Mel Riffe

Richmond, VA · (804) 803-1452 · mel@juicyparts.com

I'm a Software Craftsman living near Richmond, VA. I own and operate Juicy Parts Software, LLC, where I work closely with clients to build the right solutions. I'm also the former organizer of the Central Virginia Ruby Enthusiasts Group, Richmond's premier Ruby Users Group. When I'm not writing code, I spend time with my beautiful family. I'm also an avid Detroit Red Wings Fan.

Experience

Owner/Operator/President

Juicy Parts Software, LLC

Technologies

Ruby; Ruby on Rails; PHP; MariaDB; MySQL; PostgreSQL; Oracle; JavaScript; EmberJS; HTML/CSS; GnuPG; Redis; C; Bash; Awk/Gawk; Sqlite;

  • Converted OpenVMS programs into C-based and Ruby equivalents, while additionally harnessing bash and awk scripting
  • Led and designed project to convert Flash front-end to EmberJS, to include the generation of a JSONAPI-compliant Rails API
  • Improved auditing capabilities by moving implementation to database stored procedures
  • Improved quarterly deliverable process by leveraging MySQL relational database
  • Improved PDF Report generation by improving SQL queries and PDF generation
  • Converted C-based “encounter” claims processing functionality into Ruby equivalent
  • Led development team working on a Flash front-end/Rails back-end medical claims processing application
  • Worked closely with remote teams implementing SecureMyEmail™ Clients
  • Integrated GnuPG functionality into SecureMyEmail™ API
  • Designed and lead team to implement SecureMyEmail™ back-end services and API
  • Designed and lead team to upgrade order fulfillment Rails application for personal security business
  • Enhanced Rails application focused on order fulfillment and customer management for personal security business
  • Enhanced and extended a Rails application focused on the management of equipment rentals, to include delivery services
  • Created Rails application to provide a central, community-focused repository for the International Law community
  • Extended Rails application focused on Tutoring administration
  • Maintained Rails application focused on job search resources for doctorate holders
  • Extended Rails application focused on administering Charlotte Mason homeschooling methodology
  • Extended Rails application for community of grief-stricken children regarding Safety Alerts
  • Improved Ruby application to load auction data into Drupal website
  • Maintained Rails application for local Legal Document Serving business
  • Developed HR-focused PHP application accessing Oracle database
  • Enhanced PHP applications for marketing department of local telecommunications business
  • Extended Rails application for university library accessing PostGIS database
March 2008 - Present

Richmond, VA

Sr Consultant

Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting Group

Technologies

Java; WebSphere

  • Oversaw management of several testing projects, to include budgeting, finances, and staffing, for national financial institution
  • Worked with remote team on design of web services capabilities for national financial institution
December 2007 – March 2008

Richmond, VA

Sr Software Developer

Shaw Systems Associates, Inc.

Technologies

Java; CruiseControl; Jira; Eclipse; Maven

  • Administered CruiseControl farm containing over 40 projects across 6 servers covering the building, testing, and deploying of application artifacts and testing sites
  • Supported the developer community’s use of Maven and Eclipse to build and test client application by extending client-specific plug-ins and extensions
  • Shared JIRA expertise to include administering production instance, suggesting best practices with regards to Security and Workflow, and assisting in product upgrades
September 2006 – November 2007

Richmond, VA

Sr Software Engineer

Upstate, Inc.

Technologies

Java; MS SQL Server; Ruby; Ruby on Rails; Jira; Confluence; Scrum; Agile

  • Managed and developed Java-based Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) application for Kinase Profiling laboratory
  • Managed and developed for Java-based LIMS application for Cell Culture Activities laboratory
  • Created Ruby on Rails application to improve throughput of Kinase Profiling laboratory
  • Implemented Scrum for software development projects
August 2004 - September 2006

Charlottesville, VA

Sr Software Engineer

RWD Technologies

Technologies

Java; Oracle; JDBC; SQL; Crystal Reports Reporting Engine

  • Extended and enhanced base distant learning product
  • Implemented migration tool to move existing customers to new product
  • Improved database efficiencies by reworking schema and SQL queries
May 2003 - August 2004

Richmond, VA

IT Consultant (Programmer/Analyst)

Stopka & Associates

Technologies

Java; JRun Application Server; WebLogic Application Server; Ant; Maven

  • Migrated national financial institution’s call center scripting application to WebLogic
  • Implemented component to allow Customer Service Agents, of a national financial institution, access to customer records
May 2002 - May 2003

Richmond, VA

Sr Software Engineer

RWD Technologies

Technologies

Java; Windows CE; ActiveX; COM

  • Implemented “Instructor Led” support in distance learning application
  • Improved integration between offline player and Internet Explorer component
September 2001 - May 2002

Richmond, VA

IT Consultant (Programmer/Analyst)

Stopka & Associates

Technologies

Java; Oracle

  • Implemented Mini-Solicitation management system
  • Designed and implemented underlying Oracle database
April 2001 - September 2001

Richmond, VA

Sr Developer

Experient Technologies

Technologies

Windows CE; Java

  • Ported distance learning offline player to Windows CE platform
December 2000 - April 2001

Richmond, VA

Sr Solutions Engineer

Distributed Objex

Technologies

Rational Unified Process (RUP); Unified Modeling Language (UML)

  • Implemented RUP in title insurance business
  • Taught Object-Oriented technology and project management for financial institution
April 2000 - December 2000

Richmond, VA

Systems Consultant (Programmer/Analyst)

Compuware Corporation

Technologies

VisualAge Smalltalk; C/C++; Visual Basic; ODBC

  • Certified Smalltalk applications as “Y2K Compliant” for national financial institution
  • Developed interactive voice response (IVR) applications for national financial institution
  • Created test data gathering/generation tool accessing Unisys backend
August 1997 - April 2000

Richmond, VA

Software Engineer

Gateway Systems Corp.

Technologies

DigiTalk Visual Smalltalk Enterprise; C/C++; Raima Database Manager

  • Worked closely with clients to implement, and support, their required changes to a Sales Force Automation application written in Smalltalk
August 1993 - August 1997

East Lansing, MI

Side Projects

Hammerhead

Ruby gem for the generation of status reports from Harvest timesheets.

Flat

Ruby gem for the processing of flat files.

Capistrano-rpush

Capistrano 3 plugin to manage rpush instances during deployments.

Central Virginia Ruby Enthusiasts Group (CVREG)

Richmond, VA Ruby Users Group
2008 - 2013

Education

J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College

Associate of Applied Arts Degree in Music
June 2008 - August 2008

Mott Community College

Computer Application Technician; Electronics Techology
June 1992 - August 1993

Skills

Programming Languages & Tools

  • Ruby; Ruby on Rails
  • MariaDB; MySQL; PostgreSQL; Sqlite; SQL
  • EmberJS; HTML/CSS/JavaScript
  • Atlassian Tools (JIRA, Confluence, Bamboo, BitBucket)
  • Git; GitHub; Git Flow
  • Bash; Awk/Gawk; C

Workflow
  • Agile Development & Scrum
  • Cross Functional Teams
  • Test-Driven/Behavior-Driven Development (TDD/BDD)
  • Object-Oriented Analysis & Design (OOAD)
  • Object Relational Database Design