Martin Gouws

Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

Member since March 21, 2016

Martin is a young and talented JavaScript developer and software engineer who has his roots in enterprise Java. He has a mature understanding of the full SDLC and has helped build many applications from scratch for clients such as Anglo American. He has worked in corporate as well as startup environments, and transparent communication is always prevalent in his work ethic. He is also an advocate of the Agile development mindset.

Martin is now available for hire

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Portfolio

Nettbil
JavaScript, Node.js, LoopBack, React, AWS
Tenon
JavaScript, Node.js, jQuery, React.js, Docker
Integrity Engineering (Pty) Ltd
JavaScript, AngularJS, Node.js, Grunt, AWS, Jenkins, Gulp, Protractor...

Experience

JavaScript, 6 years
Back-end, 5 years
SQL, 4 years
Node.js, 4 years
AngularJS, 3 years
Application State Management, 3 years
React.js, 1 year

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

Ubuntu Linux, WebStorm, Git

The most amazing...

...collection of code I've ever written handles the syncing of data between offline capable applications and a remote server, ensuring eventual data consistency.

Employment

Software Engineer
Nettbil
2017 - PRESENT
- Designed and implemented the entire back-end technology stack that would serve all the requirements of the business model. This included database design, a RESTful API interface, AWS S3 upload capabilities, on-the-fly image resizing and cropping capabilities and scheduled batch processes.
- Played an instrumental role in steering the overall technology direction of the product to ensure that it is aligned with best practices and modern technology trends.
- Wrote all of the service layer code for the React front-end and was responsible for linking the presentation layers of the application to the service layers. Worked closely with the UI/UX engineer to ensure optimal results while maintaining pixel perfection.
- Assumed the role of product driver to make sure that what the CTO expected from the team and from the product stayed in sync at all times—went beyond the borders of just writing code.
- Acted as council to the CTO for all technology-related discussions concerning the product.
- Setup both staging and production environments on AWS.
Technologies: JavaScript, Node.js, LoopBack, React, AWS
JavaScript developer
Tenon
2017 - 2017
- Caught and resolved the overflow work while the client was preparing to engage with the accessibility industry at CSUN 2017.
- Assisted in creating, improving, and tweaking accessibility tests written in jQuery.
- Resolved issues and created new features for the web application with React.js.
Technologies: JavaScript, Node.js, jQuery, React.js, Docker
Software Engineer
Integrity Engineering (Pty) Ltd
2014 - 2017
- Worked on enterprise information management web applications for several big clients including Anglo American and Limpopo’s Department of Health.
- Worked as the team lead in the transition from PHP to full-stack JavaScript and the adoption of automated end-to-end testing.
- Maintained and set coding best practices and principles.
- Evaluated new technologies pending adoption.
- Developed and improved core technology stack as well as the in-house project assembly tool (CLI).
- Worked as the technical design liaison to the product owners on various web applications.
- Was involved closely with DevOps and the implementation of continuous integration.
- Engineered and transitioned an existing system to SAAS.
- Designed and implemented a hybrid mobile application development stack using Ionic and Cordova.
- Participated as an active team member in the Scrum project management methodology.
Technologies: JavaScript, AngularJS, Node.js, Grunt, AWS, Jenkins, Gulp, Protractor, Selenium, MySQL, SQL Server
Junior Java Developer
Discovery Holdings (Pty) Ltd
2012 - 2014
- Worked as a junior Java developer on the back-end and front-end of the Discovery Card (credit card) client-facing web application.
- Considered by peers to be very well-trained and to have loads of technical potential.
- Experienced my first exposure to enterprise level software.
- Worked alongside a senior engineer who was designing and implementing an abstraction layer to be used as the basis for an alert system based on data triggers.
- Exposed existing data endpoints, using the SOAP protocol, that would later be used by a new application.
Technologies: JEE, Spring Framework

Experience

DBIS (Development)
The Drill and Blast Information System (DBIS) was and is being built as the main dashboard and information management platform for all open cast iron ore mines. It represents all the life cycle items associated with the extraction of raw iron ore.
WIMS (Development)
The Water Information Management System (WIMS) is currently in development as software as a service (SaaS) to help any institution, corporation, or group of people to manage and see aggregated information regarding the water contained in dams, boreholes, and reservoirs. It also includes a mobile app for both iOS and Android.
A Guide to npm: The Node.js Package Manager (Publication)
https://www.toptal.com/javascript/a-guide-to-npm-the-node-package-manager
In this article, Toptal Software Engineer Martin Gouws explains advanced features of the Node Package Manager that should be in every JavaScript developer’s knowledge base.

Skills

Languages
ES5, JavaScript, HTML5, SQL, ECMAScript (ES6), CSS, Java, HTML, C#, Less
Libraries/APIs
Node.js, React.js, jQuery
Tools
Git, Grunt, Jenkins, Terminal, Webpack, BitBucket, GitHub, Gulp.js
Paradigms
Agile Software Development, Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Deployment, REST, DevOps, Unit Testing
Platforms
Amazon Web Services (AWS), Ubuntu Linux, Docker, JEE
Storage
MySQL, IndexedDB, SQLite, SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), SQL Server 2008 R2, Microsoft SQL Server, MongoDB
Other
Application State Management, APIs, Ubuntu Server, Back-end, Front-end, QA Automation, Chrome Extensions
Frameworks
Protractor, AngularJS, Loopback, Selenium, Ionic, Bootstrap

Education

Bachelor's degree with honors in Information Technology
North-West University - Potchefstroom, South Africa
2009 - 2012