Luke is available for hire
Hire LukeLuke Plant
Verified Expert in Engineering
Software Developer
Kayseri, Kayseri Province, Turkey
Toptal member since July 18, 2017
Bio
With a background in various programming languages—in both open source and commercial environments—Luke became a Django core developer in 2006. Since then, he has worked as a freelance developer, primarily using Python/Django with a full-stack experience but focusing on server-side technologies. His biggest project to date has been leading the development of a rapidly growing eCommerce platform, including scaling both the team and technologies.
Portfolio
Wolf & Badger
Linux, JavaScript, Less, CSS, HTML, Celery, PostgreSQL, Django, Python
Cardiff University School of Medicine
Django CMS, WYMeditor, JavaScript, Django, CSS, HTML
Diagonal Solutions
Microsoft SQL Server, ASP.NET, C#
Experience
- Linux - 18 years
- SQL - 15 years
- Django - 10 years
- Python - 10 years
- jQuery - 10 years
- PostgreSQL - 8 years
- Less - 5 years
Availability
Part-time
Preferred Environment
Emacs, Git, Mercurial, Linux
The most amazing...
...project I've worked on is the web framework Django. It's very rewarding to contribute components and features that are now used worldwide.
Work Experience
Freelance Web Developer | Formerly Team Leader
2012 - 2019
Wolf & Badger
- Took on a functioning but struggling project and turned it around into an award-winning eCommerce web site, with the business continuing to grow 2-3 times year on year.
- Utilized my expertise in Python and Django to fix major performance problems on key pages.
- Implemented various designer-supplied graphical designs in HTML/CSS—adapting them to add responsive features.
- Worked with clients to identify business needs while utilizing my knowledge of web trends to drive the business forward and enable subsequent large refactorings and cleanups.
- Scaled the development team from a sole member to a distributed team, including recruiting and online technical interviews and introducing code review and other quality controls.
- Implemented large-scale changes to the codebase to cope with new business needs, such as converting the project to multi-currency.
- Developed and released the testing library "django-functest" to aid testing requirements.
Technologies: Linux, JavaScript, Less, CSS, HTML, Celery, PostgreSQL, Django, Python
Freelance Web Developer
2008 - 2011
Cardiff University School of Medicine
- Customized an existing JavaScript editor for the department's CMS application.
- Participated in the design of a UI that emphasized semantic editing and designer-defined styling in order to make consistent styling across the site possible.
- Integrated into the editor a layout system that allowed users to create multicolumn layouts without the need for special templates or editing HTML.
- Implemented all of the above as a plugin to a Django CMS that was released as an independent open source project.
Technologies: Django CMS, WYMeditor, JavaScript, Django, CSS, HTML
Software Developer
2004 - 2006
Diagonal Solutions
- Implemented bespoke, web-based business applications for government bodies—police departments and local councils—using C# and ASP.NET.
- Used and extended the company's in-house enterprise CMS solution.
- Delivered websites to exacting accessibility standards for public sector bodies.
- Used test-driven development to produce software of the highest quality.
Technologies: Microsoft SQL Server, ASP.NET, C#
Freelance Developer
2002 - 2004
Federal Mogul
- Developed bespoke software for internal order processing.
- Performed business analysis of their existing ordering processes in order to provide equivalent software solutions, streamlined where possible.
- Worked within software constraints of a multinational company to provide accessible software.
- Provided end-to-end support for a new system from design to installation.
- Iterated a software solution rapidly in response to user needs and further business process clarifications.
Technologies: Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Excel
Experience
Django
https://www.djangoproject.com/Django has become a world-leading Python web framework for perfectionists with deadlines. It is used by large companies like Instagram and Pinterest and thousands of smaller ones.
I joined the team as a core developer in 2006, and I've worked on a wide range of components, including the ORM, template system, adding a CSRF protection mechanism, and many smaller features and fixes, often security-related.
I joined the team as a core developer in 2006, and I've worked on a wide range of components, including the ORM, template system, adding a CSRF protection mechanism, and many smaller features and fixes, often security-related.
Django-Functest
https://github.com/django-functest/django-functest/A testing library that allows tests to be written using a high-level API which is translated down to either an HTML/HTTP/WSGI based execution method or to Selenium. This is especially useful for traditional web sites that use a "progressive enhancement" approach to JavaScript.
I wrote the library, extracting it from several projects that needed the functionality, and am currently maintaining it.
I wrote the library, extracting it from several projects that needed the functionality, and am currently maintaining it.
Christian Camps in Wales
https://www.cciw.co.uk/I created and maintain the website for this charity. As a volunteer staff member, I analyzed and converted existing paper procedures into online versions (staff application, reference collection, police checking and camper booking and secure payment).
Due to handling sensitive information, it has to be done to the highest standards, with carefully implemented permissions that cope with continual roll-over of staff.
This project benefits greatly from its use of Django and has extensive functional and unit testing. I have also used charting and visualizations to highlight problems and progress with regard to compliance with the charity's own regulations.
All source code is released under an open source license.
Due to handling sensitive information, it has to be done to the highest standards, with carefully implemented permissions that cope with continual roll-over of staff.
This project benefits greatly from its use of Django and has extensive functional and unit testing. I have also used charting and visualizations to highlight problems and progress with regard to compliance with the charity's own regulations.
All source code is released under an open source license.
Learn Scripture
https://learnscripture.net/This is a Bible memorization website that I created and maintain. It sports a streamlined and accessible interface, simple enough to be used by children while also working well for adults, plus motivational and social features to keep users' interest.
From the beginning, it was designed to work well on mobile devices in terms of being responsive to screen size, touch screens, and bandwidth constraints.
To support some of the testing methods that users choose, it uses Markov chains for textual analysis to generate candidate word choices.
Implemented using Django, Celery, PostgreSQL, and jQuery.
From the beginning, it was designed to work well on mobile devices in terms of being responsive to screen size, touch screens, and bandwidth constraints.
To support some of the testing methods that users choose, it uses Markov chains for textual analysis to generate candidate word choices.
Implemented using Django, Celery, PostgreSQL, and jQuery.
Django-PayPal
https://github.com/spookylukey/django-paypal/A library to bridge between Django and PayPal; it got 400 stars on GitHub and I'm currently the sole maintainer.
Education
2001 - 2002
Master of Science in Natural Sciences
University of Cambridge - Cambridge, UK
1998 - 2001
Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Natural Sciences
University of Cambridge - Cambridge, UK
Skills
Libraries/APIs
Django ORM, jQuery, Fabric, SQLAlchemy
Tools
Emacs, Git, Microsoft Excel, Sentry, Celery, NGINX, uWSGI, GitHub, Mercurial
Frameworks
Django, ASP.NET, Selenium, Django REST Framework
Languages
Less, HTML, Python, C#, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), CSS, SQL, JavaScript, TypeScript
Paradigms
Functional Testing, Unit Testing, Test-driven Development (TDD), Functional Programming
Platforms
Linux, Django CMS, New Relic, Mailgun
Storage
Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite
Other
Freelancing, WYMeditor, Gunicorn, Integration Testing, Security
Collaboration That Works
How to Work with Toptal
Toptal matches you directly with global industry experts from our network in hours—not weeks or months.
1
Share your needs
Discuss your requirements and refine your scope in a call with a Toptal domain expert.
2
Choose your talent
Get a short list of expertly matched talent within 24 hours to review, interview, and choose from.
3
Start your risk-free talent trial
Work with your chosen talent on a trial basis for up to two weeks. Pay only if you decide to hire them.
Top talent is in high demand.
Start hiring