D RResume
Boston, MA 02131
Links
Summary
I’ve been passionate about technology for as long as I can remember. Alongside my passion for the advancement of technology itself lies a core value that software and content can empower everyone. Whether it was tinkering with Apple IIs and Commodore 64s as a child or teaching myself to code at an early age, I’ve been fascinated by technology’s ability to bridge gaps and connect people.
When it comes to my teams, I understand engineers are only as efficient as their systems. It’s my belief that teams should be agile about being Agile. As a team leader, I mentor new hires on culture and technical skills that aid in their growth as engineers and collaborators.
A successful team also needs a positive workplace environment where they feel valued, included, and respected as a contributor to all our success. I firmly believe every person should have the opportunity to learn, find community, and experience joy through technology. If something isn’t working, it’s time to innovate our solutions and strike the right balance between oversight, process, and focused programming time.
I’ve managed agile projects through all points in the software life cycle, from initial requirements gathering through to the launch of scalable, award-winning applications across numerous technology stacks. I encourage teams to understand and value the needs of all users, regardless of background, age, or disability, and to reflect that understanding in the things they build. With these factors combined, we can drive growth and success of both the individual and the team while offering endless possibilities for achievement and creative breakthroughs in technology.
Accolades
Untapped Top DEIB Leaders “Walk the Walk” award
Education
Roosevelt University
Bachelor of Science, Computer Science
2003—2005
“Systems” emphasis included coursework in Computer Architecture and Operating System design. Electives included two classes on networking protocols.
Cornell University eCornell
Certificate, Diversity & Inclusion
April, 2020
Certification & Courses
The Disney Approach to Leadership Excellence
May, 2016
Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC)
IAAP - International Association of Accessibility Professionals
December, 2017
Certified Interviewer
Certified Interviewer Institute (Hire Authority)
January 2018
Renewed July, 2023
Scrum Master Accredited Certification
International Scrum Institute
July, 2014
Experience
Director of Enginering @ Swing Education
August, 2023–Present
Led engineering team through 2024 app modernization (React, Typescript) initiative. Grew team by 3 engineers. Optimized hiring processes - less than 60 days from job posting to hire. Streamlined on-boarding, with new hires making first meaningful commits three days after their start date. Identified redundant and unnecessary tooling costs. Cut data vault overage costs by $40,000 through code optimization and negotiating a better deal with our vendor.
Sr. Engineering Manager @ Grindr
December, 2021—August, 2023
Engineering manager for the creation and launch of Grindr Web, a web-based version of the popular Grindr app. More than doubled the size of the existing web team with five hires in the first year. Drafted our initial product roadmap that provided our North Star until Product support arrived. Led the team to a mostly feature-complete prototype in under six months, a closed alpha test at nine months, a closed beta at one year, and launch in May 2023. Worked alongside the web team as lead individual contributor on several features. Spearheaded the re-platforming the grindr.com web site on Jekyll and later oversaw a migration to Webflow which empowered our Marketing team to update the site in conjunction with our messaging.
Manager for two teams of iOS, Android, web, and backend engineers.
Established close working relationships with Design, Product, Legal, and Privacy stakeholders.
Created a Software Engineering Book Club to encourage socialization between platform specific teams and foster deeper discussion of the aspects of the software development craft beyond just programming.
Software Development Manager @ Chewy
January, 2021—December, 2021
Within two months of forming a cross-functional team, delivered Chewy’s first customer-facing Autoship improvement in ten years. Introduced agile processes and ceremonies. Fostered a collaborative, supportive team culture that improved both job satisfaction and productivity. Standardized & documented the on-boarding process for Autoship engineers. Worked to build trust and strengthen bonds with our partners on other Chewy teams.
Engineering Manager @ Wirecutter (Remote)
January, 2019—January, 2021
Hired to establish a Delivery team responsible for AWS environment upkeep and growth as well as tool building and process improvements. Established on-call rotation (PagerDuty) and set up an “SOS” Slack command for after-hours emergencies. Improved server monitoring and reporting. Oversaw implementation of more agile release workflow and associated tooling changes. Grew team from one engineer to three.
Researched and planned out technical SEO work for H2 2020, resulting in measurable improvements to search ranking and site traffic. Enhanced our newsletter subscription functionality, consolidating logic across diverse systems. Architected enhancements to our Fastly CDN implementation for major uptime improvements. Mentored new hires on our culture, workflows, and tech stack, as well as helping establish a culture which values testing.
Director of Engineering @ 10up (Remote)
June 2013—December, 2018
Oversee 30 distributed engineers on four continents and multiple client engagements including Microsoft, ESPN, Time Magazine, and World Economic Forum. Introduced accessibility review into projects’ Director checkpoint process. Initiated and oversaw development of a Continuous Integration pipeline featuring unit testing, static analysis, visual regression testing, and automated accessibility testing. Developed and evolved 10up’s published Best Practices for WordPress development.
Freelance
July, 2012—June, 2013
Freelance Drupal and WordPress development for small businesses in the Chicago and Boston metro areas. Designed sites and implemented themes for non-profits.
Lead Developer @ Straight North
June, 2010—June, 2012
Lead Developer @ Xeno Media
November, 2006—June, 2010
Software Developer @ DriveItAway
May, 2005—October, 2006
Software Developer @ Florists Transworld Deliveries (FTD)
March, 2001—April, 2005
Sr. Programmer/Analyst @ gomembers, Inc.
July, 1999—March, 2001
Open Source
Adrian
github.com/dana-ross/adrian
Language: Go
Adrian (Frutiger, not Pennino) is a server for hosting web fonts. It scans all the fonts in a directory and automatically generates CSS with @font-face declarations for individual fonts or families. Caching headers are added to all responses so browsers know not to request the same files repeatedly, while CORS and filename obfuscation helps comply with security restrictions in some fonts’ licenses.
It lets you serve fonts for your sites from a central location so they’re not sitting in your project’s repo. It also helps prevent you from being a one-stop distribution site for the fonts you paid good money for.
Functional Programming Utils for PHP 5.4+
github.com/dana-ross/functional-programming-utils
Language: PHP
Implementation of common Functional Programming constructs in modern PHP.
- Memoization
- Composition
- Partial Application
- Currying
- Monads
Catalogopolis API
github.com/dana-ross/catalogopolis-api
Language: TypeScript, Node.js
API for retrieving information about Doctor Who episodes, cast, and crew. Written in TypeScript, running on node.js, and featuring REST & GraphQL endpoints. Available at catalogopolis.xyz.