Simon Cruise
Verified Expert in Engineering
Software Engineer and Developer
Belfast, United Kingdom
Toptal member since September 12, 2022
Simon is a software engineer and technical architect with over 20 years of commercial experience working with an enviable list of companies, from Electronic Arts and Sony PlayStation to BBC, Cable, and Wireless. A champion of behavior-driven and test-driven software development processes in an Agile environment, he has led teams and overseen various projects throughout his career. Simon can manage multiple clients as he is adaptable and can quickly fit into a company workflow.
Portfolio
Experience
- PHP - 19 years
- APIs - 13 years
- WordPress - 12 years
- C# - 10 years
- Azure - 6 years
- Sass - 5 years
- .NET - 5 years
- Umbraco - 4 years
Availability
Preferred Environment
Azure, .NET, Umbraco, PHP, Databases, Sass, TypeScript, Linux, React
The most amazing...
...project I've led was a quiz engine API at a large national broadcaster that was used by millions of kids.
Work Experience
Full-stack Engineer | Director | Freelance
The Digerati
- Worked with an array of clients in different working environments and using various technology stacks.
- Collaborated with clients across many different time zones, ranging from eight to 13 hours.
- Oversaw the development of a large online presence for a bank in the Caribbean.
Web Developer
Doktors Telehealth Private Limited
- Developed the web version of a telemedicine app in React and created required API endpoints win .NET.
- Tracked the development process using Jira and GitHub. Attended bi-weekly meetings with the client to demonstrate progress.
- Led development of an API created using C# .NET and hosted on Azure to communicate with an existing admin system and database. Integrated with Azure API Management to utilize the security features and additional functionality offered by this product.
- Led the development of a web front end using React to allow both doctors and patients to make/view/edit and pay for appointments. React was used to provide a responsive environment for web users.
Back-end Developer
Yahoo, Sports
- Helped the team to migrate a legacy platform to AWS.
- Created documentation using Confluence, tracked tickets and jobs using Jira, and used GitHub to aid with code reviews.
- Worked with a large team of DevOps and software engineers to collaborate to build the new tools and implement security requirements to migrate to the AWS platform successfully.
- Updated integration tests to work on the new platform with valid certificates, revised DB connector to use correct certificates, and numerous code improvements required for the migration.
Senior Interactive Developer
Bb&P
- Led the development for an impressive client list on work that's seen around the world.
- Collaborated with the user experience, creative, and strategic teams, blending specialist skill sets to ensure the best ideas emerge and the most elegant use of current technology is applied.
- Oversaw the creation of many large corporate websites, from the user experience (UX) stage to development.
Technical Architect
BBC
- Designed and oversaw technical projects for CBBC, CBeebies, and CBeebies Grownups on BBC.
- Acted as a technical lead on a pan-BBC game API that enabled BBC games to implement high score tables, achievements, cloud storage, multi-player, and social features into their games.
- Collaborated with other departments to create scalable solutions that integrated seamlessly onto the platform and worked with editorial colleagues to deliver their online content to millions of kids every week.
Senior Web Developer
TBWA\Manchester
- Worked as a senior developer on projects for many clients, including GHD, Electronic Arts, Redrow, Co-operative Group Limited, Cussons, Brother, and Breville among many others.
- Collaborated with the creative and strategic teams, blending specialist skill sets to ensure the best ideas emerge and the most elegant use of current technology is applied.
- Oversaw many projects simultaneously and had to manage expectations for many clients at the same time.
Experience
Website for a National Bank
Management and Creation of a Portfolio of Sites for a Large Corporate Organization
Mobile App for a Real Estate Agency
Tech Lead for a Gaming API
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbcAPI for a Quiz Engine
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesizeEducation
Bachelor's Degree in Software Engineering
Liverpool John Moores University - Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
Certifications
Microsoft Azure Developer Associate
Microsoft
Skills
Libraries/APIs
REST APIs, Facebook Ads API, WooCommerce API, API Development, jQuery, Node.js, UI Pattern Library, React
Tools
Git, Cron, GitHub, Visual Studio, Slack, Varnish, ActiveMQ, Jenkins, Cucumber
Languages
PHP, TypeScript, C#, JavaScript, Java, CSS, C#.NET, SQL, HTML, SAML, HTML5, Sass, Python, Ruby, GraphQL
Frameworks
.NET, Spring, .NET Core, Laravel, ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET, Zend Framework, Symfony, Tailwind CSS, Angular, CakePHP, .NET 6, .NET MAUI
Paradigms
Agile, Test-driven Development (TDD), Object-oriented Programming (OOP), DevOps, Back-end Architecture, REST, Microservices, Azure DevOps
Platforms
Azure, Umbraco, Linux, WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, cPanel, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Docker, Twilio, HubSpot, Kubernetes, Xamarin, iOS, Android
Storage
MySQL, Azure Cosmos DB, MariaDB, JSON, Company Databases, NoSQL, Databases, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL Server, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Azure Active Directory, Redis
Other
APIs, Software Development, Full-stack, Back-end, Data Structures, Content Management Systems (CMS), Architecture, Web Development, Software Architecture, Leadership, Software Design, Symphony, Advisory, CTO, Technical Leadership, Cloud, Scalable Architecture, Server Migration, Legacy Code, API Documentation, Single Sign-on (SSO), OAuth, API Integration, CSV, eCommerce, Web Technologies, Front-end, API Connectors, Amazon RDS, Full-stack Development, Web Applications, Integration, Cloudflare, VoIP, Mobile Apps, Web Security, Large-scale Projects, Ruby Gems, Algorithms
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