Amazon EC2, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Styled-components, Automated Testing, Single Sign-on (SSO), CI/CD Pipelines, OAuth, DB, Git, Twilio, Cloud Native, Networking, Web Platforms, Microservices Architecture, Cloud Infrastructure, API Development, HTTPS, Apollo, Webpack 4, Automation, DevOps, Leadership, Requirements Analysis, Mathematics, System Architecture, SaaS, Mobile, Unit Testing, Software Design, Performance, Integration, Scalability, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Beautiful Soup, Serverless Architecture, Webpack, Team Leadership, Startups, Code Review, Cross-platform, Large Data Sets, Big Data, Charts, Dashboards, Graphs, D3.js, Full-stack Development, ETL, Data Analysis, Third-party APIs, User Interface (UI), Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Vanilla JS
Lead Software Engineer
2020 - 2020
Creative Computing Los Angeles
- Designed and built an assignment tracking platform for the Los Angeles Times foreign desk.
- Built Post-Up, a two-way marketplace and scheduler for the commercial production industry.
- Developed Gathr, a virtual meeting platform for a well-known LA restaurant development group (in progress).
Technologies: React, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Amazon Web Services (AWS), APIs, MySQL, Python, Architecture, JavaScript, Project Management, Databases, Software Architecture, Business Analysis, SQL, Technical Leadership, Systems Analysis, Microservices, Back-end, Project Consultancy, Software Development Management, HTML5 Animations, CSS, HTML5, AWS Lambda, Serverless, Lambda Functions, CircleCI, GitHub, Database Design, Project Scoping, Mentorship, Agile, Software Troubleshooting, Cloud, Front-end, DNS, Data Architecture, Full-stack, Web Development, Mobile Development, Next.js, Remix, Express.js, API Integration, HTML, Bootstrap, Amazon RDS, Amazon EC2, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Redux, Visualization, Data Science, Data Visualization, Styled-components, Automated Testing, Single Sign-on (SSO), CI/CD Pipelines, OAuth, DB, Git, Cloud Native, Networking, Web Platforms, Microservices Architecture, Cloud Infrastructure, API Development, HTTPS, Apollo, Webpack 4, Automation, DevOps, Leadership, Requirements Analysis, Mathematics, System Architecture, SaaS, Mobile, Unit Testing, WebRTC, Software Design, Performance, Integration, Scalability, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Beautiful Soup, Serverless Architecture, Webpack, Team Leadership, Startups, Code Review, Cross-platform, Big Data, Full-stack Development, ETL, Data Analysis, Third-party APIs, User Interface (UI), Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Vanilla JS
Senior Portfolio Manager
2010 - 2020
Merrill Lynch Fenner and Smith / Bank of America
- Worked with a team that manages approximately $900 million in assets.
- Acted as a primary financial planner for the team and created financial plans for approximately 100 clients.
- Developed an investment program for high-net-worth individuals that included hedge funds, private equity, and alternative investments and worked with outside advisors to create a rolling GRAT program.
- Placed several clients into Merrill Lynch's forestry groups portfolio, which is an excellent non-correlated asset (for those that can afford it!).
Technologies: Finance, Financing, Investments, Impact Investing, Alternative Investments, Private Equity, Private Placements, Private Banking, Equity Investment, Hedge Funds, Investment Funds, Data Analysis
Lead Software Engineer
2018 - 2019
Wasserman Media
- Led a team of developers working on data engineering projects.
- Tracked and fixed bugs in software that was inherited in a corporate acquisition.
- Interfaced with athlete clients to enhance their social media presence.
Technologies: Ruby on Rails (RoR), Amazon Web Services (AWS), APIs, MySQL, Python, Architecture, JavaScript, Project Management, Databases, Software Architecture, Business Analysis, SQL, Technical Leadership, Systems Analysis, Microservices, Back-end, No-code Development, Project Consultancy, Software Development Management, CSS, HTML5, AWS Lambda, Lambda Functions, GitHub, Database Design, Project Scoping, Mentorship, Agile, Software Troubleshooting, Cloud, Front-end, DNS, Data Architecture, Full-stack, Web Development, Mobile Development, API Integration, HTML, Bootstrap, Amazon RDS, Amazon EC2, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Visualization, Data Science, Data Visualization, Styled-components, Automated Testing, Single Sign-on (SSO), CI/CD Pipelines, OAuth, DB, Git, Cloud Native, Networking, Web Platforms, Microservices Architecture, Cloud Infrastructure, API Development, HTTPS, Webpack 4, DevOps, Leadership, Requirements Analysis, Mathematics, System Architecture, SaaS, Unit Testing, Software Design, Performance, Integration, Scalability, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Beautiful Soup, Startups, Code Review, Heroku, Cross-platform, Large Data Sets, Charts, Dashboards, Graphs, D3.js, Facebook API, Google API, Full-stack Development, ETL, Data Analysis, Third-party APIs, User Interface (UI), Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Sidekiq, Vanilla JS, Algolia
Lead Software Engineer
2009 - 2017
Very Advanced Technologies
- Assembled and oversaw software development teams for all advanced projects.
- Coded the back end of NBCUniversal's career website using PHP.
- Created Bridge-Partner, a matching system for professional bridge players, using Python and Django.
- Completed a digital asset management system for the Bob Hope Foundation and the Library of Congress, using Ruby on Rails and React.
Technologies: Django, Node.js, PHP, Ruby on Rails (RoR), APIs, MySQL, Python, Architecture, JavaScript, Project Management, Databases, Software Architecture, Business Analysis, SQL, Technical Leadership, Systems Analysis, Microservices, Back-end, Video Streaming, Content Management Systems (CMS), Project Consultancy, Software Development Management, CSS, HTML5, GitHub, Database Design, Project Scoping, Mentorship, Agile, Software Troubleshooting, Cloud, Front-end, WordPress, DNS, Data Architecture, Internet of Things (IoT), Full-stack, Web Development, Mobile Development, Express.js, API Integration, HTML, Bootstrap, Server-side Rendering (SSR), Amazon RDS, Amazon EC2, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Redux, Visualization, Data Science, Data Visualization, Styled-components, Automated Testing, Single Sign-on (SSO), CI/CD Pipelines, OAuth, DB, Git, Cloud Native, Java, Networking, Web Platforms, Microservices Architecture, Cloud Infrastructure, API Development, HTTPS, Webpack 4, DevOps, Leadership, Requirements Analysis, Mathematics, System Architecture, SaaS, Unit Testing, Software Design, Performance, Integration, Scalability, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Beautiful Soup, C++, Startups, Code Review, Cross-platform, Full-stack Development, ETL, Data Analysis, Third-party APIs, User Interface (UI), Minimum Viable Product (MVP), jQuery, Vanilla JS
Chief Technology Officer | Chief Operating Officer
2007 - 2009
Publicis Groupe - Honeyshed
- Led the creation of the Honeyshed web application with multiple vendors.
- Managed a team with a high-watermark headcount of 90+ employees.
- Oversaw the digital marketing campaign that was spearheaded by the sister agency, Digitas.
- Coded the CMS for Honeyshed.com, written with PHP and Flash.
Technologies: PHP, APIs, MySQL, Python, Architecture, JavaScript, Project Management, Databases, Software Architecture, Business Analysis, SQL, Technical Leadership, Systems Analysis, Microservices, Back-end, Video Streaming, Content Management Systems (CMS), Software Development Management, CSS, HTML5, GitHub, Database Design, Project Scoping, Mentorship, Agile, Software Troubleshooting, Cloud, Front-end, DNS, Data Architecture, Full-stack, Web Development, Mobile Development, FFmpeg, API Integration, HTML, Bootstrap, Amazon RDS, Amazon EC2, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Styled-components, Automated Testing, Single Sign-on (SSO), CI/CD Pipelines, OAuth, DB, Git, Networking, Web Platforms, Microservices Architecture, Cloud Infrastructure, API Development, HTTPS, Webpack 4, DevOps, Leadership, Requirements Analysis, Mathematics, System Architecture, SaaS, Unit Testing, Software Design, Performance, Integration, Scalability, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Beautiful Soup, CTO, Startups, Code Review, Cross-platform, Full-stack Development, ETL, Third-party APIs, User Interface (UI), Minimum Viable Product (MVP), jQuery, Vanilla JS
Consultant
2005 - 2007
Focus Advisory Services
- Created cash flow, valuation, and participation models for media companies and wrote business plans for motion picture production and distribution companies, television channel start-ups, comic book publishers, and videogame producers.
- Created a suite of software tools for the business in Python, R, and VBA.
- Worked with clients to gather requirements for upcoming engagements.
Technologies: Alternative Investments, Excel VBA, Venture Capital, Private Equity, Full-stack Development
Experience
NBCUniversal Careers
https://www.nbcunicareers.com/Used Drupal to build the back end for the career site for media conglomerate NBCUniversal. The front end was designed by Blitz Marketing. The site replaced the Brass Ring site that had been used for years prior and had become outdated.
StudFinder
StudFinder is a dating app directed at women who are sick of regular dating apps and want to meet men interested in older, wealthier women. The site was built from scratch with a React front end, Firebase/GCP back end, and Flutter for the mobile component.
Bob Hope Foundation Internal Tool
This project was used to organize the voluminous data kept during the lifetime of celebrity Bob Hope. It contained photos, audio and video recordings, scripts, calendars, etc., in a manner that was easily accessible for researchers at the Library of Congress to use when researching Mr. Hope's life and his contemporaries.
BridgePartner
This site was built with a Python back end using the Django framework and JavaScript on the front end. The client had difficulty finding a partner at his level to play with him when his regular partners were not available. The issue was finding a nice way to say no to those who might want to play but weren't up to snuff. The site presents users with a list of club members and allows them to rank the members by desirability. If a partner is needed, they could submit a request on the site, and a match would be made if the desired player is available.
Education
2016 - 2018
Master's Degree in Computer Science
Georgia Institute of Technology - Atlanta, GA, USA
2004 - 2006
MBA in Business Administration
University of California, Los Angeles - Los Angeles, CA, USA
Certifications
NOVEMBER 2015 - PRESENT
Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board)
JANUARY 2011 - PRESENT
Series 66
FINRA
JANUARY 2011 - PRESENT
Series 7– General Securities Representative
FINRA
Skills
Libraries/APIs
Node.js, Social Media APIs, REST APIs, API Development, Beautiful Soup, Facebook API, Google API, Sidekiq, jQuery, React, AWS Amplify, FFmpeg, WebRTC, D3.js, Stripe, Stripe API, Vue, Interactive Brokers API
Tools
GitHub, Git, Confluence, Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS), Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS), Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS), GitLab, CircleCI, Jenkins, Retool, Webpack 4, ChatGPT, AWS AppSync, AWS CloudFormation, Webpack 3, Webpack, Amazon Cognito, Jira
Languages
Python, JavaScript, HTML, TypeScript, SQL, Ruby, HTML5, C++, GraphQL, CSS, Go, Snowflake, Java, Rust, JavaScript 6, PHP, C#, CSS3, Excel VBA, R
Frameworks
Ruby on Rails (RoR), Express.js, Bootstrap, Vanilla JS, Django, Flask, Next.js, Tailwind CSS, NestJS, React Native, Remix, Redux, Scrapy, Flutter
Paradigms
Management, Database Design, Agile, Mobile Development, Automated Testing, Microservices Architecture, Automation, DevOps, Requirements Analysis, Unit Testing, Serverless Architecture, Cross-platform, ETL, Microservices
Platforms
Docker, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Amazon EC2, Cloud Native, AWS Lambda, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Kubernetes, Azure, Mapbox, WordPress, Twilio, Firebase, Mobile, Vercel, Heroku, Webflow, Drupal, Algolia
Storage
Google Cloud Storage, Google Cloud SQL, MySQL, Databases, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), DB, Redshift, Amazon DynamoDB, NoSQL, PostgreSQL, Google Cloud, Elasticsearch, MongoDB, Redis
Industry Expertise
Project Management
Other
Investments, Financial Modeling, Planning, APIs, Fintech, API Integration, Google Cloud Build, Finance, JSON REST APIs, Full-stack, Web Scraping, Software Architecture, Business Analysis, Technical Leadership, Systems Analysis, Data Scraping, RESTful Web Services, Back-end, No-code Development, Content Management Systems (CMS), Project Consultancy, Membership Sites, Software Development Management, Serverless, Lambda Functions, Project Scoping, Mentorship, Software Troubleshooting, Cloud, Front-end, DNS, Data Architecture, Web Development, Scraping, Amazon RDS, Trading, Stock Trading, Stock Analysis, Visualization, Data Science, Data Visualization, Styled-components, Single Sign-on (SSO), CI/CD Pipelines, OAuth, Networking, Web Platforms, Cloud Infrastructure, HTTPS, Leadership, Mathematical Finance, SaaS, Software Design, Performance, Integration, Scalability, CTO, Impact Investing, Equity Investment, Investment Funds, Team Leadership, Startups, Code Review, Full-stack Development, Data Analysis, Third-party APIs, User Interface (UI), Minimum Viable Product (MVP), OpenAI, OpenAI GPT-3 API, Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Operations, Architecture, Video Streaming, HTML5 Animations, Internet of Things (IoT), Server-side Rendering (SSR), Crypto, Prediction Markets, OpenAI GPT-4 API, Apollo, Mathematics, System Architecture, Amazon Cognito User Pools, Alternative Investments, Private Equity, Private Placements, Private Banking, Hedge Funds, FastAPI, Large Data Sets, Big Data, Charts, Dashboards, Graphs, Stripe Payments, AI Programming, Data Scientist, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing (NLP), PDF Scraping, Financing, Venture Capital, Algorithmic Trading, Security
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