who am i

Ryan Felton

Contract Ruby on Rails Developer

Ryan is an entrepreneur at heart and a kick-ass web app developer by trade. He prides himself on his efficiency in communication and his efficacy in development, and he is sure to be an excellent addition to -- or leader for -- any team.

Ryan has recently been accepted as a member of Toptal, a global network of elite software engineers and designers, which has recognized him as one of the top 3% of freelance developers worldwide. http://www.toptal.com/resume/ryan-felton

Professional Skills

  • Ruby on Rails

    99%

  • jQuery / Angular.js

    90%

  • Twitter Bootstrap / Foundation

    95%
Frameworks

  • Facebook Graph API

    95%

  • Twitter API

    85%

  • Instgram API

    90%
APIs

  • HTML5 / CSS3

    92%

  • TDD / Rspec / Capybara / Continuous Integration / Continous Delivery

    98%

  • Postgresql / MySQL / Redis / Memcached

    90%
assets

Experience

Contract Ruby on Rails Developer

August 2015 Current

Ryan is a software engineer, technical consultant, and architect with over 10 years of experience. He specializes in full-stack, highly scalable, Ruby on Rails and JavaScript web applications. He is an scrum Agile Software Development practitioner and a strong believer in Test Driven Development who loves to collaborate on development projects.

Ryan is self-motivated to learn and incorporate new technologies and keep up with best practices. He is as comfortable writing code for the browser as you are code for the server. He is proficient with PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MongoDB. Ryan believe's in the value of testing and rarely ship code without automated tests in place. He has strong communication skills and are receptive to constructive feedback. He has the ability to thoroughly, yet simply, explain features to everyday users. Ryan can clearly articulate your thoughts and feelings through writing. He is comfortable working on your own and are able to set ego aside when collaborating on features. He is not afraid to ask for help.

Key areas of strength:

  • Ruby, Ruby on Rails
  • HTML (Slim & Haml)
  • CSS (Scss & Sass)
  • Javascript (jQuery, CoffeeScript, Ajax)
  • Data stores (Postgresql, MySQL, Redis, Memcached, MongoDB)
  • Testing tools (RSpec, Capybara, Selenium Web Driver, ChromeDriver)
  • Facebook Ads API, Facebook Facebook Marketing API, Facebook Graph API, Facebook Connect
  • Continuous integration and deployment (TravisCI, CircleCI, CodeShip, CodeClimate, Hound)
  • Linux (Ubuntu)
  • Git & Github
  • E-Commerce & Monthly Subscription SaaS (Stripe)
  • Continuous Integration
  • Cloud Computing (Amazon AWS, Heroku, Engine Yard)
  • Twitter Bootstrap

CTO @ OneHQ

March 2014 - August 2015

OneHQ is a growing startup located in the heart of the Kansas City Startup Village, the first neighborhood in the world to receive Google Fiber and a a global hub for disruptive technology innovation. With HQ's innovative new platform we are revolutionizing the Financial Services and Insurance Services industries by bridging the data and technology divide by consolidating Distributors, Advisors, Carriers and Vendors on one easy to use connected platform.

Vice President of Technology & Product @ BLiNQ Media - A GANNETT COMPANY

March 2010 - March 2014

BLiNQ Media is the leading global innovator of Social Engagement Advertising (SM) solutions for agencies and big brands. BLiNQ’s technology and managed services deliver quality brand engagement at scale by driving rapid, measurable results with unparalleled audience insights. The BLiNQ Ad Management (BAM) platform fully automates complex campaign planning, setup, management, optimization and insights. Since 2008, BLiNQ has managed campaigns for more than 600 of the world’s largest advertisers.


BLiNQ is a Facebook Preferred Marketing Developer with Ads and Insights badges. Agencies currently tapping the power of BLiNQ Media and BAM include WPP’s Group M, Publicis, Omnicom World Group, IPG, Turner Media Group, Havas Digital and 22Squared, among others.

Calculated Combustion – Owner

May 2015 - Sept 2015

Ryan an Entrepreneur and Technology Consultant specializing in web application development leveraging the Ruby on Rails platform with over 15 years of experience. Ryan managed day-to-day operations, long term strategy, and lead multiple teams that practice Agile Development Techniques. His teams utilized weekly iteration planning, daily stand ups, and Test Driven Development focusing on extensive automated testing and usability in order to produce high quality software. At Calculated Combustion, we believe in involving the client as much as possible.


In the Spring of 2011, after many successful years and dozens of satisfied customers, Calculated Combustion was strategically acquired by BLiNQ Media to lead the development of their products. http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/16/blinq-media-buys-ruby-on-rails-shop-calculated-combustion-names-cto/


Combat Medic @ Iowa Army National Guard

May 1997 - May 2005

Throughout Ryan's military career as a combat medic he worked with a team that conducted pre-deployment exams and yearly health readiness checks on military personnel. Additional, Ryan took combat readiness training on an annual basis. During his carrer he received the Awarded the Army Achievement Medal and the Iowa Army National Guard Humanitarian Service Ribbon.

As a combat medic, Ryan achieved proficiency in:

  • CPR
  • First Aid and Basic Life Support
  • Front Line Triage and Trauma Care
  • Automatic Electronic Defibrillator (AED)
  • EKG
  • IV therapy
  • Vaccinations
  • Pharmaceuticals

Education

Code School

May 2015 Current

Ryan has always been eager to learn and has continued to learn throughout his life. He has successfuly completed the Code School courses for Ruby on Rails, Angular.js, etc.

Executive MBA – University of Missouri-Kansas City

Sep 2009 - May 2011

The Executive MBA program included a one week residency in Washington DC where students had privileged access to meet with U.S.A. congressmen, think tanks, lobbyists, and consultants focusing on the role of government and business what we as business leaders can do to improve the interaction between business and the government. The second residency was a two week trip to Shanghai, China and Beijing, China focusing on international business.

Computer Science and Mathematics (BS) – University of Iowa

Sept 2015 - Nov 2015

Tutor for Freshman and Sophmore Computer Science and Mathematics Students, Intramural Soccer, Advisor to the University of Iowa Associated Residence Halls

Testimonials

  • Carlos Tejuco Market Development Manager, PMD Program @ Facebook

    Ryan is one of the most innovative, strategic, and thorough people I get to work with from a partnerships perspective at Facebook. Under his direction, BLiNQ Media's ad technology has become one of the most well recognized in the Preferred Marketing Developer ecosystem. His ability to quickly turn ideas into product reality has been one of the areas I've enjoyed most while working along side Ryan

  • Claire Blake Senior Account Executive @ Agile Resources, Inc.

    I've had the privilege of working with Ryan over the last couple of years to help grow his development team with high caliber technical talent. He's an absolute joy to work with - an excellent partner and a fantastic, well-respected leader. His enthusiasm is contagious and one quickly realizes why developers enjoy working for him. He's got the smarts, strategy and likability to recruit and grow a world-class development team.

  • Chris Petersen CIO @ Assay Depot

    Ryan has been indispensable to our project as well as a pleasure to work with. His discipline when it comes to testing and iteration planning are complimented by his deep understanding of Ruby and Rails, as well as technologies such as Merb, DataMapper and Solr. Ryan has contributed at the level of an expert, which is exactly what we hired him to do.

  • Trish Nicolas CMO @ BLiNQ Meda - A GANNET COMPANY

    Ryan had the challenging task of remotely managing a development team with a long list of requirements and an urgency for rapid iterations, updates and innovation. Despite the distance and oft-changing priority list, he managed to have a healthy rapport with his team, management and colleagues that inspired forward momentum. Ryan had a "can do" attitude and was always available to work through issues through the night or weekend in order to meet deadlines. During our 2013 strategy sessions, Ryan suggested the exec team read the book, "Blue Ocean Strategy," which became a mantra and guide for the team in our go-forward business plan.
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