Skills

Languages and Frameworks

Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, Node.js, Vue.js, Python, C++, Mathematica, Matlab

Databases

PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, RabbitMQ, Redis, Elastic Search

Other

Test Driven Development, Scrum, git, Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, GCE, Tableau

Open Source

  • Open source contributions to Ruby/IRB, ActiveRecord SQL Server Adapter, and minitest-bang.
  • Authored BenKanouse/ecc, a Ruby project that calculates public and private keys using the elliptical curve cryptography.
  • Author of benkanouse.com, a blog where I post about software.

Experience

Modo Labs

Principal Software Engineer • Aug, 2020 - Present

  • Served as the team lead for Analyze, a Ruby on Rails application processing tens of millions of page views daily, backed by a multi-terabyte PostgreSQL database.
  • Spearheaded the development and launch of a space booking and scheduling product, guiding it from conception to profitability.
  • Created and deployed numerous AWS Lambda functions, streamlining and automating critical processes.
  • Directed efforts to improve the performance and scalability of all Ruby on Rails applications at Modo.
  • Acted as the go-to expert for production issues, consistently resolving critical incidents and ensuring minimal downtime.
  • Helped the migration of all Ruby on Rails applications from Heroku to Kubernetes on AWS, significantly improving scalability, control, and cost efficiency.

Liaison International

Principal Software Engineer • Jan, 2013 - Jul, 2020

  • Led a team of 20 engineers in the development and maintenance of WebAdMIT, a large-scale Ruby on Rails application with a Vue.js front-end and PostgreSQL backend.
  • Championed the adoption of agile practices, including TDD, pair programming, and code reviews.
  • Facilitated daily standups to align the team, set goals, and resolve blockers, ensuring smooth project execution.
  • Designed and implemented user-facing RESTful APIs.
  • Optimized WebAdMIT's performance, reducing page load times and enhancing overall user experience.
  • Managed the release process and served as the primary on-call engineer, quickly resolving critical issues, limiting the impact to customers.

Academic Software Plus

Software Engineer • Jan, 2012 - Jan, 2013

  • Developed new features and maintained a Ruby on Rails application.
  • Automated the customer onboarding process, reducing onboarding time and improving customer retention.
  • Managed an ETL process, unifying data from multiple sources into a centralized database, improving data accuracy and accessibility.
  • Collaborated closely with the quality assurance team to provide the best possible user experience.

Great Lakes Center

Software Engineer Intern • Sept, 2010 - Dec, 2011

  • Managed the flow of data from an aquatic robot deployed in Lake Erie.
  • Conducted computational statistical analysis of environmental data, providing valuable insights for ongoing research.
  • Created, maintained and deployed a website in PHP.
  • Designed and implemented a Microsoft SQL Server database.
  • Engineered a Python-based ETL service to transmit data from field instrumentation to our database, incorporating comprehensive error handling and data validation to ensure data integrity.

Buffalo State College

Research Assistant • Jan, 2009 - Jan, 2010

  • Conducted research on rare events in optical fiber systems, developing methods to estimate the likelihood of outages due to polarization mode dispersion.
  • Performed complex statistical analysis using Matlab, contributing to the understanding of optical fiber reliability.
  • Contributed to research published in the SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics (Vol. 73, No. 1), titled "On the Efficiency of Importance Sampling Techniques for Polarization-Mode Dispersion in Optical Fiber Transmission Systems."
  • Presented research findings at the 2010 Joint Mathematics Meeting in San Francisco, the largest mathematics meeting in the world.

Education

State University of New York College at Buffalo

Graduate Certificate, Data Science and Analytics • 2019 - 2020

State University of New York College at Buffalo

Master of Science, Computational and Applied Mathematics • 2010 - 2011

State University of New York College at Buffalo

Bachelor of Science, Applied Mathematics • 2007 - 2010

Ruth E. Heintz Award

The Ruth E. Heintz Award is given to the graduating senior with the most outstanding potential in the field of Mathematics.