Peter is available for hire
Hire PeterPeter Suggate
Verified Expert in Engineering
Full-stack Developer
Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand
Toptal member since June 12, 2020
Bio
Peter is a full-stack developer with 15 years of full-time experience building apps for the web and desktop. He's helped industry leaders to deliver new scientific research and online learning platforms, creating value rapidly through flexible, high-quality solutions. Peter ships high-quality products with exceptional user experiences that are achieved through extensive automated testing and by writing simple, resilient code.
Portfolio
ADInstruments
Amazon Web Services (AWS), APIs, MySQL, Express.js...
KuraCloud
Amazon Web Services (AWS), APIs, JavaScript, HTML5, CSS, REST APIs, HTML...
ADInstruments
Express.js, Test-driven Development (TDD), React, Node.js, Visual Studio, Xcode...
Experience
- C++ - 12 years
- JavaScript - 6 years
- Test-driven Development (TDD) - 5 years
- React - 5 years
- Node.js - 5 years
- TypeScript - 4 years
- Electron - 3 years
- Express.js - 2 years
Availability
Part-time
Preferred Environment
Windows, Visual Studio, Xcode, Visual Studio Code (VS Code)
The most amazing...
...achievement I've had altered the direction of an established company, instigating then executing a major tech shift to gain a new generation of research users.
Work Experience
Full-stack Software Architect | Manager
2017 - 2020
ADInstruments
- Led the development of a large application for life science researchers, delivering a high-quality product on schedule (stack: React, TypeScript, Node.js, and Electron).
- Worked on a full-stack web app for managing product subscriptions, which required training team members quickly to make further changes (stack: React, Node.js, and MySQL).
- Oversaw comprehensive automated testing of the new product; took the lead of ensuring the team achieved 85% total test code coverage and an ability to ship regularly with confidence.
- Identified and helped resolve technical and skills issues that hindered the team's progress, leading to sustained team velocity even after the 1.0 launch.
- Designed and helped develop a services-based architecture that effectively incorporated IP and algorithms developed over a period of 20 years and exposed them through an easy-to-use GUI and APIs.
- Worked in a management role and effectively combined development duties with the management of a successful development team of ten.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), APIs, MySQL, Express.js, Test-driven Development (TDD), React, JavaScript, HTML5, CSS, Node.js, MobX, Electron, SQL, REST APIs, Windows, Visual Studio, Xcode, Styled-components, Functional Programming, Biotechnology, CMake, MacOS, Redux, MongoDB, C++, TypeScript
Full-stack Web Developer
2015 - 2017
KuraCloud
- Helped develop an online learning platform for Universities teaching the Life Sciences, developing front-end components that enabled rich learning experiences for students.
- Integrated front-end components with the API layer and also through to the back-end when necessary, removing project bottlenecks and increasing team effectiveness significantly.
- Conducted empathy interviews with customers, translating their needs into software requirements.
- Took on ownership of complex areas of the product with very little supervision, freeing up others to work elsewhere. Acclimatized quickly to a new team and unfamiliar code-base, completing a significant feature within the first week.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), APIs, JavaScript, HTML5, CSS, REST APIs, HTML, Spring, Java, Backbone.js, Knockout (Knockout.js)
LabChart Coordinator
2011 - 2015
ADInstruments
- Led a development team of six that worked on maintaining and extending the company's main product, a research software desktop application for use by scientists around the world.
- Oversaw the team performance—hiring and training as well as release processes and shipping two major new versions of the product.
- Provided timely assistance to colleagues located in various offices around the world to ensure product requirements were well understood by the team.
- Oversaw the technical support for the product, achieving consistently fast response rates and good outcomes for customers experiencing issues.
Technologies: Express.js, Test-driven Development (TDD), React, Node.js, Visual Studio, Xcode, Biotechnology, Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Desktop, Windows Forms (WinForms), .NET, C#, C++
Software Engineer (Desktop)
2006 - 2011
ADInstruments
- Migrated an existing standalone desktop application into the company's flagship product, including all key features within the required timeframe. This allowed the company to remove support for the legacy app and focus investment elsewhere.
- Gained a deep knowledge of a multi-million LOC codebase written in C++. This knowledge was key to efforts to extend the previously Windows-only desktop app to run on macOS X (and later Linux), increasing the product's total user base by 20%.
- Worked with business analysts to develop robust software algorithms for new, scientific research methods. Many users noted how well the algorithms worked on a wide variety of input data.
Technologies: Test-driven Development (TDD), Windows, Xcode, Biotechnology, Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), MacOS, Objective-C, Windows Forms (WinForms), .NET, C#, C++
Full-stack Software Developer
2005 - 2006
SmartMedia Solutions
- Added a new role-based permissions model to a real-estate desktop publishing product which ensured all data for users in the system was secure and not accessible to others—critically important in this ultra-competitive space.
- Developed and updated SQL Server database queries which improved the performance of one of the product's core SQL stored procedures by a factor of 5x and resulted in a reduced database load of 30%.
- Found and fixed issues in the software and rapidly gained expertise working across different parts of the system.
Technologies: SQL, Windows, Visual Studio, Microsoft SQL Server, ASP.NET, C#
Experience
Data Acquisition and Analysis Platform for Research Scientists
https://www.adinstruments.com/products/labchart/lightningA desktop app (React/TypeScript Electron.js) built using web technologies that scientists and tinkerers use to record time-series data then visualize and explore the results.
I initially proposed this new product as a way to ensure the company was best positioned to solve our users' current and future needs effectively. Originally working as part-time developer and manager of the team, I later switched to a hands-on architect role where I developed features on both the front and back end and ensured the technical demands from our uses would be met at the same time as their need for elegant, simple to use UI.
I initially proposed this new product as a way to ensure the company was best positioned to solve our users' current and future needs effectively. Originally working as part-time developer and manager of the team, I later switched to a hands-on architect role where I developed features on both the front and back end and ensured the technical demands from our uses would be met at the same time as their need for elegant, simple to use UI.
Online Learning Platform to Assist Teaching of University Physiology Students
https://www.adinstruments.com/ltAn AWS-hosted online learning platform that I worked on as front-end developer for a year leading up to the 1.0 launch. I was added to the project in order to boost the development pace and keep the project on track for release.
Education
2000 - 2003
Bachelor of Science Degree with Honors in Computer Science
University of Otago - Dunedin, New Zealand
Skills
Libraries/APIs
React, MobX, Node.js, REST APIs, Backbone.js, Windows Forms (WinForms)
Tools
CMake, Visual Studio, Xcode
Languages
TypeScript, C++, JavaScript, HTML5, CSS, SQL, Rust, Java, HTML, C#, Objective-C
Frameworks
Electron, Express.js, Redux, Knockout (Knockout.js), Spring, .NET, Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), ASP.NET
Paradigms
Test-driven Development (TDD), Functional Programming
Platforms
Windows, Desktop, MacOS, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Visual Studio Code (VS Code)
Storage
MongoDB, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server
Other
Styled-components, APIs, Biotechnology
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