Resume

JAMES D. WILSON

Head of Software

Chicago, IL 60661 | (678) 369-4522 | james@jameswilson.name | linkedin.com/in/jamesatjameswilsondotname

Innovative, hands-on Head of Software with wide-ranging experience driving continuous innovation through software engineering, application development, and solutions architecture. Have a proven track record of success in understanding and translating business requirements into technical requirements and delivering fit-for-purpose product applications. Demonstrate unparalleled strength in using scrum and agile methodologies to empower innovation and implement strategic governance plans that progress emerging technologies. Possess excellent written and verbal communication skills to share strategic insight and convey complex business concepts in an easy-to-understand language to both technical and non-technical audiences. Multifaceted leader that is highly commended for strong organizational skills and managing multiple and competing priorities effectively. Looking for a challenging Head of Innovation Center in an established organization.

KEY SKILLS

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

VADE | Austin, TX Head of Software (Remote)

Head of Software (Remote)Feb 2022 – Present

Responsible for facilitating real-time occupancy and congestion monitoring for a smart city start-up and developing suitable product solutions to reduce congestion, bottlenecks, and other traffic issues. Report to the Head of Product, oversee three direct reports, and drive collaboration across several departments and teams for successful web apps development.

Build and lead a talented team of 3 tasked to monitor vehicle congestion and parking violations; oversee the creative use of object detention and analytics tools to provide unprecedented real-time reports and develop proper solutions; create a novel computer vision pipeline infrastructure under tight deadlines with limited information and shifting scope in 3 months.
Establish SDLC best practices in collaboration with software architect and project manager; conduct tasks and requirements gathering, sprint planning, and daily standup to ensure alignment with company goals; implement various apps and automation that enable efficient tracking of daily team activities and progress report generation for the management.
Lead migration planning and risk assessments; work closely with software and deployment teams in creating detailed plans to identify and address potential risks during the process, achieving higher levels of stability and productivity; use Lucid charts, Notion, and JIRA to track progress; ensured smooth data extraction and transfer
Manage product feature releases to meet company roadmap needs; identify the right timing and set suitable schedule alongside the software architect and project manager to ensure the stability of features and milestones; prevent unnecessary churn and potential financial losses.
Facilitate architecture evaluation for quality assurance; set up source code evaluation systems and tools, automating the process of analyzing the quality of the source code as a whole to recognize any security weaknesses, unit test coverage, inefficient code, and other poor practices.

Foxconn | Milwaukee, WI

Tech LeadOct 2018 – Apr 2021

Responsible for spearheading front-end architecture plans and overall technical guidance for both front-end and back-end for IAIINSTITUTE.COM. Reported to the Head/GM of Industrial AI and led 3 direct reports.

Leveraged in-depth agile project management experience in introducing new project initiatives; organized developer leads, project orientation, systems, and workflow process; developed an innovation-hub intranet with code samples, design standards, and project generator; established professional learning within the organization.
Oversaw company problems using a custom-software development approach; designed the architecture of AI applications for the detection of breast cancer & skin cancer, with a double accuracy rate of industry standards; invented a 3D tour guide agent integrated with voice and facial recognition; successfully instituted AR/VR, R&D for smart cities, autonomous/self-driving vehicle software, IoT, 3D virtual agents, and architect solutions for Foxconn-owned co-working facilities
Provided security literacy and performance optimization; governed technical and security departments through performance optimization advice; implemented new security practices that enhanced the overall security organization-wide

Johnson Controls | Milwaukee, WI

IoT / Cloud / Web DeveloperJun 2016 – Mar 2018

Responsible for designing and executing conventional KnockoutJS and NodeJS-based controls for an award-winning, enterprise-level, and plug-and-play “smart” HVAC solution, enabling efficient cloud administration. Reported to the Engineering Manager.

Managed the end-to-end build process using different cloud technologies; systemized R&D and software development; devised unique tooling and optimizations that streamlined the end-to-end build methodology.
Pioneered the project management and direction; collaborated with product managers on the product development initiative; defined features, worked with edge cases and around limitations, and ensured seamless execution of each product release; formulated solution-oriented products that would generate optimum profitability.
Directed technical lead training for multigenerational software engineers; applied hands-on and technical leadership skills to influence and nurture the technical proficiency of engineers.

The Wall Street Journal | New York, NY

Tech LeadMar 2015 – May 2016

Responsible for leading a team of developers for the online storefront while maintaining and scaling architecture using a dynamic AngularJS form that adapts to the language and location demands. Reported to the Acting Manager and Head of Department and managed 2 direct reports.

Headed organizational leadership for a diverse team; fostered effective management and progressive development culture that drove team collaboration; successfully established a cohesive team and work environment.
Introduced in-depth software testing and performance tuning; implemented systematic routine checks and analyses; determined performance bottlenecks; produced polished and debugged software.
Led the end-to-end project management, from project planning and resource allocation to execution; established goals and provided strategic direction; coordinated with various departments and sectors within the company; efficiently organized efforts and developer direction; ensured successful project delivery within schedule and quality standards.

BookFuel | Denver, CO

Web Scraping / Search EngineerJun 2016 – Mar 2018

Responsible for designing custom tools and novel and innovative solutions to strengthen sales statistics unavailable via Amazon’s API by scraping. Reported to the CTO.

Offered alternative web scraping tools for using Amazon’s API; developed custom software and framework for easy data analytics; enabled the company to optimize their sales statistics.
Developed sustainable solutions to technical challenges; conducted systems analysis to effectively organize software development for various departments; generated easy-to-understand tools for both workflows and sales gathering
Drove coordination across the sales and marketing departments; analyzed and identified feature requirements

Freight Spoke | Madison, WI

Software Architect/Founding ArchitectApr 2014 – Sep 2014

Responsible for creating and advancing a disruptive shipping-related application using specialized software frameworks and complex program languages, boosting the operational efficiency of this #1 fastest-growing company in the US. Reported to the Co-founder and CTO.

Mimetic Markets | Remote

Senior UI / Web DeveloperMar 2014 – May 2014

Responsible for pioneering the end-to-end development of a white label Bitcoin trading engine while developing process optimizations to stimulate intelligible UI. Reported to the Owner.

Sologic LLC | Midland, MI

Sr. Web DeveloperOct 2013 – Mar 2014

Responsible for steering the strategic direction of software architecture, programming innovation, and technical governance to build root-cause analysis tools using various programming languages effectively. Reported to the VP of Products.

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE

Private Party | Lead Web Developer / Search EngineerJul 2013 – Oct 2013

Blizzblizz | Web DeveloperJan 2012 – Aug 2012

Canonical Ltd. | Sr. UI EngineerAug 2011 – Oct 2011

Huawei | Sr. UI Engineer, Creative SolutionsFeb 2011 – Aug 2011

Shoutlet | Senior DeveloperFeb 2010 – Feb 2011

VOLUNTARY EXPERIENCE

SocialWallet Foundation | Co-Founder

Jan 2016 – Dec 2016

OpenBazaar | Co-Founder

Dec 2014 – Jan 2015

DebateWise | Development Manager for Google Wave Team

Oct 2009 – Aug 2010

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS

Competitions

ASU Computer Olympiad Programming Competition | Judge2006

ACTE Programming Competition | Judge2005

ASU Computer Olympiad Programming Competition | First Place2002

ACTE Programming Competition | First Place2001

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Source Code Management: Git, GitHub, Subversion, Mercurial, Bazaar, SourceSafe

Methodologies: Agile Development, Scrum Methodologies, Planning Poker, User Stories

Others: Web Applications, Web Development, Software Development, Continuous Integration, Subversion, Open Source, Screen Scraping, Web Crawling, Optimizations, User Interface, Product Optimization, Web Scraping, Product R&D