Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Hey! I'm Dan, I'm a software engineer by title, but that definition doesn't always capture what I'm most interested in: solving real user problems, designing software well, and collaborating, learning and improving my and my team's daily lives. I entered the industry in 2022. Prior to this, I worked for 7+ years in music, education and community engagement. As a developer, I'm interested in things like Domain-Driven Design, Test-Driven Development, and Pair Programming, and then leveraging Agentic AI within these principles. While I'm mostly practised in Ruby (Ruby on Rails) and TypeScript (React, React Native and Angular), I'm open to learning more languages and frameworks as my career develops. Real-world solutions don't depend on languages and frameworks, but on understanding the intersection of user and business needs. I ran the Sydney Ruby meetups from 2023-2024, and since moving back to Melbourne am now helping to organise "Rails Girls" events. Currently learning Elixir and building a couple side projects that feed my passion for sports and stats.
Full-stack engineer (Ruby on Rails backend and Angular, React, React Native, and Rails frontend): - contributed to and occasionally led delivery of core - ownership across the whole software development lifecycle: architecture, build, testing, deployment, and monitoring - owned key systems in the Matching and Recommendations engine - migrated the Search and Recommendations legacy code from the Rails monolith to a separate Rails domain service - implemented the product's first in-platform AI integration, a job-matching assistant - regularly collaborated with Product, Design, Data, and Marketing teams to deliver real customer value - mentored juniors through pair-programming, PR reviews, and facilitating some learning workshops
Completed the backend stream of Mable's inaugural Graduate Engineering Program. First three months: - Created a "fake" Ruby on Rails project from scratch, implementing Postgres, RSpec and GraphQL - Received tuition, mentoring and code reviews from senior engineers Next six months: - Put into a proper squad, with ongoing mentoring and guidance from senior engineers - Worked on backend Ruby on Rails tickets: migrations, model validations, general service objects, rake tasks and unit tests.
Supported students in the Software Engineering Immersive course by demoing and explaining coding solutions, reviewing daily work and providing debugging support.
Taught woodwind, piano and music theory to up to 20 secondary-school students per week in 1:1 and small group lessons. Guided students towards successful youth orchestra auditions and AMEB exams. Directed chamber ensembles in rehearsals and performances. Completed assessments for school reports. Regularly participated in professional development to enhance pedagogy and teaching resources.
Performed in ensembles and orchestras for gigs, private functions and ceremonies, amateur musicals, studio recordings and church masses on a sessional basis. Managed my own invoices and rehearsal and practice schedule as necessary. Regularly required to adapt and improvise with the uncertainties of live performance.
Supported the teaching staff in implementing individualised learning plans for approximately sixty K-6 students with diverse learning needs. Facilitated students’ development in literacy, numeracy and social skills through 1:1 and small group modules and strategies, in-and out-of-classroom.