Zak Thompson, Developer in Kitchener, ON, Canada
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Zak Thompson

Verified Expert  in Engineering

Software Developer

Location
Kitchener, ON, Canada
Toptal Member Since
April 24, 2019

Zak is a versatile full-stack developer specializing in Rails and React. Over the past seven years, he has had the opportunity to build enterprise-grade applications across a variety of technologies in teams of varying sizes. He's a quick and eager learner, a clear communicator, and a dedicated worker.

Portfolio

Bridgit, Inc.
Node.js, Ruby on Rails (RoR), React
Pivotal Labs
C#, Objective-C, ActionScript 3, Ember.js, jQuery, Node.js, JavaScript...

Experience

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

Vim Text Editor, Git, Ubuntu

The most amazing...

...project I've had the privilege of completing from scratch was a full-stack field application for general contractors working on residential builds.

Work Experience

Web Development Lead

2014 - 2019
Bridgit, Inc.
  • Developed software for the construction industry, both in-field and in-office.
  • Implemented a platform JSON API in Ruby on Rails.
  • Developed React web applications to consume the platform API.
  • Created several internal tools and report generators using Node.js.
  • Led a small team of engineers working on front-end applications.
  • Helped evolve the engineering team's agile and code management processes using Jira, InVision, Git, and CircleCI.
Technologies: Node.js, Ruby on Rails (RoR), React

Agile Engineer Co-op

2012 - 2013
Pivotal Labs
  • Worked on a variety of teams implementing mobile-first projects for various clients.
  • Developed a full-stack Ruby on Rails application for an education technology client.
  • Implemented a JSON API for a health-related iOS application.
  • Worked on an internal QA portal built using Ember.js.
  • Worked on mobile applications for iOS and Windows Phone using Objective C and C#, respectively.
Technologies: C#, Objective-C, ActionScript 3, Ember.js, jQuery, Node.js, JavaScript, Ruby on Rails (RoR)

Bridgit Tasks

Bridgit's in-field communication solution for managing punch lists.
With the mobile app, users can snap pictures of deficiencies on-site, tag them with the relevant location, and assign the work to the appropriate subcontractor. Subcontractors can ask questions, complete the work, and get approval either within the application or via email. Comprehensive analytics and reporting were built out as additional modules to the software.

This was my largest project at Bridgit. I led the development of both the back and the front end using Ruby on Rails for the JSON API and React for our web client, which provided all the functionality of the mobile application plus administrative tools used for setting up projects.

Bridgit Bench

Bridgit's deep and efficient solution for managing resources for construction projects. Easily see at a glance what projects need what roles and what workers are available for those time-periods. Beautiful Gantt views help to understand project timelines and powerful analytics provide insight to ensure the organization is operating at peak efficiency.

I led the architecture and development of the web application, working closely with the back-end and product design teams as well as helping shape the API. The project is built in React and the web application is the primary, full-featured application, with the mobile versions containing a subset of functionality.

Languages

JavaScript, Ruby, SQL, GraphQL, ActionScript 3, Objective-C, C#

Frameworks

Ruby on Rails (RoR), Redux, Ember.js, Phaser.io, Unity

Libraries/APIs

REST APIs, Node.js, Ruby on Rails API, React, jQuery

Tools

Git, Jira, InVision, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Premiere Pro, Vim Text Editor, CircleCI

Paradigms

Agile Software Development, REST

Storage

MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB

Other

Music

Platforms

Ubuntu

2009 - 2014

Undergraduate Coursework in Computer Science

University of Waterloo - Waterloo, ON

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