01/2017 - 07/2017 JMR Software, Magaliesburg, South Africa
Remote Java Developer
The project migrated Wesleyan's Insurance books over to Sapiens using mainly Java 8 and Hibernate with some complex mapping rules from core dump files.
06/2014 – 11/2016 Vitality Corporate Services Limited trading as VitalityLife and VitalityHealth in the United Kingdom and part of Discovery Limited, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa
Senior Java Developer / System Analyst
Worked in the New Business, Underwriting and Retention space as Senior Java Developer / Team Lead and soon thereafter acted as a System Analyst / Team Lead. I attended daily architecture planning meetings and if planning was needed draw up the plans for the team and got them approved by architects. We also had daily scrums where we followed the Agile methodology, which I led until we got a scrum master.
I throughout had to deliver and write Java to support and enhance the current systems. The projects varied in size and most I independently designed and delivered with the team with the Architectural approvals needed. We as a team mostly enhanced the Servicing Underwriting system they used.
I wrote multiple proofs of concept to support, introduce and replace new technologies into the aging systems they had. The one which was the most encompassing was using Solr to index most of the underwriting business near real time and showed huge potential to increase productivity.
I was also chosen to participate in a year course called the Discovery Peak Performance Program which is a business executive leadership development course that was in conjunction with University of Stellenbosch and acquired some credits towards an MBA (NQF Level 5). Apart from the executive development it also included a business driven access learning program where we identified the part of the business with current issues and delivered an implementable solution to business as a final project.
04/2013 – 05/2014 JMR Software, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa
Senior Java Developer
I was contracted out to PruProtect now called VitalityLife UK which falls under Discovery Limited. I was assigned to the CMaIR (Channel Management and Intermediary Renumeration) team.
The main purpose of this department was to pay out agency commission and to load new networks, agencies and financial advisors to the system. Java was used as the main development language and I wrote a complex debt age analysis tool as one of the bigger projects.
04/2004 – 03/2013 bidorbuy (Pty) Ltd. Bryanston, Johannesburg, South Africa
Senior Developer
I think bidorbuy speaks for itself, it's like the South African eBay equivalent, but I think in a lot of ways even better. I mostly developed in Java, Oracle, PL/SQL using an OO class base to serve JSP's with HTML, JavaScript etc. I also wrote all the web services and collaborated remotely with Cobi Interactive and RedEye to develop bidorbuy's Android and iOS applications based on these service calls.
Also did some PHP developments from time to time including work for QXL Ricardo PLC - Partnering with the London-based Evening Standard newspaper for a new concept in auctions called the Standard's Big Bid. We used the QXL SmartBid engine (previously known as QXL MaxBid) to auction a Bentley Continental GT worth over £110,000, with the lowest unique bidder winning. The Evening Standard was so pleased with the results that they immediately followed on with the second auction for a Spanish villa. The concept was nominated and ended runner-up in the European Innovation Awards. SmartBid followed suit in South Africa.
I also provided the backbone code PayFast was developed on using a technology that logged into bank accounts to retrieve payments by payment references from an import company TradeBroker. Tradebroker was at the time selling items on bidorbuy to boost its R1 no reserve Crazy Wednesday auctions. The system could determine by logging into its bank account if an order has been completed. It also picked stock from Expeditors and automated the whole process by listing and relisting on bidorbuy.
In the early days, there was also a South African portal site called Sawubona I worked on, but that is way back when bob employed 4 people and we all sat in one office except for another developer who was based in New Zeeland. I worked closely with him over the years and for many years we were the only developers.
I wrote numerous plugins for Joomla, Magenta, WordPress enabling mass imports and also won an innovation award with Clickatell for out bid notifications.
07/2007 – 11/2007 Matthew Buckland, Fairlands, Johannesburg, South Africa
Freelance Web Developer
Remotely developed hotcourses.co.za using PHP, MySql, JavaScript & CSS at the time one could book and pay for a course online and as admin load various courses as well as resellers to log in and sell their courses.
10/2003 - 12/2003 Rothmans (UK) Limited, Oxford House, Oxford Road, Aylesbury Bucks, HP21 8SZ
Freelance Software Developer
Remotely developed some in-house software for them using VB6 that got deployed to representatives’ tablets that could capture current market share in any of its current or future vendor locations that could be sent back to the head office for processing later.
It captured the address, the time of visit, max audience, the location of vending machines, the location of its brands in the vending machines etc.
8/2002 - 7/2003 FC Networks (UK2U), Docklands, London, UK
Freelance Web Developer
Remotely developed a payment gateway, which enabled external clients, an e-commerce checkout platform with live credit card payment solutions and later extended this project into a sellable shopping cart system.
I also built a restaurant and hotel-booking platform derived from the shopping cart project. A dating platform, business search, local statistics and much more as it became a portal site....
The site seems to be gone now but still partly visible on the way back machine it used to reside at
http://www.uk2u.net but still visible at
https://web.archive.org/web/20030724133550/http://www.uk2u.net:80/
PHP, MySql, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, XML and Flash was the main technologies used with HTTPs protocol and security in mind.
7/2002 - 7/2002 Forde Recruitment, Sheffield, UK
Freelance Web Developer
Worked remotely as a private contractor and created a fully functional website that allowed dynamic postings of jobs, news and content through a secure backend displayed and searchable from the front using PHP, MySql, HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
Their current site can be viewed at the URL below:
http://www.forde-recruitment.co.uk
4/2001 - 6/2002 Envent / (Now Ensight), Johannesburg, South Africa
PHP Programmer
• Database Design in MySql
• Secure back end Web Page creation in PHP through extensive use of in house modules
• (Access to database, images, sound, animation, e-mail, form validations, file uploads, e-commerce, shopping baskets, automatic e-mail confirmation, e-mail retrievals, customized templates, password creation, automated mail lists, ftp, pop3, smtp, xml, send to a friend (HTML mail), extensive reports, external data retrieval, media tool, search tool)
• Added extra functionality with Java Script, xml, dhtml;
• Client consulting
• Project Planning (Flowcharts, Technical specs through Visio)
Sites I have built or worked on some sadly seem to have disappeared.
http://www.1stcontact.co.uk
http://www.marketingpower.com
http://www.touchrugby.com
http://www.themarketingsite.com
http://www.vered.co.za
http://www.weddingcards.co.za
http://www.christmascards.co.za
2/2001 - 6/2002 Visage Media (Now Free Mind Media), Johannesburg, South Africa
Freelance Web Developer
Contract based web design and dynamic integration from a remote location.
Sites I have built or worked on some sadly seem to have disappeared.
http://www.stgbags.co.za
http://www.acewholesalers.co.za
http://www.jico.co.za
http://www.lovematch.co.za
http://www.cosmiclink.co.za
http://www.floraimports.co.za
1/2000 - 3/2001 Executive School For Computers, Johannesburg, South Africa
College Lecturer
After completing my course I was asked if I wanted to lecture here and I lectured the following subjects the following year: Turbo Pascal, C++ (OO), Java (OO), VB6, HTML, JavaScript, Delphi, Access, Excel, SQL, Flash, Dreamweaver
9/1999 - 1/2001 Webserv, Johannesburg, South Africa
Web Developer
I started working here half day as a student.
• Database Design in MySql
• Secure back end Web Page creation in PHP, (Log in, cookies, e-mail, data management, setting security levels)
• Front end Web Page design
• Access to database, images, sound, animation, e-mail, form validations, file uploads, e-commerce,
shopping baskets, automatic e-mail conformation, e-mail retrievals, customized templates, password
creation, guest books, currency conversions, domain name search, site search, automated mail lists,
ftp, pop3, smtp
• Added extra functionality with JavaScript, Java applets, Flash
• Created Perl pages for CGI Bin
• Client consulting
Sites I have built or worked on some sadly seem to have disappeared.
http://www.gatewayhomeloans.co.za
http://www.goldtycoon.co.za
http://www.adpro.co.za
http://www.dreamafrica.co.za
http://www.10118.co.za
http://www.swear.co.za
http://www.spotofafrica.co.za
http://www.homelesstalk.org.za
http://www.dreamafrica.co.za
http://www.fishingowl.co.za
http://www.bestbuys.co.za
http://www.smartinvestor.co.za
http://www.webserv.co.za
http://www.eserv.co.za