Michael is available for hire
Hire MichaelMichael Latta
Verified Expert in Engineering
Software Developer
Greeley, CO, United States
Toptal member since October 1, 2015
Bio
Michael is a dedicated Software Engineer with leadership and deep technical skills. A founder of several startups, he is able to contribute to small projects as a Full-stack Developer, or on larger efforts as a team player in a range of roles. Michael has both web and mobile experience and is always eager to take on new challenges.
Portfolio
TechnoMage
Knockout (Knockout.js), i18n, RSpec, Cucumber, PostgreSQL, Ruby on Rails (RoR)...
Cogility Software
Express.js, Babel, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Ember.js, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby...
Synergized SARL (via Toptal)
GraphQL, Vue, Elixir
Experience
- iOS - 10 years
- JavaScript - 10 years
- PostgreSQL - 10 years
- Distributed Programming - 6 years
- Ember.js - 4 years
- Swift - 3 years
- Elixir - 2 years
- Vue - 1 year
Availability
Part-time
Preferred Environment
iOS, Node.js, Swift, Ember.js, Atom, OS X
The most amazing...
...technical project I've accomplished is called the Ohana framework - a versioned, meta model based, engineering framework.
Work Experience
Owner
2009 - PRESENT
TechnoMage
- Built a Ruby on Rails site for an eCommerce manufacturer. Tasks included taking designs from the designer and rendering them in web technologies, full test suite development using Spec, and use of Knockout for select aspects of interactive site.
- Developed an international course registration system for a non-profit organization, offering 30,000+ courses a year. The system has traffic in all time zones and operates 24/365. The site involves extensive international translation support and admin functions to allow each center around the world to present course schedules, tailor the offerings, and control the application questions and workflow for approvals.
- Developed an iOS app for a client's in-house use to visualize business intelligence metrics and key indicators in real time.
- Provided telecom consulting for Sprint on workforce tasking, automation, and management.
- Worked on several Ruby on Rails smaller projects for in-house use by energy and lighting companies.
Technologies: Knockout (Knockout.js), i18n, RSpec, Cucumber, PostgreSQL, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby, Node.js
CTO/Lead Developer
2000 - PRESENT
Cogility Software
- Built a distributed self-healing complex event processing engine on Node.js/MongoDB that operates in real time on large data volumes.
- Led customer engagement with technology services and product sales.
- Built a cyber intrusion detection prototype on Node.js, Express, MongoDB, and a proprietary complex event processing engine.
- Led the development of the C-IED intelligence system for the US Army.
- Built an insider threat detection and monitoring system using Node.js, Express, Ember.js, and MongoDB.
- Built an enterprise IDE tool suite using PostgreSQL, Ruby on Rails, and Java back-end, allowing integrated end-to-end modeling of a system through to production deployment.
Technologies: Express.js, Babel, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Ember.js, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby, Node.js
Technical Project Manager
2018 - 2018
Synergized SARL (via Toptal)
- Led the technical effort from project start, tech selection, and significant technical contribution. Worked with user test input and designers in support of market fit. The project was a social and donation collection site in support of non-profits focusing initially on environment and ocean clean up organizations.
- Hosted the project on Heroku and used GitLab for CI/CD. Automated testing of back end components and GraphQL API using ExUnit. Provided end to end testing using cucumber and web driver. I set up the test environment and implemented 90% of the tests in conjunction with my implementation of the back-end and UI work.
Technologies: GraphQL, Vue, Elixir
Senior Manager
1998 - 1999
KPMG Consulting
- Build an auto-provisioning system for DSL self-service use.
- Automated workflow generation and revision based on work orders as well as customer self-service changes and cancels.
- Supported a large $800 million telecom project involving automation of provisioning and related workflow.
- Created a unique network management and provisioning visualization system, including integration with billing and customer management packages.
- Trained deployment teams in technology and usage to support large customer rollouts.
Technologies: Workflow, VPN, Cisco, TIBCO
Experience
Burwell eCommerce site
A family of eCommerce sites sharing a single application. Includes significant modifications to a pre-existing site, and development of their new wholesale site (yet to be in production).
Dhamma course registration and student site
http://www.dhamma.org/International site translated into 30+ languages and operated 24/7/365 in all timezones. Supports course registration, application process with fully customizable application questions and workflow, and course schedule generation and search functions.
Sport Security System
This project is an in-house system being developed to provide security for large sporting events.
The technology stack is Elixir in the back end, Riak as the primary database, and Ember for the front end.
The Elixir part of the system includes use of GenStage and GenServer modules to support numerous real time analytics and functins, while using Riak/SOLR for query functions and facet based UX. Phoenix and ja_serializer are used to serve resource and request APIs in JSON-API format.
The Ember part of the system includes several SVG based diagraming views as well as list, table, and map displays.
I am the lead architect and primary developer for the back end with supplemental UI development responsibilities.
The technology stack is Elixir in the back end, Riak as the primary database, and Ember for the front end.
The Elixir part of the system includes use of GenStage and GenServer modules to support numerous real time analytics and functins, while using Riak/SOLR for query functions and facet based UX. Phoenix and ja_serializer are used to serve resource and request APIs in JSON-API format.
The Ember part of the system includes several SVG based diagraming views as well as list, table, and map displays.
I am the lead architect and primary developer for the back end with supplemental UI development responsibilities.
Education
1975 - 1979
Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science
California State University Sacramento - California
Skills
Libraries/APIs
Node.js, React, Vue, Chai, Socket.IO, Ember Data, Raphaël, D3.js, iCloud API
Tools
Mocha, Cucumber, Atom, RSpec, Babel, VPN
Languages
ECMAScript (ES6), Elixir, JavaScript, Objective-C, ES7, Smalltalk, HTML, GraphQL, Swift, UML, Ruby, CSS, SQL
Paradigms
Test-driven Development (TDD), Concurrent Programming, JavaScript MV* Framework, Distributed Programming
Platforms
MacOS, Apache Flink, Apache Kafka, iOS, OTP, OS X, Docker, Linux
Storage
MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Amazon S3 (AWS S3)
Frameworks
Ruby on Rails (RoR), UIKit, Knockout (Knockout.js), Phoenix, Ember.js, Express.js, Jasmine, React Native
Other
Source Code Review, Ember CLI, SVG, DOM, GCD, i18n, TIBCO, Cisco, Workflow
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