My Story

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About Me

Hi, I'm Zoey! I am a full stack web developer who specializes in modern web technologies. I am an expert in web app development using JavaScript/TypeScript and React. Some of my favorite technologies include Next.js, Supabase, Firebase, and Svelt. I also like fitness, yoga, literature (especially science fiction), cats, tattoos, retro gaming, and Linux.

I grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and I have dual US/Canadian citizenship. I speak English and Spanish. I have spent the past five years living in Medellin, Colombia with my wife, but we are currently in the process of moving to Montreal, Quebec.

I have been a computer geek since I was old enough to sit in front of a computer. I wrote my first code when I was a teenager modifying my MySpace page. My web development journey began with me dabbling with HTML and CSS just for fun, but when I started playing with JavaScript I fell in love and dove in head first. The next thing I knew I was learning to build apps with React and Node. Soon thereafter, this became my career.

I have over five years experience with small startups, mostly working remotely. I am primarily interested in remote work but I am also open to an in-office position in Montreal.

My favorite browser is Firefox, my favorite editor is Neovim (but I also use VS Code), my favorite operation system is Arch Linux, my favorite password manager is Bitwarden, and my favorite hacking tool is Burp Suite.

Thanks for visiting my web site, I am available if you would like to chat :)

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Work Experience

  • 2018 - 2022

    Shed Suite

    Lead Front End Developer

    Contributed to the success of a complex business management solution for portable shed manufacturers. I was primarily responsible for the development and maintenance of our various applications. I was initially hired to work on the front end of our web apps, but quickly started picking up tasks on the back end as well as our mobile app.

    While at Shed Suite, I implemented new modules and features on the front end, improved user experience on existing pages, made our views more responsive, and oversaw the development of our new e-commerce platform.

    In addition to writing code, I also interviewed candidates for developer positions, on- boarded and oversaw junior developers, and exposed and mitigated security vulnerabilities in our platforms.

  • 2017 - 2018

    Language in Motion

    Front End Developer

    Worked with a diverse, remote team to develop and maintain an advanced language learning platform. As a member of the front end team, I worked to maximize efficiency and user experience within a complex React.js environment. My responsibilities involved building new, responsive views, adding new features, improving responsiveness, fixing bugs, and updating the React state management from Flux to Redux.

    I look back at my experience with Language in Motion as wonderful learning experience that gave me the opportunity to master my front end skills and prepare me for future roles.

  • 2017 - 2018

    The Coding Bootcamp at UNC

    Teaching Assistant

    Supported an intensive, 6 month coding bootcamp based out of UNC Chapel Hill involving 250+ hours of in-class teaching through an extensive curriculum using HTML 5, CSS 3, JavaScript, jQuery, Git, Node.js. Express.js, MySQL 5, Laravel, TDD, SEO, and cloud application development.

    I enjoyed my time at the Coding Bootcamp, the students and staff were a delight to work with and I learned a lot from the instructors and through working with the students. I do not plan on working another teaching job however, because I realize I still enjoy writing code more than I do teaching it.

skills & expertise

Web App Development

I have been doing web app development for over 5 years and have extensive experience working with React and JavaScript. Some of my favorite technologies to work with are Next.js, Firebase, Supabase, Typescript, Git, Tailwind CSS, and Linux.

I am also familiar with Node.js, SQL Databases (PostgreSQL, SQLight, etc.), GraphQL, Express.js, MongoDB, app security basics, Sass, and of course HTML and CSS.

Some technologies I would love to learn more about include Rust, Svelt, Redis, and SurrealDB.

Coding Standards

I believe in writing code that is clean, concise, easy to read, and secure. A common problem I have encountered is sloppy code that is difficult to read and work with. This is typically because devs are in a rush or are prioritizing functionality over cleanliness. I believe teams should utilize strict coding standards, code reviews, and formatting tools (such as Prettier and ESLint) to write code that is clean, consistent, and easy to work with.

Application Security

I am a security enthusiast and member of OWASP. I believe it is important for developers to understand common web app vulnerabilities and how to mitigate them, and for all employees to understand security best practices (such as using password managers and 2FA). Something I thoroughly enjoy is poking at web apps with Burp Suite to see if I can expose vulnerabilities (but only when I have permission from the project owner, of course). I will also enthusiastically take on security related tasks and work with security professionals to secure your application.

Outsourcing

I would love the opportunity to assemble a team of developers in Colombia for receiving contract work for companies in North America. I believe Colombia offers great opportunities for productive and skilled talent at competitive rates. As a native English speaker who has lived in Colombia for five years and understands the language and culture, and who has experience as a lead developer, I think this project would be an excellent use of my skills.

If this idea sounds interesting, I would love to talk more about it.

Contact me

I would love to chat :)

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

contact@zoey.ninja

+1 919 960 1124