Javascript TypeScript
Machine Learning
React
Ruby/Rails
BDD/TDD
Design/UI/UX
Node
React Native
Mobile Dev
Python
Java, PHP
Heroku
Cloud
Firebase
Education
MAEd - Second Language Acquisition & Curriculum Design,
Virginia Tech,
2003
BA English with Linguistics Concentration,
Virginia Tech,
1997
BA French Language,
Virginia Tech,
1997
Interpersonal
Management
Mentorship
NVC
Collaborator
Team Leadership
Pair Programming
Spoken Languages
Benjamin lieb
software engineer · manager · mentor · designer · educator · linguist
Summary
- Software Engineer, Manager, Application Developer, Mentor
- Passionate about UI, UX, and design
- Happy on the whole stack, happiest on the front end
- Entrepreneur with active & profitable web products
- Years of experience in private consultancy, & on corporate teams
- Owner of Pixel Earth web development
Experience
Founding Engineer, Manager,
Threadable Books
2023-
- Established engineering structures and processes for a startup
- Transitioned applications and architecture developed by an outside agency
- Conducted interviews, hired 4 engineers, 1 designer, QA
- Converted internal waterfall SOW planning to modern Agile methods
- Build a web-based e-book social annotation platform, activity feed
- Used data analytics, user surveys to test, iterate, and pivot towards market fit
Technical Engineering Manager,
Wilderness Travel
2021-22
- Oversaw all technical aspects of engineering
- On-premises databases, data syncing, accounting systems
- 4 web applications, SEO, staging servers
- Continuous Integration CCI, roadmap management
- feature architecture, bug management
Engineering Team Lead Engineer,
Wilderness Travel
2020-21
- Led standup and team meetings
- 3 direct reports, Senior, Junior, Designer
- Primary point of contact with management to architect new features and chart roadmap
- Designed and built extensive features for two additional Rails apps: an internal custom CRM and wildernesstravel.com
- Built payment processing into our CRM
- Undertook large database reorg and refactored data model and UI to suit
- Built custom image CRUD with S3, custom slideshows, improved caching strategy, stale submission data strategy
- Modernized an old invoicing system
- Require our team to start writing tests
Staff Software Engineer,
Wilderness Travel
2018-19
- Built (sole engineer) a greenfield Web Portal (Rails/React) to connect clients, trip leaders, outfitters, and staff. All back end, front end, design, dev ops.
- Portal managed documents, images, post-trip questionaires, surveys, and automated email reminders, invitations, applications, etc
Senior Software Engineer, Lead French Language Curriculum Developer, Chatterbug Language Learning,
2017-2018
- A small new startup by the founders of Github
- Contributed to inflected word variations modeling
- Hybrid role of software engineer, linguist, curriculum developer
- Built tools and visualizations that improved curriculum developers' ability to grow and chart curriculum progress
- Created interactive language exercises, spaced repetition content,
- Collected and integrated multimedia content for curriculum
Senior Full Stack Engineer, Public Library of Science,
2015-2016
- Built web software to manage the submission, peer review, versioning, and publication of scientific papers
- Rails, EmberJS, Javascript, SCSS, Rspec
- Ported live authentication, user management, and search systems into separate micro-services
CTO, Lead Software Engineer, Designer, Owner iDance.net,
2008-now
- Rails application, DB and server admin, UI, testing, payment processing (Authorize.net/Stripe)
- Search, discovery, data model, educational interfaces, audio recording, extensive CLI video editing
- In 2014 I bought out my co-founders and assumed their roles
- Videography, filming, video editing, lighting, instructor relations, contract writer
- Added payroll functionality, subscription service, marketing, data analytics, tax preparation, LLC management
Freelance Web Developer for 15+ years for diverse clients, PixelEarth.net,
2002-now
- Developed bespoke web applications for private clients
- Assessed need, estimated project costs and timelines, drafted and negotiated contracts
- Project management, RFPs, project bidding interviews, SEO, marketing, spec writing
- e-commerce, invoicing, tax preparation, customer relations campaigns
- Examples of projects include - the medical language interpreter network for western NC, an Android application for Tango Instruction,
- Exs: Online store for gem sculptors, a calendar-based city event list, Flash AS3 animations
Developer of Online Courses, Institute for Distance & Distributed Learning, Virginia Tech,
2001-02
- Preserved the lectures and classes of retiring professors
- Recorded audio, video, transcripts
- Developed web applications and Flash modules for the University
- One of the first of its kind, IDDL (now TLOS) offered online courses for credit
Manager ATECH Computer Integrated Classrooms, Virginia Tech,
1998
- Integrated costly emerging technologies into specialized classrooms for faculty and students
- As manager I guided users in how to get the most educational benefit from emerging web and software technologies
- Evaluated & installed new software, monitored systems, built the ATECH website, manage distribution of borrowed equipment
Technology Lab in the Humanities Internship, Virginia Tech,
1997
- I worked with humanities students 1-on-1 to learn and apply emerging technologies to their work
- The emerging tech of the time were scanners, digital cameras, digital graphic design
- web sites, discovering internet resources, burning CDs/DVDs, accessing CD-ROM based resources, "hypertext" literature, laptops, security, etc