Yup, I am a software developer. I'm a firm believer in polyglot programming and love to learn about new languages, libraries, frameworks, etc. I jump at the chance (and challenge) of building software systems, services, and tools.
The following are the languages and technologies I'm enjoying developing with the most right now:
- Web and distributed applications with Scala and/or Java
- System tools and native applications—especially on smaller footprint computers—using Rust
- Apache Kafka, especially Kafka Streams
- Containerisation, primarily with Docker
- Amazon Web Services (AWS), like EC2 and ECS
Some stuff I do and some stuff I did
Currently, I am a lead software engineer at Limepay. Born out of the "buy-now-pay-later" boom, Limepay evolved as a fintech to become more than just another "BNPL". We are building things using Scala, zio, cats, http4s, tapir/sttp, and Google Cloud Platform, just to name a few.
In 2019, I was a Senior Backend Developer at ClearScore. Although it was an already established company overseas, I was part of the team that was tasked with bringing their product to Australia in 2020. We built a bunch of services in Scala using things like http4s, cats, Monix, and doobie.
Previously, I was a Principal Consultant at Simple Machines. As a consultant and software developer, I worked with and utilised the best technologies that helped clients solve the problems they presented to us. The majority of those solutions involved Scala, Apache Kafka, and the use of AWS resources.
Prior to this, I was a Platform Software Engineer at BiblioCommons. I did stuff with Java — mainly building and maintaining a SaaS, Web applications, and Servlet-based software with a mix of other Java-ish stuff.
I also worked at DoublePlay adapting the backend system of their mobile application to handle a much higher throughput of users and interactions. I designed and built the entire system using Scala and Akka.
Before that, I was a postdoc at the National University of Ireland, Galway where I also did stuff with Java (Hadoop, Mahout, Storm, Jetty, OpenRDF).
And before that, I studied and researched applications of logic programming — specifically answer set programming — in conjunction with theories in access control and information security (in particular with XML documents).
Want to know more? Check out my LinkedIn profile.
Sometimes I write stuff
- My dev.to posts
- Going beyond the de facto software-oriented curriculum
- "So, what exactly will you do next?" - My PhD Story
- An Actor-based User Similarity Recommender: An Experiment with the Akka Toolkit
- What we fear: An opinion on why some software developers don't like the "Everyone Should Learn to Code" philosophy
- StreamRule: A Nonmonotonic Stream Reasoning System for the Semantic Web
- Implementation of a SPARQL Integrated Recommendation Engine for Linked Data with Hybrid Capabilities
- A Formal Language for XML Authorisations Based on Answer Set Programming and Temporal Interval Logic Constraints
- A Formal Language for Specifying Complex XML Authorisations with Temporal Constraints
Some other stuff about me
- I've been playing around with computers since the beginning of the 90's and have been programming for more than 15 years.
- I hava a Diploma in Software Engineering, a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, and an Honours and PhD in the same field. I studied in Canada (my home and native land) and in Australia.
- Before moving permanently to Australia in 2016, I also lived in Ireland and did some postdoctoral work at the National University of Ireland, Galway. I'm originally from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and first moved to Australia temporarily in 2006.
- Outside of computer science, software, programming, and the vast wealth of information that the Internet and social media beckon me with (i.e. Reddit & Twitter), I also enjoy listening to music, (re)watching a ton of movies, and playing video games (when I can find the time). When I'm not in front of a screen, you'll find me spending time with my wife and family in the real world.
Want to get in touch?
- email at sean@policarp.io
- @nothergeek on Twitter