Dave Della Costa
https://github.com/ddellacostaObjectives
To bring my experience and acumen to bear on your customer-facing business problems, by understanding the domain deeply, working as a team member and writing resilient, high-quality code.
To continue to learn every day in order to advance my skills and the goals of your organization, and simply because I love what I do.
Selected Expertise
Ruby (Rails/Sinatra), JavaScript/CoffeeScript, Clojure, Python (2.7), Java (Android development primarily), HTML/CSS, PostgreSQL, CouchDB, Apache/Passenger, bash wrangling and UNIX command-line gymnastics, Emacs AND Vim (although I'm probably more comfortable in Emacs)
Experience
Developer, Digital Garage (October 2011 - present): Tokyo, Japan- Rapid development of payroll processing system in collaboration with Neo Singapore.
- Eliminated Bugs and Sped up Development by Introducing Testing into 9cool.jp's Python codebase.
- Quick, solid API integration of Japanese services (Mixi, KDDI, Photozou) with American partner's codebase, using Sinatra (Ruby).
- Facilitates communication between American partners and Japanese team.
- Active promoter and practicer of Agile methodologies within the organization.
- Quick turnaround of numerous Ruby on Rails-based prototypes for research and pedagogical initiatives.
- Developed numerous re-usable components (primarily Rails-based gems) for annotation, user/group management and other functionality.
- Responsive, proactive maintenance of a variety of legacy systems for the HyperStudio.
- Enabled international exchange through development of the Cultura Project, MIT HyperStudio.
- Deep front- and back-end customized development for MIT's Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.
- As a creative consultant for Arnold Worldwide, designed a phone-controllable multimedia display prototype.
- Built automated projector control system for Robert Whitman's "Turning" exhibit at the Pace Wildenstein Gallery in New York.
- Custom DSP programming with FFT audio processing for an analog audio to MIDI conversion tool.
- Taught multiple courses to Undergrad and Grad students, including "Introduction to Databases" using PHP and MySQL.
- Unified and streamlined department resources by introducing a centralized LDAP architecture to manage accounts.
- Organized and supported student and faculty gallery shows at Chelsea Museum, Felissimo Gallery, and Parsons galleries.
- Strengthened security through new policies as system administrator of department servers.
- Managed team of 8-10 student employees.
Developer Team Lead, The Ladders, Inc. (March 2004 - December 2004): New York, NY
- Led team in designing and developing customer-facing, easily customizable web application system with OO-PHP and MySQL.
- Established best practices for revision control systems and deployment procedures for the development team.
- Directly contributed power and performance to systems through effective tool selection, using technologies such as Smarty, Xdebug, and more.
- Led team in developing "medium-scale" RDBMS/Java-based E-commerce system.
- Maintained Linux server supporting our clients' $1M+ a month transactions.
- Managed team of two programmers.
- Built the first online application system for Harvard Business School's Executive Education
- Enabled customer metrics research with Perl-based survey and "special-offer" web applications for Dover Publications.
- Enabled never-before possible customer interaction with business at the "dawn of the age of web applications" for clients including OSRAM Sylvania, Harvard Business School's Executive Education, and Air Jamaica.
- Management of the full web application stack, from installation of Linux on colocated hardware to writing web applications.
- Insured positive and productive exchanges with customers...we did it all back then.
Relevant Education
- Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance, May 1998, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA.
- CG programming using C/C++ with OpenGL, Fall 2000, Harvard Extension School, Cambridge, MA.
Other Skills
日本語のレベルは、日常的な会話や読み書き程度です。 (Conversational-level Japanese)