Brian Feister Code, Design,
Magic, etc.

Overview

A developer that began his career as a designer, Brian specializes in being able to build products with the technical excellence of an experienced developer, and the finesse of a veteran designer. Having guided many web projects from planning to deployment (and all phases in between) and contributing to many product development teams both as a project / technical lead, and working under wise technical leaders. Brian is passionate about the things that make software development less painful and is skilled in leading teams toward a harmonious development process – maintainability, modularity, scalability, reducing technical debt, process optimization, and automation wherever possible. Build automation, peer review, pair programming, and technical mentoring are some optimal paths to that goal.

Skills List

Frameworks & Libraries: React, Redux, Apollo, GraphQL, Next.js, Gatsby.js, Node.js, Storybook, Chromatic, Angular, Material UI (React & Angular), React Testing Library, Webpack, Rollup, Jest, Mocha, Testcafe, Gulp, Grunt, WordPress (including Multisite), Drupal, Magento, Backbone, Marionette, ASP.NET MVC

Languages & Technologies: JavaScript, Typescript, MongoDB, Docker, Vagrant, PHP, HTML, CSS / LESS / SASS, MySQL, Amazon AWS, Google App Engine, Linux, Nginx, Apache, Shell, Git, Github, Mercurial

Name: Brian Feister
Job Title: JavaScript / UI / UX Architect
Dribbble: brianfeister
Twitter: @brianfeister
Github: brianfeister
E-mail: brian.feister@gmail.com
Phone: 302.562.0308
Address: Santa Fe, New Mexico (USA)

Skills

Experience

Lead Member of Technical Staff, Software Engineering

Salesforce >> Feb 2019-Present

Worked as a founding contributor / UI leader within a team of highly skilled and experienced team of software engineers to bring the Salesforce Elevate product to general availability.

Worked with multidisciplinary stakeholders to vet requirements, estimate / plan / break down work and help propagate / mentor others in JavaScript best practices across a team of diverse contributors.

Primary tools included React, Redux, Typescript, GraphQL, Apollo, Yarn, Webpack, Material UI, React Testing Library, Storybook (+ Chromatic), Node, Next.js, Docker, Testcafe, git/Github (in a peer code-reviewed team environment), and many more.

Senior JavaScript / UI / UX Architect
(UI Team Lead)

Scala Inc. >> Aug 2014-Nov 2018

UI Lead for EXP product, mentored and guided a team of less design-oriented developers. Played a key architectural role in ensuring that UI / UX concerns were not overlooked in the building of a large, complex, and technically ambitious product enabling management of a fleet of connected devices, along with a web-based delivery platform for easily authoring immersive digital experiences deployed in retail environments. Wrote both front-end React / Redux code as well as Node / MongoDB backend code.

Worked with the following technologies daily: React, Redux, Node, Webpack, Yarn, Gulp, MongoDB, Material UI, Angular, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, git/Github (in a peer code-reviewed, team environment).

JavaScript / Front-End Engineer
(Technical / Project Lead)

Think Company Inc. >> May 2013-Aug 2014

Primarily JavaScript web application development (technical lead) with a brilliant team helping large companies tackle tough problems. Think Company is a collective "think tank" of amazing experience designers & developers. Working closely with the visual and UX team to present a front-to-back product where front-end development is tightly woven into the design process for a powerful and effective end result.

Clients Include: Comcast, Janssen, Hay Group, Scoir.

Worked with the following technologies daily: JavaScript, Angular, Backbone, Marionette, RESTful APIs, Gulp, Grunt, jQuery, PHP, WordPress, HTML, CSS & JavaScript animations, various MVC frameworks, LESS / SASS / SCSS, git, Github (in a peer code-reviewed, team environment). thinkcompany.com

• Project: SaaS JavaScript Web Application for Hiring Managers

  Client: Hay Group

  Technologies: Backbone.js, Marionette.js, Grunt.js, RESTful API (Java / Spring), HTML5, LESS, CSS3, Twitter Bootstrap, Responsive Web Design, Git flow release strategy.

  Responsibilities: Laid web application foundation, setup build automation, determined technology stack, high-level architectural decisions, considered scalability and performance, technical lead / oversight for 5 other developers, facilitated daily standups and propagation of technical knowledge across team, set coding standards, ensured that code was peer reviewed before merging being merged and deployed, ensured accurate translation of UI from design mockups to finished HTML / CSS, technical review of wireframes and design mockups to ensure effective translation into code and pre-empt potentially costly or unrealistic feature requests, help design team ideate more efficient solutions when needed.

• Project: Data Visualization / Analytics Web Application (within Leading HR Corporation ecosystem)

  Client: (Leading HR Corporation)

  Technologies: Angular.js, D3.js, RESTful API (Java), HTML5, LESS, CSS3, Responsive Web Design.

  Responsibilities: Offered high-level architectural input, developed complex JavaScript functionality that was beyond the capabilities of the core team (including highly complex and interactive D3 data visualizations), major refactor of both the Angular.js layer as well as the UI layer of the application, technical review of wireframes and design mockups to ensure effective translation into code and pre-empt potentially expensive or unrealistic feature propositions, help design team ideate more efficient solutions when needed.

• Project: “Match.com for College Students & Universities”

  Client: Scoir

  Technologies: Angular.js, Grunt.js, MongoDB, RESTful API (Go), HTML5, LESS, CSS3, Responsive Web Design.

  Responsibilities: Offered architectural input to the CTO by implementing a more streamlined build process via Grunt.js, prepared build process to enable seamless transition to continuous integration / deployment strategy, built significant portion of front-end UI layer and Angular.js web application layer, ensured Angular.js best practices pertaining to scalability and modularity, oversight of design wireframes / sketches / mockups for accurate translation into finished HTML / CSS, technical reviews to warn design team of potentially costly or unrealistic feature requests, help design team ideate more efficient solutions when needed.

Front-End / UI / UX Designer / Developer

Timely Network Inc. >> Jun 2012-Dec 2012

Working on a small, yet effective front-end team for the All-in-One Event Calendar WordPress plugin and it's companion (not-yet-public) enterprise web application Time.ly. Strong directional role in product design, branding, and UI / UX / Interaction design & development for both products.

Worked with the following technologies regularly: PHP, Onject-Oriented JavaScript, WordPress, HTML, Object-Oriented CSS, CSS & JavaScript animations, MVC frameworks, CSS Pre-processors (LESS), git + Github (in a code-reviewed, team environment), and many others. time.ly

Principle / Developer and Designer

DreamStar Studios >> Oct 2007-2013

Working closely with a small number of contractors, managing one full-time junior designer / project manager. At least 30 websites have been built from the ground up by DreamStar Studios, having managed and executed all stages of production from wireframing / storyboarding, through mockup, conversion to XHTML / CSS / PHP / WordPress, and deployment to dedicated private server in LAMP environment.

Employing all of the following technologies / development models: Responsive and adaptive layout / theme design with organic SEO considerations. Scalable Modular Architecture for CSS (SMACSS from Jonathan Snook), Twitter Bootstrap (as a boilerplate), LESS (CSS preprocessor), xHTML, CSS2/3, jQuery / Object-Oriented JavaScript, Balsamiq, SEO, CMS, WordPress (shortcodes, custom functions, custom theming, Roots theme framework), version control (git / Github, Mercurial), MAMP, PHP, MySQL, PHP MyAdmin, eCommerce (Magento, Prestashop, WooCommerce, Jigoshop), SSH, Systems Administrator (sysadmin), Apache, Linux, and various API (YouTube, MailChimp, etc.).

Known for excellence and considered by many to be the best web designer in the NYC performance arts niche market.

Photographer

Brian Feister Photography >> Nov 2007-Dec 2015

Photographer well-known in NYC performing artist community and a frequent guest photographer at exclusive highly acclaimed performance arts productions. brianfeisterphotography.com

Founder / Director

Newark CoWork >> Sep 2010-Sep 2015

Acting director (and founder) of Newark CoWork, a community endeavor for entrepreneurs, small business owners, freelancers, and creative professionals to share space, ideas, visions, dreams, and more. CoWorking is a fresh and innovative way to work that encourages both creativity & productivity. newarkcowork.com

References

Gabriel Liwerant - Colleague who worked with me to build a large-scale JavaScript web application where I was the technical lead.

Paul Hoepfner-Homme - Team lead at Time.ly, UI/UX Design & Dev lead.

Jordan Ambra - Web-based entrepreneur and professional web developer. Colleague and fellow member of the Newark Are Web Entrepreneurs Group.

Connect with me on LinkedIn to read my professional recommendations.