Ken Franklin, Developer in Tampa, FL, United States
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Ken Franklin

Verified Expert  in Engineering

Software Developer

Location
Tampa, FL, United States
Toptal Member Since
July 21, 2016

Ken is a highly motivated and professional developer with 30 years of experience in the production of commercial desktop applications. Over the past seven years, he has focused on iOS apps, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. He's been the sole engineer on over 25 commercial-quality apps. He delivers.

Portfolio

Gnasher Mobilesoft
iOS, Swift, Objective-C, SQLite, HTTP, REST, JSON, RealmSwift, Core Data...
Yuza Mobile
iOS, Objective-C, Debugging, Fabric, Instruments
America Online (AOL)
MacOS, C++, Debugging

Experience

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

Objective-C, Swift, Skype, Slack, Git, iOS, Xcode

The most amazing...

...algorithm I've developed is PhotoWave. Created for the photobook product POPSA, it generates a natural-looking layout with a given set of disparate photos.

Work Experience

CEO

2009 - PRESENT
Gnasher Mobilesoft
  • Involved in the following:. • Bespoke PDF management/editing. • Bespoke text document management/editing. • Blackjack Apprenticeship). #1 in the App Store. • HomeMD, a medical televise app. • HitchPin is an agriculture-based marketplace. • Bespoke offline mail app.
  • Created an algorithm that used AI to layout a phonebook automatically by analyzing the photos for orientation, color, subject matter, date, face recognition, etc.
  • Built and maintained a bespoke PDF editor and management application and a note-taking app like EverNote.
Technologies: iOS, Swift, Objective-C, SQLite, HTTP, REST, JSON, RealmSwift, Core Data, Alamofire, Stripe, StoreKit, Dropbox API, CloudKit, Model View ViewModel (MVVM), RxSwift, HTML, WebSockets, iOS SDK, SQLiteManager, SQL, Debugging, Fabric, Instruments, JavaScript, Firebase

Director of Software

2010 - 2017
Yuza Mobile
  • Developed and delivered 24 applications as the primary engineer. Many of these apps were featured by Apple and received excellent reviews.
  • Made use of augmented reality for a product developed for Ferrari.
  • Developed reusable libraries to speed development.
Technologies: iOS, Objective-C, Debugging, Fabric, Instruments

Senior Technical Manager

1996 - 1999
America Online (AOL)
  • Provided technical leadership for AOL's Macintosh client.
  • Developed a framework to integrate browser into client.
  • Provided oversight for support calls and reported to executive leadership regarding this.
Technologies: MacOS, C++, Debugging

Chief Technical Officer

1993 - 1996
Pixel Technologies
  • Co-founded the company.
  • Built Mac versions of games.
  • Led the team on development tasks.
Technologies: Windows, MacOS, Debugging

Senior Software Engineer

1991 - 1993
IBM
  • Led the development of IBM Word.
Technologies: C++, Debugging

Computer Operator

1987 - 1990
USAF
  • Managed a computer network for the Air Force Global Weather Central in Omaha, Nebraska. Was granted Top Secret/CSI clearance.
Technologies: VMS, Debugging

HitchPin

https://www.hitchpin.com
An Uber-like service where farmers can offer services and products to other farmers who may have expensive assets sitting idle.

HomeMD

https://homemd.ca
HomeMD is a service wherein you can schedule a physician. It is a very large project, as can be seen from the website. I was the sole developer and initiated the development of this startup's iOS app in Swift.

HUVR Data

HUVR offers services to allow asset owners of things such as wind turbines, oil rigs, etc. to collect data and complete inspections of these assets.

I was the sole iOS developer for their iPad/iPhone app used in the field to perform these inspections. It is written in Obj-C, and I am still called upon from time to time for app maintenance.

Custom PDF Editor

Designed and created a PDF management app similar to PDF Expert for a client who needed it for personal use.

It is backed by Dropbox and allows local and cloud file search, file management (move, rename, delete, etc), annotations, and more. It is written from scratch with Swift.

Custom Note Taking App

Created and maintain a bespoke note taking app for a client for their personal use. Think Evernote or Permanote.

Written in Swift and backed by Dropbox, it allows the user to create notes, save them to Dropbox, and use global content and title searches, custom macros, voice dictation, and much more.

Blackjack Apprenticeship

Brought on to maintain, fix bugs, and add a few features to the brand's flagship Blackjack card counting app. Written in Obj-C, it was purely a maintenance and upgrade job, inheriting the previous developers' code.

Code Sample

This is a category of the UIImage class, and it provides a straightforward way of modifying an image to a specified UIImageOrientation.

To use this code, one needs to unzip and open the RotateImage.xcodeproj in the latest version of XCode, run the app in the simulator, and use the buttons to exercise the code.

POPSA

International photo book creation app.

BETFUZE

Betting odds aggregator to find the best return for any particular bet across multiple established betting providers.

DigiPill

http://digipill.com
Using audio created by profession hypno-therapists, you can treat stress, empower yourself to succeed, and more.

DreamOn

http://www.dreamonapp.com
Started as an experiment to determine if certain audio cues can influence your dreams, it turned into a sensation. Thousands of downloads.

Ferrari Mania

Showing both the history and future of Ferrari, this app has features that keep the user coming back time and again.

Aston Martin Apps

Showing the history of the iconic Aston Martin brand, this app contains a speedometer, G-meter, and more. Producing this app actually required visiting the Aston Martin facility in England and riding in some of the soon-to-be-released cars.

CineCam

Movie making app with filters and effects to make producing high-quality videos a piece of cake.

100k downloads in 72 hours!

Virgin Atlantic's London City Guide

Built to coincide with the Olympics, helped newbies to London find the best restaurants, hotels, and events during their stay.

Dynamo: Magician Impossible

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151874312305713.862689.53041065712&type=3
Built to coincide with a TV spectacular, this app allows real-time voting on the magic presented on TV.

Professor Green

https://apkpure.com/professor-green-official-app/com.yuza.professorgreen
Promotional application for singer Professor Green.

The Good Food Guide 2011

Built for the UK ratings company "Which?" and allows users to find top-notch dining throughout the UK.

Whitakers Almanac Quiz

A quiz app based on the popular Whitaker's encyclopedia brand.

Whitakers Sports Quiz

Sports quiz based on Whitaker's popular almanac.

Andrew Lloyd Webbers Superstar

An app to be used by viewers of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Superstar talent competition held in UK in 2013.

The Good Food Guide 2010

Produced for the well known ratings company "Which?"—it highlighted their go-to ratings for the best culinary treats in the UK.

Akrapovič Car Exhaust Systems

https://www.akrapovic.com/#!/multimedia
Showcased world-renowned exhaust manufacturer Akrapovič's lineup of products and history.

NOW 70's Quiz

Audio trivia based on the famous "Now thats what I call music!" brand.

NOW 80's Quiz

Audio trivia based on the famous "Now thats what I call music!" brand.

NOW 90's Quiz

Audio trivia based on the famous "Now thats what I call music!" brand.

mMail

Bespoke application to replace the iOS Mail app. The mail is kept local and removed from the server, which allows the client to access email and history when offline. The underlying technology is MailCore, a public domain mail handler.

Languages

Swift, Objective-C, C++, JavaScript, HTML, SQL

Frameworks

AFNetworking, Cocoa Touch, Core Data, iOS SDK, UIKit, SwiftUI, Dropzone.js, CloudKit, RealmSwift, WatchKit, StoreKit

Libraries/APIs

Fabric, SnapKit, Alamofire, Parse SDK, Dropbox API, iOS Native Libraries, Twitter API, Facebook API, Stripe API, Core Animation, RxSwift, Stripe

Tools

Git, Instruments, Xcode, Crashlytics, Adobe Photoshop, Apple HealthKit, Slack, Skype, SQLiteManager

Paradigms

Model View ViewModel (MVVM), REST

Platforms

Mixpanel, iOS, Dropbox, WatchOS, MacOS, Windows, Firebase

Storage

JSON, Realm, MySQL, SQLite

Other

Debugging, Apple Pay, Development, PDF, AP, WebSockets, Video Streaming, VMS, HTTP

1987 - 1990

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science

University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Nebraska

1984 - 1987

Associate's Degree in Computer Science

University of Florida - Gainesville

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