Paul is available for hire
Hire PaulPaul E Dawson
Verified Expert in Engineering
Software Developer
Atlanta, United States
Toptal member since October 7, 2022
Bio
Paul is a software architect who has built platforms and solutions for Fortune 100 companies to startups. He has worked in all three clouds and is not necessarily tied to a technical stack but will use the best tools for the job. Having worked in many different high-paced environments, Paul can adapt, learn, and apply new technologies at a high level.
Portfolio
PD4SOLUTIONS
JavaScript, Node.js, Azure, Google Cloud, Full-stack Development, React...
Tamarin Health
React, Material UI, Node.js, Express.js, Sequelize, PostgreSQL, Python 3, SQL...
Rentpath
React, Redux, Redux Thunk, HTML5, CSS3, Web Security, API Integration, CSS...
Experience
Availability
Part-time
Preferred Environment
Linux, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure, Node.js, React, Docker
The most amazing...
...thing that I've built is an IoT-connected full-stack application fully integrated with Azure Cloud and Azure Active Directory (Azure AD).
Work Experience
Principal Full-stack Architect
2019 - PRESENT
PD4SOLUTIONS
- Collaborated with a data scientist at a government agency to build AI/ML applications. Built APIs in Python using Flask, Django, and other API frameworks. The APIs integrated the AI/ML engines/algorithms into endpoints that were consumed by the UI.
- Built a full-stack IoT native Microsoft Teams application integrated with Microsoft Azure Active Directory, enabling teachers and students to view real-time data and perform aggregate analysis on historical device data. Built on Azure with React and Node.js.
- Developed a mobile application for iOS and Android using React Native that worked offline. Built a sync engine that allowed data collected offline to be properly up- and down-synced with the remote Microsoft Dynamics CRM back end.
- Created a custom JavaScript applet that tracked users' interaction with roadside assistance mobile web apps and sent proper intents to the customer automation platform. This triggered the correct phone prompts to guide users through the process.
- Implemented mobile and web applications using React and React Native for the vehicle reconditioning process. The white-label platform allowed dealerships to optimize the process via live tracking and analytics for each car in each step.
- Executed a rebate platform allowing companies to give customers cashback for posting an Instagram story about the product they bought. Constructed a web scraping service that was the basis of the platform using AWS, Node.js, and React.
- Worked with a major media company to develop their TV streaming application using React Native. The application was created for tvOS, amazon fireTV, Android TV, and Roku. Implemented payment solutions that worked for all platforms.
- Worked on building an iOS and Android financial wellness application with React Native. Used Redux for state management, Redux middleware for app-level side effects, and TypeScript for typings and code quality.
Technologies: JavaScript, Node.js, Azure, Google Cloud, Full-stack Development, React, Web3.js, Azure IoT Hub, Internet of Things (IoT), Docker, Server Administration, SQL, NoSQL, REST APIs, Agile, HTML5, CSS3, Express.js, Shopify API, API Development, Web Security, API Integration, CSS, TypeScript, .NET, C#, MongoDB, HTML, Amazon Web Services (AWS), React Native, Architecture, Full-stack, Software Architecture, APIs, Dashboards, Python, Cloud Architecture, AWS Cloud Architecture, Redux, Charts, Figma, User Experience (UX), NestJS, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), WebSockets, Jest, Slack API, Slackbot, Virtual DOM, Shopify, REST, Front-end, QA Testing, Cypress, Responsive Web Development, Storybook, Mobile, Smart Devices, Cross-platform, Mobile Apps, Mobile App Development, Swift, Kotlin, Amazon EC2, AWS Lambda, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon CloudWatch, Amazon CloudFront CDN, Amazon RDS, Responsive Web Design (RWD), ECMAScript (ES6), Next.js, MySQL, Flux, Web Development, API Design, Progressive Web Applications (PWAs), LocalStorage, Flask, Git, MERN Stack, Back-end, Relational Databases, CI/CD Pipelines, User Interface (UI), OpenAI GPT-4 API, OpenAI GPT-3 API, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT), Microservices, Microsoft Teams
Senior Architect
2018 - 2019
Tamarin Health
- Designed, developed, and tested front- and back-end products and services. Used React, Mobx, mobx-state-tree (MST), Material UI (MUI), Webpack, Jest, and Enzyme.
- Deployed front-end products to the Azure Cloud app devices by creating custom build and deployment pipelines in Azure DevOps to achieve continuous integration and deployment.
- Led demos with clients that showed the full functionality of the products, answered all questions, and served as an integral part in closing clients to utilize products.
- Planned and taught a series of workshops that served as onboarding for clients.
- Created, managed, and tested secure, reliable, and agile back-end services and products. Utilized Node.js, Express, Sequelize, JSON Web Tokens (JWT), Mocha, and Chai to build stateless REST APIs that powered the front-end products.
- Developed customized modules to produce functionalities that fit the exact needs of the apps, including a search module integrated with Sequelize and PostgreSQL that enabled full-text search of a table and its associations.
- Set up NGINX as a proxy server on the VMs. Used PM2 as a process manager to ensure services were always available and restarted when necessary.
- Implemented continuous integration and deployment using Azure DevOps by creating customized deployment pipelines that set up each environment correctly. Installed fresh dependencies and restarted the application.
Technologies: React, Material UI, Node.js, Express.js, Sequelize, PostgreSQL, Python 3, SQL, HTML5, CSS3, API Development, Web Security, API Integration, CSS, TypeScript, JavaScript, HTML, Architecture, Full-stack, Software Architecture, APIs, Dashboards, GraphQL, Python, Cloud Architecture, Charts, Figma, User Experience (UX), WebSockets, Jest, Virtual DOM, REST APIs, REST, Front-end, QA Testing, Cypress, Responsive Web Development, Responsive Web Design (RWD), ECMAScript (ES6), Web Development, API Design, Progressive Web Applications (PWAs), LocalStorage, Flask, Git, Back-end, Relational Databases, CI/CD Pipelines, User Interface (UI)
Senior Architect
2018 - 2018
Rentpath
- Built a website with React, Redux Thunk, and Webpack architecture. Volunteered to be on ad hoc teams that built many time-sensitive critical features and integrations.
- Worked with a distributed team to reach milestones in the Agile shop with two-week sprints. Wrote unit and E2E tests that helped ensure high test coverage and stability of the codebase.
- Developed components for a private npm module that was used to extract reusable components.
Technologies: React, Redux, Redux Thunk, HTML5, CSS3, Web Security, API Integration, CSS, TypeScript, JavaScript, HTML, Architecture, Software Architecture, AWS Cloud Architecture, Charts, User Experience (UX), Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Jest, Mapbox, Virtual DOM, REST APIs, REST, Front-end, QA Testing, Flux Architecture, Cypress, Responsive Web Development, Responsive Web Design (RWD), ECMAScript (ES6), Web Development, LocalStorage, Git, User Interface (UI)
Senior Architect
2016 - 2018
Cox Automotive
- Built internal web applications and tools for the executives using data from different subsidiaries.
- Visualized the data using dashboards and graphs to display the overall health of the company and the health of each of its subsidiaries using MongoDB, Express, Angular, and Node.js (MEAN).
- Led the redesign of the whole application into a MEAN stack format. Built new application infrastructure that was scalable, DRY, easy to read, and enabled fast implementation of new features.
- Converted applications using a RESTful API and an Angular application that consumes it using Restangular.
- Built a mobile application for the executives that allowed real-time updates on incident data throughout the company using React Native, Objective-C, and Java to develop fully native iOS and Android applications.
- Maintained and updated previous iOS applications. Led a complete rebuild and redesign of iOS and Android applications based on React Native that incorporated a Flux and Redux architecture.
- Updated Watch iOS companion application to watchOS 3. Updated back-end Python Eve API to supply real-time updates and send push notifications.
Technologies: MongoDB, React, React Native, Angular, Python 3, Node.js, iOS, Android, WatchOS, Push Notifications, HTML5, CSS3, Cordova, Express.js, API Development, Web Security, API Integration, CSS, JavaScript, HTML, Architecture, Full-stack, Software Architecture, APIs, Dashboards, Python, Cloud Architecture, Redux, Charts, User Experience (UX), Jest, Virtual DOM, REST APIs, REST, Front-end, QA Testing, Flux Architecture, Responsive Web Development, Mobile, Mobile Apps, Mobile App Development, Swift, Kotlin, Responsive Web Design (RWD), MySQL, Web Development, API Design, LocalStorage, Git, MERN Stack, Back-end, User Interface (UI)
Lead Developer
2016 - 2017
SimplyWrks
- Developed an MVP for an Event-based travel application that integrated with social accounts to personalize travel recommendations using Angular2 with NativeScript and React Native to build the iOS and Android apps.
- Built API that retrieves, cleans, and processes data for the application using Node.js, MongoDB, and Express.js. Implemented a Flux and Redux architecture to handle data flow.
- Worked with a startup CEO to build applications based on requirements and design screens.
Technologies: Angular, Node.js, MongoDB, React Native, NativeScript, HTML5, CSS3, Cordova, Express.js, Web Security, API Integration, CSS, JavaScript, HTML, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Architecture, Full-stack, Software Architecture, APIs, Cloud Architecture, Charts, REST APIs, Front-end, QA Testing, Flux Architecture, Responsive Web Development, Web Development, API Design, Git, Back-end, Relational Databases, User Interface (UI)
Software Engineer
2016 - 2016
Moderna
- Developed and maintained a Cloud-based suite of application microservices connected through API endpoints to enable the real-time design, ordering, and production of therapeutic products.
- Containerized with Docker and continuously deployed and integrated to AWS via a Jenkins pipeline. Using Express.js, Node.js, Angular, Sequelize, and PostgreSQL.
- Maintained, added new features, integrated, and wrote API Unit tests using the Jasmine framework for the following microservices.
- Managed multiple microservices. The one handling authentication, one running mail queue automated and templated emailing, and the inventory microservice that operates the tracking of all items.
- Built a file-maker microservice that generated PDFs. It had n UI that allowed users to create custom PDF templates using handlebars and had service endpoints that enabled it to communicate with other microservices.
Technologies: Angular, Sequelize, Docker, Jenkins, PostgreSQL, Microservices, HTML5, CSS3, Express.js, API Development, Web Security, API Integration, CSS, JavaScript, HTML, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Architecture, Full-stack, Software Architecture, APIs, Cloud Architecture, AWS Cloud Architecture, Charts, REST APIs, WebSockets, Front-end, Responsive Web Development, Web Development, API Design, Git, Relational Databases, User Interface (UI)
Researcher
2014 - 2015
MIT Media Lab
- Performed researched focus on developing an application for Google Glass to be used for augmented statistical analysis. It was the first use case to assist with NBA coaching.
- Coded a dynamic Node.js script to scrape statistical information to supply data to the Glass application.
- Built a Node.js, Express.js API connected to a MongoDB database to store and retrieve data for all NBA player statistics for all games in the season.
- Programmed HTML and CSS to create an application structure that visually showcases the performance of players.
Technologies: Node.js, HTML, CSS, Python 3, Web Scraping, HTML5, CSS3, Express.js, API Integration, JavaScript, MongoDB, Architecture, Full-stack, Software Architecture, APIs, Python, Cloud Architecture, AWS Cloud Architecture, REST APIs, Front-end, Web Development, Relational Databases, User Interface (UI)
Experience
Operationalizing LLM Reasoning
http://scholarlysync.aiCreated an LLM-based platform for analyzing and sorting documents and text. The platform used Python for the AI services. We implemented a performant and scalable generative AI RAG platform using LlamaIndex, ChromaDB, and an LLM-agnostic service that allowed users to use several individual LLMs from OpenAI GPT, Anthropic Claude, Facebook Llama, the Mistral family of LLMs, and other open source LLMs.
I implemented a scalable queuing system via Amazon SQS and lambda functions to handle all LLM calls. I controlled the parallelism of the queue-based token and request limits for each LLM. I implemented a multi-turn chat component that enabled users to chat with the LLMs about the documents, where the chat history was also used as context. I also implemented a dead letter queue to retry calls that failed.
The user interface was built with Next.js and a React query, and the UI components were developed in Storybook to enable maximum reuse.
I implemented a scalable queuing system via Amazon SQS and lambda functions to handle all LLM calls. I controlled the parallelism of the queue-based token and request limits for each LLM. I implemented a multi-turn chat component that enabled users to chat with the LLMs about the documents, where the chat history was also used as context. I also implemented a dead letter queue to retry calls that failed.
The user interface was built with Next.js and a React query, and the UI components were developed in Storybook to enable maximum reuse.
Applications for Data Scientist
I worked very closely with a data scientist on many projects to integrate their AI/ML algorithms/engines with an application workflow. The data scientist usually created their AI/ML algorithm/engine, whether it be a zero-shot classification algorithm, topic clustering, batch ranking algorithm, or customized chatbot trained on an organization's data. I worked with them closely to understand the algorithm itself and the inputs and outputs needed. I assessed the processing times and architected how that would work from an API and UI standpoint. Once I had a full understanding of the AI/ML engines, I created a full platform (API and UI) around the engines. APIs were generally built in Python in order to easily integrate the AI/ML engines, while the UIs were built in React. I even built an application using React only with AI/ML capabilities by integrating the OpenAI API for a client. I have a great conceptual understanding of AI/ML and a growing technical ability within the space that make it very easy for me to work and collaborate with a data scientist.
Farming in the Future
A fully integrated MS Teams application for classrooms. It enabled teachers to demonstrate how technology is currently changing farming quickly. The platform was a full-stack IoT-integrated application where each student had a device on a farm with several sensors and a camera. The app allows students and teachers to create connected devices and visualize data in real-time.
It allowed teachers and students to store and manage and analyze historical data and trends over time. A Raspberry Pi device loaded with Azure IoT Edge, sensors, a camera used on location, and a live sensor and base64 image data were streamed to the Azure IoT hub.
A hot path was implemented by saving the data streamed on a device level in Azure Cosmos DB. An Azure function was triggered based on the updated device collection, and the live data was then sent to an API.
The API, built with Node.js and Express.js, then used WebSockets to forward the data to the subscribed clients. The UI client was built with React and used Mobx for state management and ReCharts for charting. The UI client displayed live streaming sensor data and streaming images. It also provided analytics on the historical data for each device.
It allowed teachers and students to store and manage and analyze historical data and trends over time. A Raspberry Pi device loaded with Azure IoT Edge, sensors, a camera used on location, and a live sensor and base64 image data were streamed to the Azure IoT hub.
A hot path was implemented by saving the data streamed on a device level in Azure Cosmos DB. An Azure function was triggered based on the updated device collection, and the live data was then sent to an API.
The API, built with Node.js and Express.js, then used WebSockets to forward the data to the subscribed clients. The UI client was built with React and used Mobx for state management and ReCharts for charting. The UI client displayed live streaming sensor data and streaming images. It also provided analytics on the historical data for each device.
Website Scraping RAG Architecture with Q&A
Built a data pipeline that periodically scrapes and processes data from the organization's website. The processed data is then embedded using OpenAI embeddings and stored in ChromaDB, a vector database. I created a REST API that used LlamaIndex to enable questions and answers on the data. I also built a UI in React that allowed users to ask questions about the data. Finally, I implemented a chat feature on the data using LlamaIndex, enabling the users to chat with the bot about the data. The history of the conversation is used as context.
Education
2019 - 2022
Master's Degree in Computer Science
University of Pennsylvania - Philadelphia, PA, USA
2011 - 2015
Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Boston, MA, USA
Skills
Libraries/APIs
Node.js, React, REST APIs, API Development, LocalStorage, Shopify API, Web3.js, Slack API
Tools
Git, Figma, Amazon CloudWatch, Azure IoT Hub, Sequelize, Redux Thunk, Jenkins, Amazon CloudFront CDN, Microsoft Teams, Docker Compose
Languages
JavaScript, HTML, CSS, HTML5, CSS3, TypeScript, Python, ECMAScript (ES6), SQL, GraphQL, C, Java, Python 3, C#, Swift, Kotlin
Frameworks
Express.js, Redux, React Native, Next.js, Jest, Cypress, Flux, Flask, Material UI, Angular, NativeScript, .NET, NestJS, LlamaIndex, Serverless Framework
Paradigms
Agile, REST, Cross-platform, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Automation, Microservices
Platforms
Shopify, Mobile, Linux, Azure, Docker, iOS, Android, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon EC2, AWS Lambda, Blockchain, Azure Functions, WatchOS, Mapbox, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Ubuntu
Storage
Google Cloud, MongoDB, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Relational Databases, Databases, NoSQL, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Azure Cosmos DB, Amazon DynamoDB
Other
Web Applications, Applications, Full-stack Development, API Integration, Architecture, Full-stack, Software Architecture, APIs, Dashboards, Charts, Virtual DOM, Front-end, QA Testing, Responsive Web Development, Mobile Apps, Mobile App Development, Web Development, API Design, Progressive Web Applications (PWAs), MERN Stack, Back-end, User Interface (UI), OpenAI GPT-4 API, Cloud, Computer Science, Data Structures, Web Security, Cloud Architecture, AWS Cloud Architecture, User Experience (UX), WebSockets, Flux Architecture, Storybook, Smart Devices, CI/CD Pipelines, Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT), Internet of Things (IoT), Server Administration, Azure Databricks, Push Notifications, Web Scraping, Cordova, Slackbot, Amazon RDS, OpenAI GPT-3 API, Llama 2, Llama 3, Anthropic, Mistral AI, ChromaDB, Chatbots
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