Looking for new challenges
I'm looking for new freelance challenges again! I've had an awesome couple of years working for a client that still keeps me very busy, but it's time to start thinking about moving on to something new.
What can I do?
Build (web) applications.
Build software frameworks.
Mentor and guide teams when they build web applications.
Who am I in a nutshell? I'm a web developer with more than 20 years of experience. I am analytical. I ask questions. I am outspoken and honest. I am creative. I like to learn. I can build, mentor, teach, and help accelerate a team working on complex software. I care a lot about what I'm doing and want to be good to the people around me. And I grow flowers, fruit and vegetables for fun in my garden to relax.
I think I can afford to be rather picky in my search for clients, as I believe I have a lot to offer. So I'm going to describe what I enjoy doing next. You can decide whether I might be an interesting fit for you.
Technical Interests
I like learning and inventing. I have been developing software professionally for a long time, and I still love to build new applications and frameworks, and helping teams to do so.
Over the years I've worked on a range of applications: business applications, enterprise software, CMSes, and lots more. I understand that not all applications are the same. An enterprise with a lot of customers that need customized experiences requires different technical approaches than an application that has a single deployment. If you have something new to build, I know how to get it started and how to keep it under control. I like building applications!
I also enjoy creating software that helps developers build applications more effectively. This, to me, is an important part of application development: as developers we need to look for opportunities to extract components and frameworks from large applications. This helps to separate concerns and forces a loose coupling between them. This way we can stay in the red queen's race that is application development and maintenance.
So as a side effect of building applications, and because it's fun, I have worked on a lot of projects: several backend web frameworks (latest: Morepath), several workflow engines, lxml (the most powerful XML Python library), Obviel (an obscure frontend web framework I created before it was cool).
Web forms are a big topic that has been with me for my entire career as a web developer. Web forms are interesting as there are a lot of challenges to building a complex form in typical business applications. A lot comes together in web forms: UI, validation for the purposes of UI as well as data integrity, various modes of interaction, customization, backend interaction and security, API design and developer experience. I have been creating web form libraries from 1999 to the present day. I have a lot of ideas about them!
To learn more about what interests me and how I think, you can also consult my blog highlights.
A recent post that I'm a bit proud of is framework patterns.
Technical Skills
I have more than 20 years experience with web development and Python, and almost as much with Javascript. I've been working with React for about 5 years now. I've used both Redux as well as Mobx. In the last few years I've picked up TypeScript and more recently I've been learning Rust in my spare time.
I am an expert in doing test-driven development. I also am experienced in mentoring developers in these techniques.
I love Python and I have very deep experience with it, but I don't want to be pigeonholed as a Python-only developer -- I have a lot of experience with JavaScript as well, and believe a lot of my experience is transferable and I'm willing to try new things.
Project Circumstances
I'm a freelancer and have been self-employed for almost my entire career. I prefer to work with an hourly rate. I prefer longer duration projects where I can focus on the work, though I realize I have to prove my worth to you first.
I like to work remotely. I have have years of experience doing that. For larger projects I've worked with remote sub-contractors of my own as well.
I also like to go to you on premise. When I do that, I work with a team to build cool new stuff. This involves mentoring and guiding developers, as well learning from them. There are many ways in which we can work together: pair programming, mob programming, code reviews, presentations and coding dojos. I've had positive experiences working as part of a Scrum team the last few years.
I'm based in the Netherlands (Tilburg) and I'm not willing to relocate. Ideally I divide my time between visits and remote work. How we arrange that depends on where you are and what you prefer; if you're nearby a visit is easy, but business trips are certainly possible as well if you're further away.
I take care of my work/life balance because that is better for me, but also because I can do better work for you that way -- a well rested, relaxed mind is a lot better at creative work.
In Conclusion
If you want to hire a very experienced developer who keeps up to date, likes to spread knowledge, and can think out of the box, I'm here!
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