Robert (Robin) Thomas
Experienced engineer, relationship manager, and life-long learner.
JavaScript (Typescript, Angular, Vue), Python (Django), TDD, APIs, Microservices, CSS (SCSS), Git.
Minneapolis, MN
Experience
Mall of America
Software Development Manager
Minneapolis, MN
- Built a ticketing kiosk (C#, .NET) and wayfinding kiosk (TypeScript) used by millions of guests per year at a popular attraction
- Hired and managed a team of employees and contractors on both greenfield and maintenance projects
- Rolled out Git and Bitbucket adoption across the organization
- Rolled out a Jira instance with weekly checkins that dramatically improved communication between IT and stakeholders at all levels
Geneticure, a venture-backed genetic testing start-up.
Staff Software Engineer
Minneapolis, MN
- Built an algorithm to convert DNA data into recommendations for hypertension, then into a personalized PDF report. (Python)
- Built and deployed a HIPAA-compliant web portal for users to manage DNA tests and results. (Django, Python, APIs)
- Built and deployed the company's marketing website. (Typescript)
- Oversaw company-wide email migrations from Hosted Exchange to Office 365.
- Oversaw company-wide migration to Hubspot CRM.
Software Engineer, Google Chat
Minneapolis, MN (Remote)
- Built the website and platform for a global collaboration program. (Angular, APIs)
- Built the website and platform for a major cloud computing event. (Vue, APIs)
- Built a strategic data visualization tool. (Angular, APIs)
- Rewrote onboarding documentation used by 100s of Google engineers. (Microservices)
Nerdery, a software consultancy.
Senior Software Engineer, Front-end
Minneapolis, MN
- Built prominent web apps for Google, Allstate, iHealth, Purina, and other internationally-known companies.
Best Buy, corporate headquarters.
Product Manager, Automated Personalization
Minneapolis, MN
- Ownership of an enterprise-level machine learning service deployed on the global Best Buy website. (Microservices)
- Managed backlog and story prioritization and led Agile processes for a team of engineers.
- Built an automated testing suite from scratch. (Python, TDD)
MentorMate, a global web and app development company.
Technical Solutions Architect
Minneapolis, MN
- $500K+ in accounts closed during H1 2018 for enterprises and start-ups across multiple verticals.
- Identified the Salesforce instance used internally by the company could be supplanted by the free Hubspot CRM, saving $20K+ per year. Conducted the migration of data between systems and sunsetting of Salesforce.
- Created a robust tool for calculating software development costs, factoring in staffing needs and scope risks, and outputting a client-ready development proposal. The tool is now used company-wide.
General Assembly, the foremost "boot camp" for coding, UX/UI, and data science.
Lead Web Development Instructor
Washington, DC
- Wrote and lead-taught thousands of hours of classes in JavaScript, Ruby, PHP, SQL, Git, CSS, and other technologies.
- Among highest-rated instructors across 5 cohorts, teaching 100s of adults to become fully-qualified web developers.
- Built a robust web app to capture and visualize data related to student attendance and assignments.
- Collaborated with other instructors to define requirements for and develop a Ruby on Rails-based platform for gathering and visualizing data regarding student attendance and assignments. Provided the inspiration for software rolled out company-wide.
Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, a global social entrepreneurship non-profit.
Salesforce Consultant
Washington, DC
- Built a VisualForce / Apex and JavaScript interface to search job applicant records via SOSL / SOQL.
Coinbase, the world's largest Bitcoin company.
API Support Supervisor, Merchant Integration
San Francisco, CA
- Technical lead for corporations accepting Bitcoin, including Expedia and Dish Network.
The Noteboard, a folding dry-erase board I invented and distributed full-time.
Inventor & Developer
Washington, DC
- Featured in TechCrunch, ThinkGeek, Huffington Post, and Entrepreneur.
- Sourced domestic and overseas manufacturers and supply chain providers.
- Built a web platform through which customers could customize their orders and secure bulk discounts, integrated with the PayPal API.
- $130K in revenue generated before selling entirety of business to new owners.
Education
Stanford University
BA Urban Studies
Stanford, CA
- Completed 137 credits with 3.732 GPA. Left degree unfinished to pursue entrepreneurship.
- Studied Product Design, Education, Economics, Sociology, Urban Planning, Spanish, French, and Arabic.
- Spent 3 months in South Africa, studying education and archaeology.
- Sang in Stanford's premier a cappella group; Mock Trial; musical theater
Et Cetera
- Open-source contributor to Astro, Angular, Django, Mithril.js, 30 Seconds of Code, and Simple Git.
- Mentor at Prime Academy and Technovation, and author of Explain Programmer Humor.
- Created Diffshot, an NPM package that integrates with Git to generate coding tutorials.
- Alumnus of City Year (Americorps). Served as a full-time co-teacher in a New Hampshire middle school, 2007-08.
- Interests include rock climbing, 3D modeling and printing, laser-cutting, being a loving father & husband.