Paul Baker
Reading, Berkshire, UK
☏ 07554 432768
Summary
I am a Senior Software Designer and Developer with over twenty years of experience. I enjoy solving problems creatively, and have a particular interest in good, common-sense UI/UX design. I am a self-motivated, adaptable individual who can work alone as effectively as with a productive team.
Skills and Experience
  • UI/UX design, including business graphic design.
  • Web design and implementation.
  • Web services design and implementation.
  • Object oriented design and implementation.
  • Database design and implementation.
  • Agile expertise (Scrum Master role).
Technologies
Over the past ten years or so emphasis has been on Web frontend technologies, but my wider experience extends to full stack development. I'm able to quickly learn new technologies as and when required.
  • JavaScript (vanilla, Angular, angularjs, jQuery)
  • HTML and CSS / SASS
  • ReST web services (Java, ColdFusion)
  • Python (ad hoc scripting)
  • React Native (ad-hoc app development)
  • SQL
  • PHP
  • Objective-C and C++ (iOS and Android development)
  • Java (core and EE)
Employment
Paycircle
Reading, Berks
Partner and Web Developer
Dec 2019 - current
Working as part of a small team to implement Paycircle, a cloud-based platform for payroll.
  • Implementation of a set of applications for user-friendly payroll administration and processing. Creating originally using AngularJS, migrating to Angular.io
  • Migration of AngularJS components to reusable Angular.io libraries
  • Design and implementation of a custom WordPress API in PHP for in-app Help and Support.
  • Creation of Python scripts for source code analysis.
emapsite
Farnborough, Hants
Lead Web Developer
Jun 2018 - Aug 2019
Working as part of a small team to redesign and implement a suite of online mapping software.
  • Designed and implemented Mapshop, an online application for the definition and purchase of custom maps. It was written using Angular 6, with Redux for storage and rxjs for communication with the backend APIs.
  • Created a library of Angular widgets and services for reuse across emapsite web applications.
  • Designed new vector assets as required using Affinity Designer.
Kahootz
Newbury, Berks
Senior Software Engineer
Feb 2017 - May 2018
Working in a small team of developers to enhance and maintain software-as-a-service collaboration tools.
  • Implemented an Office Online integration, creating ReST web services to integrate with WOPI (Web Application Open Platform Interface) clients, to allow inline creation and editing of Microsoft Office documents.
  • Enhanced UI and UX across web applications, including creation of bespoke JQuery UI widgets.
Cisco Systems
Reading, Berks
Senior Software Engineer
Sept 2011 - Nov 2015
I was part of a team involved in the design and implementation of a next generation, web-based OSS, as Cisco shifted an amount of its focus towards software to support its extensive hardware portfolio.
  • Acted as Scrum Master in an Agile development environment.
  • Specialised in the user interface aspects of the new OSS product. This was built using JavaScript and the Dojo framework.
  • Designed and implemented custom Dojo widgets to display data, in particular a complete, reusable Gantt chart component with automatic scaling and the ability to view several charts simultaneously.
  • Assisted in the design and development of every part of the software stack, including ReST web services, Oracle database PL/SQL interfaces and supporting database objects.
  • Created a framework for the display and organisation of multiple modules within a single web page to cater for different user roles.
  • Updated and maintained legacy native Windows applications, and created a full installer for them.
Comptel
Reading, Berks
Consultant Developer
Oct 2006 - Sept 2011
I was involved with various teams and projects, largely with the UI/UX aspects of Comptel’s product suite, providing OSS for the telecommunications industry.
  • Acted as Scrum Master in an Agile development environment.
  • Worked on the Active Catalog product, for the design and ordering of network offerings. This was an Eclipse application that communicated with a WebLogic layer using SOAP, supported by an Oracle database.
  • As part of a small team, I helped to design and implement an inventory system for telecoms companies to track equipment globally. The client was built using Flex and Actionscript. The back end consisted of an EJB and servlet API over an Oracle database.
  • I assisted in the design and implementation of components for the upload and activation of network equipment for enabling technologies such as DSL (Broadband), VOIP, IPTV and IPVPN. These generally relied on XSL scripts which used Java extension classes to communicate with network devices.
Edge IPK
Newbury, Berks
Senior Developer
Feb 2006 - Sept 2006
At Edge IPK I used their edgeConnect product, an IDE to enable the rapid development of enterprise web applications, primarily targeted towards the financial sector.
  • Formed part of a small team based at Liverpool Victoria’s offices in Bournemouth to design and produce a new home and car insurance website.
Elsevier MDL
Camberley, Surrey
Consultant / Senior Software Engineer
Oct 2000 - Feb 2006
Elsevier MDL developed scientific software for the pharmaceutical industry. Initially I worked as a consultant, then later moved towards pure software engineering.
  • I designed, and led a small team to implement, an online searchable pharmacological literature reference work, xPharm. The product is based on a Java servlet architecture, with an Oracle XDB for storage. Content is stored in XML and transformed on demand to HTML using XSLT.
  • Designed and implemented bespoke chemical registration and tracking systems, using a combination of in-house, Windows (VB, VB.NET) and Oracle technology. Worked closely with customers to gather requirements. Customers ranged from major pharmaceutical companies to startup biotechs.
  • Troubleshooted customer issues on-site across Europe.
Laverock von Schoultz
Knightsbridge, London
Analyst Programmer
Aug 1998 - Oct 2000
Working in a team of developers to design and build software, largely focused on the betting industry.
  • I assisted in the design and implementation of a complete suite of betting software for Victor Chandler, based offshore in Gibraltar. Initially this consisted of VB clients and an Oracle backend, but later migrated to an EJB architecture.
  • Designed and implemented an entire business information system for Ferghana Partners, an investment banking firm based in London, using VB with an Oracle backend.
Teleca
Winchester, Hants
Consultant Developer
July 1997 - Aug 1998
Teleca provided software consulting, design and development services.
  • Designed and implemented various bespoke solutions for clients, including a live train timetable processor for Thames Trains using C++, and a VB client which communicated with a custom device driver to control a switching system.
  • Designed and implemented a prototype with IBM in Hursley which used MQSeries to communicate changes in a DB2 database to a web server.
Projects
Flipzyx
Nov 2015 - Sept 2016
Flipzyx is a puzzle-arcade game. I designed the game and almost all of the required graphics, and developed it initially for iOS devices using Xcode and Objective-C with the Cocos2d-x framework. I later ported it to C++ for Android. It's currently only available on Google Play.
Toot Street
2015
Toot Street was a messaging system for drivers, allowing them to communicate using just their registration numbers. The original idea belonged to a friend, who asked me to write the iOS app.
Education
City University
Islington, London
MSc Computer Science
1995 - 1996
The University Of Sussex
Falmer, Brighton
BSc (Hons) Chemistry
1989 - 1992