Rick Hull, Software Engineer
https://github.com/rickhull
Objective
I seek to join a team that builds highly available systems to address
important problems and business opportunities. My teammates and I would
share my passion for excellence in engineering while recognizing that
quality software development is both art and science. My strengths and
interest are in the areas of devops, automation, infrastructure, library
and API development, and other forms of back-end programming.
Key Qualifications
- Broad understanding of machine learning techniques
- Several years of hardcore cloud computing experience from inside and
out
- Recognition that we live in a distributed world and must
(eventually) respond with distributed solutions
- Startup mentality: see a gap, fill a gap (many hats)
- Extensive experience designing and implementing applications,
libraries, and tools using object-oriented and functional
methodologies
- Rapid absorption and adoption of unfamiliar technologies
- Excellent problem-solving and critical-thinking skills
Experience
2021
- Achieved increasingly advanced front-end development objectives
using React and Typescript
- Rewrote Monte Carlo simulation for monetary impacts of cybersecurity
risk scenarios, replacing a misguided and buggy implementation.
- Revamped and documented the onboarding procedure for new devs,
reducing time spent from over a week to around a day.
2018 - 2024
- Delivered critical safety and technical information via clear
communication to a diverse set of customers
- Built countless trusting relationships to solve problems and ensure
the best outcomes, maximizing smiles, satisfaction, and confidence
- Focused on customer success, adapting programs to meet people where
they are
Senior Infrastructure
Engineer - Returnly
2016
- Revamped AWS infrastructure for hygiene, minimalism, and
consistency
- Created async Kinesis (Kafka) client for Ruby using aws-sdk
- Revamped internal and external schemas for minimalism and
consistency
- Created YAML-based autogenerated client integration
documentation
Senior Devops Engineer - Glassdoor
2015-2016
- Took ownership of devops/chef repo within one week
- Significantly increased deployment reliability within one month
- Successfully drove a vision of immutable infrastructure as code to
effective completion
- Instrumental in launch of new Solr-based search platform in both AWS
and Rackspace public cloud
- Solely responsible for devops, deployment, admin, security in a
hybrid cloud environment
2013-2014
- Re-engineered primary REST API for improved consistency,
predictability, regularity, RESTfulness, discoverability, and simplicity
of implementation while maintaining backwards compatibility
- Tackled the massive, hairy problem of testing and verifying the
software that provides a cloud platform:
- Integrating dozens of mostly-independent software projects
- Building a new cloud for each code change
- Reducing test cycle durations
- Isolating test infrastructure failures from product failures
- Eliminating leftover state between test runs
- Overcoming nested virtualization and networking issues when the test
environment requires virtual nodes to represent physical nodes
- Pushed Jenkins to and beyond the breaking point, using tools like
jenkins-job-builder and docker to compensate
2005-2013
- Created QA department from scratch
- Built financial transaction clients and servers across a range of
formats and framing protocols
- Developed 50kLOC of automation libraries and tools in Ruby to
facilitate automated testing
- Created black-box regression testing suite, load-testing clients,
mock servers, and test harnesses for isolating system functionality
- Developed encoders, decoders, network clients and servers for
ISO8583 and EIS1080 message formats, among others
- Eliminated points of failure by introducing development and
deployment policies
Skills
Software Development
Languages
- Ruby 10+ years
- Python 2 years
- Nix
- JavaScript, React, TypeScript, CoffeeScript
- Elixir, Erlang, BEAM
- Perl, PHP, C, Java
- Racket, Scheme, Common Lisp
Tech
- TCP network programming, clients and servers
- Hashicorp, Chef, Ansible, SaltStack, Jenkins
- Redis, PostgreSQL, MySQL
- AWS and Rackspace cloud automation, OpenStack ecosystem
- JVM ecosystem
System Administration
- Linux (Debian / Ubuntu > NixOS > Arch > Red Hat) 10+
years
- AWS infrastructure as code (+ Rackspace)
- Hashicorp, Chef, Ansible, SaltStack, Jenkins
- Solr, Zookeeper, Rails
- Redis, PostgreSQL, MySQL
- VMware, XenServer, Hyper-V
Education
Tulane University
School of Engineering
- B.S. Computer Science
- 3.6 Major GPA
Honors
- Distinguished Scholar Award 4 years
- Consistently named to Dean’s List 4 years
- National Merit Scholar
- Lexmark Scholar
References available upon request