Details

Name: Tadhg O’Higgins
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Email: tadhg(the at symbol)tadhg(the dot symbol)com

Work Experience

I have worked in the web development and software engineering for more than twelve years, with experience ranging from freelance web development to back-end software engineering, managing web development departments, and information architecture.

May 2007–February 2009
Senior Web Application Developer/Software Engineer, Metaweb Technologies
Worked on freebase.com, Metaweb’s free structured data repository, with particular emphasis on JavaScript, Python, and AJAX. I improved performance by moving functionality from JavaScript to server-side Python using the Pylons framework; enhanced user-facing functionality using Pylons, front-end code, and Metaweb’s graph database; and developed freebase.com’s community discussion functionality.

January 2006–May 2007
Web Application Developer/Software Engineer, Nimblefish Technologies
Developed Java-based web applications for marketing programs, with particular emphasis on Java, JSP, JavaScript and AJAX development. Enabled smoother workflows by prototyping a JavaScript templating environment. Improved UIs using AJAX, improved Web standards compliance and browser compatibility, and streamlined work processes via backend-to-HTML integration using JSP.

January 2005–January 2006
Web Development Manager, Nimblefish Technologies
Managed and mentored the web development team, developed JSP frameworks for form and offer handling, supervised Flash development, moved sites to the newest version of the Nimblefish platform, trained the web development team on the new platform, worked with backend engineers to develop solutions on the new platform, and performed all of the duties of the Senior Web Technologist role (see below).

December 2002–January 2005
Senior Web Technologist, Nimblefish Technologies
Developed personalized websites using Nimblefish’s JSP-based PURL platform. Improved use of PURL-related technologies including JSP and database structures. Guided production processes, managed freelancers, created standards for PURL coding and PURL QA, and developed JavaScript/CSS/HTML techniques for PURL development.

Education

M.Sc., Multimedia Systems
Trinity College Dublin, 1999.

M.A., American Literature
University College Dublin, 1998.

B.A., English and Philosophy
University College Dublin, 1995.

Skills

I am extremely experienced with a wide range of web development skills, from HTML and CSS to PHP and Python, SQL to JavaScript. I am committed to using web standards, to developing accessible and usable web applications and sites, and I have a passionate interest in the field, counting it as one of my major hobbies.

I am highly experienced in the following areas:

Python, JavaScript, AJAX, (X)HTML, CSS, Java, PHP, JSP, Unix shell scripting, and Apache, combined with a deep understanding of how they work together.Information Architecture and User Interface design and development for the web.
Project Management for web and web-related projects, in terms of leading development, leading projects overall, and dealing with version control, usability, web standards, and quality assurance issues.
I also have experience with MySQL, CVS, Subversion, Perl and ASP.

I currently maintain an OpenBSD server running several websites including a personal site/weblog and a variety of side projects, and running a variety of services including Apache, PHP, MySQL, Subversion, and WordPress.

I have excellent organizational and knowledge management skills—Metaweb’s core mission involves the organization of knowledge; I created and maintained internal knowledge bases at Nimblefish, AKQA and ClientNet; and in college, I helped found the UCD Internet Society (to provide undergraduate students with Internet access) and ran the UCD English Literary Society.

I have excellent reading, proofreading, editing, and compositional skills.

I am familiar with a wide range of computer operating systems and user interfaces, including UNIX, MacOS X, X-Windows, and Windows 3.x–XP.

Achievements

M.Sc. course project was one of seven course projects displayed at Dublin’s Douglas Hyde Gallery, an exhibition that attracted 4500 visitors in 9 days in 1999.

Wrote How to Cheat in the Leaving Certificate, a full-length feature film that went on commercial release in Ireland in April 1998, with Graham Jones (the director).

Founder Member, UCD Internet Society, 1995.

Auditor, UCD English Literary Society, 1993-1994.

References

Available upon request.