Michael Over
Verified Expert in Engineering
CTO Developer
Clarence, NY, United States
Toptal member since April 26, 2018
Mike is an established and dynamic engineering leader with nearly 20 years of experience. He has worked with a variety of technical stacks in several different industries and has a knack for solving complex business problems with elegant, robust solutions. Mike has a wealth of experience as both a lead developer and a leader of teams and engineering organizations.
Portfolio
Experience
- JavaScript - 10 years
- PostgreSQL - 10 years
- Ruby on Rails (RoR) - 6 years
- React - 5 years
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) - 5 years
- Node.js - 5 years
- Elixir - 4 years
- CTO - 3 years
Availability
Preferred Environment
Amazon Web Services (AWS), Elixir, Ruby on Rails (RoR), React, PostgreSQL, Node.js, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Next.js, TypeScript
The most amazing...
...accomplishment of mine is spearheading the development of a new product that led to a Series B investment, and then growing the engineering organization to 15.
Work Experience
Senior Engineering Manager
River
- Started as a senior software engineer, was promoted to engineering manager, was promoted again to senior engineering manager, and ran the entire engineering organization.
- Managed and prioritized a portfolio of engineering projects for a Bitcoin brokerage, aligning them with the company’s strategic goals and playing a pivotal role in quarterly planning and resource allocation.
- Overhauled the engineering hiring process to optimize candidate assessment and selection, significantly improving the quality and fit of new hires. This strategic initiative enabled the expansion of the engineering team from 4 to 13 engineers.
- Directed initiatives to simplify and fortify the company’s software infrastructure, adopting a bias towards simple, scalable solutions to minimize complexity and ensure system robustness.
- Enhanced our security posture by updating processes and leading the ideation, selection, and execution of projects centered around web application security best practices, significantly mitigating risk and safeguarding sensitive information.
- Spearheaded the development and successful launch of a novel Bitcoin mining product, driving the project from concept to market release, demonstrating a strong capability to lead in fast-paced, innovative environments.
Head of Engineering
Clear Health Inc
- Managed the engineering team and developed team structure and execution strategies while managing the overall software development lifecycle.
- Managed and executed project plans and delivery commitments within a Node.js and React environment, including building a new Node.js back-end API for a new service offering.
- Collaborated closely with 3rd-party engineers to architect and develop the best technical architecture and approach.
CTO
Appella
- Developed an MVP from a set of designs in Figma to bring an initial product version to pre-launch, which was used for demoing to prospective clients and collecting feedback.
- Iterated on the product using feedback from early-stage demos, including pivoting the product to a moderately different focus than originally planned.
- Chose the technologies, programming languages, and code architecture to make it scalable, reliable, and fast.
CTO | Co-founder
Events Local
- Took an initial, rough MVP of a product, built it up into a usable product, and brought it to market.
- Developed a React/Redux-based single page application front end and a Ruby on Rails 5 API.
- Built two stand-alone React services, hosted serverless on AWS S3, utilizing CloudFront and Lambda@Edge.
- Worked with customer requirements and requests to deliver a solution that works for their individual use case.
- Led the technical and architecture roadmap, deciding on the technology stack, languages, and tooling.
- Participated in hiring and staffing decisions and led the engineering department.
Software Development Engineer II (SDE II), Analytics
PagerDuty
- Created the initial version of operational reviews analytics reports for customers.
- Developed a new Elixir/Phoenix-based application for handling review generation.
- Integrated AWS S3 using AWS SDK.
- Met with third-party vendors to evaluate dashboard solutions.
- Architected and developed the initial data pipeline for analytics.
Senior Full-stack Developer
TeamSnap
- Built and maintained a back-end API in Ruby on Rails for a large-scale group organization platform.
- Rearchitected the user invitation and onboarding flow and experience.
- Implemented the back-end API endpoints for team stores that were selling merchandise.
- Optimized the pricing page using A/B tests to determine which variant performed best.
- Wrote extensive tests to ensure that the API platform remains robust and well-tested.
Senior Ruby on Rails Developer
Decisiv
- Built out new features in Ruby on Rails for a fleet service management system.
- Developed several features from start to finish in Ruby on Rails and AngularJS 1.x.
- Implemented both unit tests and integration tests to ensure the robustness of the system.
- Led a small team to pull out pieces of a monolithic Rails app into microservices.
- Led and managed a small team in the development and long-term maintenance of several services.
Education
Master's Degree in Computer Science
University at Buffalo - Buffalo, NY, USA
Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics
Franciscan University of Steubenville - Steubenville, OH, USA
Certifications
AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate
AWS
AWS Certified Developer — Associate
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate
AWS
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF)
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Skills
Libraries/APIs
Ruby on Rails API, REST APIs, Node.js, React, Stripe, Stripe Connect, X (formerly Twitter) API
Tools
Jenkins, AWS SDK, AWS ELB, AWS CLI, Chef
Languages
JavaScript, SQL, TypeScript, Ruby, C++, Elixir, Python
Paradigms
Functional Programming, REST, Agile, Management, Serverless Architecture, Microservices
Storage
PostgreSQL, MySQL, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Amazon DynamoDB, Redis, Elasticsearch, Cloud Firestore
Frameworks
Redux, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Phoenix, AngularJS, Angular, Next.js
Platforms
Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), AWS Cloud Computing Services, MacOS, Docker, Heroku, Amazon EC2, AWS Lambda, Firebase
Industry Expertise
Project Management
Other
Lean Startups, APIs, Full-stack, Team Building, Technical Hiring, Cloud Computing, CTO, Distributed Systems, Process Design, Phoenix LiveView, Bitcoin, Web Security, Domain-driven Design (DDD), Cloud, Serverless, Amazon API Gateway, Startups, Delivery Management, IT Project Management, Business Process Optimization
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