Employment History
Sept 2001 - Present Orange (Leeds) - Team Leader / Principal Developer
Leading UK ISP and Mobile Phone company. Large scale J2EE platform developers, vast and diverse legacy systems.
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The last 4 years at Orange have been spent working on very large scale Enterprise Java applications.
Projects Undertaken :
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Design and Implementation of online Self-Care, allowing customers to retrieve passwords, view statements, change their billing methods/details, and other utilities
This is a struts/spring based application utilising an EJB2 middleware layer via RMI and WebServices.
This application is built using agile methodology and modern J2EE design principles.
- Design and Implementation for migration of legacy self-care systems to J2EE n-tier platforms
- Became Team Leader of a small team of developers
- Implementation of the Freeserve portal using Spectra CMS on coldfusion.
- Took responsibility for system allowing CSA's to manipulate Broadband customer information
- Maintenance and implementation features of portal such as news feeds and weather search etc.
- Implementation of online provisioning for narrowband internet access, using Coldfusion and a http calls to 3rd party CGI's.
- Maintenance of above, through many feature changes, and two rebrands.
- List of work carried out in 6 years too long to list.
Reason for leaving :
As orange has grown it has tried to insure itself against failure by adopting
RUP and the roles that process prescribes.
Whilst I understand and agree with that move for a company of this size I do not see myself fitting neatly into any single one of those roles.
Worse, I find myself disagreeing with the way in which Orange have implemented RUP and the effect this move has had upon the systems I designed, maintain and have professional commitment to.
It's clearly time for a move.
2000 - Sept 2001 FLG21 (Leeds) - Software Developer
Software House and Consultancy. General IT work, mainly web programming. PR Consultancy.
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Projects Undertaken :
Reason for leaving :
Company sold, made redundant.
2000 - Short Period of Self Employment
Self Employment. Order tracking tools, client side shopping cart, e-commerce shop selling workwear, IT consultancy.
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Reason for leaving :
Got the experience necessary to get a job.
Oct 1997 - Supervisory and Industrial Control Systems Ltd (Bradford) - Engineer
Engineering Process Control 'systems house' and Consultancy. Water treatment, Aluminium production, food and beverages.
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Projects Undertaken :
- Undertook Upgrade of MMI/SCADA systems and software (including design and implementation of software) on location in Dubai.
- Undertook almost entire project to create a PLC5/PanelView system for water Pumping station.
- PLC5/PanelView system for Fume Treatment Plant (including PICS plant simulation)
- Designed and implemented a Modbus Telemetry system for pumping station.
- Re-engineering of Dexterity-Ingress system into Adroit-MSSQL system for Y2K Compliance. On site, Imperial Tobacco Nottingham.
- Creation of PICS Plant Simulation of Sausage production plant, borehole abstraction plant and fume treatment plant.
- Wrote ActiveX Components for access to HDA compliant Database system using DCOM (Visual Basic).
- Excel VBA Tools for Data Conversion/Manipulation.
- Development of a demonstration system (for SIPC to show to customers) using Siemens PCS 7.
- Sections of major work for Scottish Courage using Rockwell Process Pak
- Much on site PLC code debugging and plant commissioning in various locations in the UK
- General Database/SQL Work.
- General Systems Design and documentation
- General Y2K work.
- Technical Document Writing
- Became champion in push for 'Tick-IT' approval and ISO 9001 certification, created ISO9000 quality manual
Reason for leaving :
The Internet, wow!
Feb 1997 - Oct 1997 Dickinson Control Systems Ltd. (Manchester) - Engineer
Engineering Process Control 'systems house' and Consultancy. Food and Beverages, Water Treatment, Baggage Handling.
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Projects Undertaken :
- Designed, Developed, on site commissioned an InTouch SCADA system supervising a batch cotton bleaching process.
- Designed and Developed a FIX SCADA system supervising a margarine production process.
- Designed and Developed a PLC5-PanelView system controlling and monitoring a water treatment works.
- Created Excel VBA Tools suite for complex user data manipulation.
- Created an SQL link to 3rd party remote database from InTouch SCADA Package.
- Lots of Technical Document writing
Reason for leaving :
Commute became too difficult, also got better job offer.
July 1996 - Jan 1997 Motron Dynamics Ltd. (Barnsley) - Engineer
Engineering Robotics, Automation, pneumatic control, Embedded and turnkey systems design and development
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Projects Undertaken :
- Adapted off the shelf axis control systems to work with pneumatic motors
- Designed built and demonstrated a multi-axis pick and place robot using off the shelf motion control systems.
- Designed built and commissioned an automated machine (Mitsubishi FX0 PLC) to package zip drive shutters into trays as they left the multi-stage press
- Designed and had manufactured a multilayer PCB signal conditioning device
- Designed, built, Installed and semi-commissioned a pick and place robot to create carpet sample 'deck boards'
- Fault fixed a pick and place robot used to palletize tins of paint at Cuprinol.
- Wrote embedded C software code for several turnkey pick and place robots.
Reason for leaving :
Company went out of business
1986-1991 Pre-University
The first part of my working life was spent in the manufacturing industry as a Welder/Fitter/Machinist etc.