Stuart Varrall, Developer in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Stuart Varrall

Verified Expert  in Engineering

Software Developer

Location
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Toptal Member Since
September 20, 2016

Stuart has run a mobile app studio for the past nine years, during which time he has managed the delivery of over 50 apps across all mobile platforms and developed over a dozen apps personally. Stuart has a very strong understanding of iOS, WatchOS, and tvOS platforms and APIs, including how to best use them in crafting outstanding apps.

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

Slack, Trello, Git, Xcode

The most amazing...

...project I've worked on was BubblePix, a real-time 360 photo and video app that has made appearances on TV and in news publications around the world.

Work Experience

iOS Developer

2017 - 2017
Melodia (via Toptal)
  • Developed a music playing app in Swift.
  • Closely matched designs and desired animations.
  • Utilized Spotify SDK.
  • Implemented Now Playing functionality.
  • Implemented custom collection views.
  • Implemented an equivalent to iOS11's drag and drop within the app, before it was a thing.
Technologies: Spotify, Swift

CTO

2007 - 2016
Fluid Pixel, Ltd.
  • Built up a business with a turnover of over half a million dollars.
  • Oversaw the release of over 50 apps across all mobile platforms.
  • Developed and released over 12 apps personally.
  • Pioneered the development of real-time 360 video on mobile.
  • Participated in two Apple WWDC events.
Technologies: Ruby on Rails (RoR), Ruby, Objective-C, Swift

Gingersnap

Gingersnap is an iOS app aimed at connecting grandparents and children through personalized stories, play, activities, and adventure.

I was the lead on the development of two apps, one for grandchildren and one for grandparents.

Jardine Motors

Jardine Motors is an interactive sales tool that car dealerships use to up-sell insurance packages on car sales with a 3D showroom car highlighting the benefits of each package to the customer. The iPad app integrates with a sophisticated tracking system so each sales rep can be tracked on sales and performance, as well as fully complying with regulated insurance laws.

Tax Apps

http://www.taxapps.co.uk
These apps formed a tax information platform for a forward-thinking accounting firm that saw a need in the market for a customizable app that could be individually branded and resold to tax firms around the world. The app features news feeds, push notifications, tax calculators, car expense tracking, multiple currencies, and contact support, all updatable from a web server in real time for a fully flexible platform.

I've managed the development of both the iOS and Android apps and developed the iOS app over the past 2 years.

Playlists.net

http://playlists.net
This is a curated music playlist service that integrates into Spotify to manage and identify popular playlists. Since working on the rewrite of the iOS app and managing the Android App rewrite, the company has since been sold to Warner Brothers.

Hidden Newcastle

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/hidden-newcastle/id514253004?mt=8
Hidden Newcastle is a location-based guide that allows users to explore the strange and forgotten stories of Newcastle’s past. Using region triggers and notifications to alert users to interesting stories nearby, Hidden Newcastle inspires users to explore the city.

The app uncovers the real people who once lived and worked in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne through video, audio, images, and text.

WLKR

A Bluetooth beacon and location-based art installation.

Through exploration into identity and community, the group curated 12 questions that were chosen for their ability to evoke meaningful responses. These questions were then used to interview people in Walker, where each individual answer was recorded and stored as an online hidden video. The questions themselves were immortalized as metal plaques, each designed by one of the students on the project. The questions and corresponding answers were linked together by an invisible bond, traceable only by the accompanying WLKR app.

Next Metro

A collection of offline metro timetables for iOS and Apple Watch.

Squash Score Referee

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/squash-score-referee/id1093833787?ls=1&ct=fpstudiosWeb&mt=8
An easy and quick app for scoring squash games. Keep track of games and server sides, see graphs, and share results. Available for iPhone and iPad devices.

Languages

Swift, Ruby, Objective-C

Frameworks

Core Location, WatchKit, ARKit, iOS SceneKit, Core Data, Core Bluetooth, Unity3D, Ruby on Rails (RoR)

Tools

Xcode, Sketch, Apple Push Notifications, Crashlytics, Tower, Fastlane, Adobe Photoshop, Git, Trello, Slack, Xcode Playgrounds

Platforms

Apple Watch, Firebase, iOS, Apple TV, Heroku, Parse, Mixpanel

Storage

JSON, PostgreSQL, Amazon S3 (AWS S3)

Libraries/APIs

SpriteKit, Twitter API, Twitter SDK, Facebook iOS SDK, Fabric, CocoaPods

Paradigms

Agile Software Development

Other

Design, Spotify

2008 - 2008

Fellowship in Entrepreneurship

Kauffman Institution - Kansas

2004 - 2006

Master's Degree with Distinction in Computer Animation

Teesside University - Middlesbrough

2001 - 2004

Bachelor's Degree with First-class Honors in Computer Animation

Teesside University - Middlesbrough

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