Robert Young

Cloud / DevOps / Software Engineer Contractor

Intro

What I am all about.

My life revolves around software, from designing and developing applications, to learning and expanding my knowledge on new technologies and skills. Whether it's in a professional environment or in my own free time.

I am a motivated and hardworking IT and Multimedia Computing graduate with a thorough understanding of the software development cycle as well as excellent communication, problem solving, teamwork and object oriented programming skills. Technology is my passion and I am always looking for new skills to learn to improve my knowledge and skills in this area.

I have a broad range of skills and the ability to quickly adapt, learn and apply to my work. I'm a coding monkey, I can write and develop applications quickly and effectively, but still be of a high quality and maintainable.

Expertise

What I specialise in.
01

Software

I started my programming journey with C#, but have extensive experience with TypeScript (and JavaScript!). These days, I find myself writing new projects in Golang.

02

Backend Systems

My experience ranges from creating REST APIs to full blown web applications in node.js, to using Web API and the MVC pattern in .NET.

03

Cloud

The cloud is the future of development, which is why I use AWS for all my personal/business projects, as well as gain AWS certified certification.

04

Mobile Development

Apps have been the talk of the town for the past 10 years. I have gained experience in iOS (Swift/Objective-C), Android (Java), Cross-Platform (Xamarin) & Hybrid Web Apps (Ionic);

05

Development Tools

Tooling is the most important aspect with developing software. You need the right tools for the job. Git, JIRA, CI Systems (GA, GitLab CI, Jenkins), Webpack, TypeScript, Docker... The list goes on.

06

Frontend Libaries

Angular holds a special place in my heart. It is the framework that has got me to where I am today, I have followed the project since their birth.

07

Scrum / Agile

Excellent team player with time management skills and the ability to prioritize tasks, I'm able to work with your environment and meet your deadlines.

08

Databases

The centre of any application. I have experience with relational (MSSQL, MySQL) and NoSQL database (MongoDB, DynamoDB).

Programming Languages

Multilingual.
50 %

Golang

80 %

C#

90 %

TypeScript / ES6+ / JavaScript

60 %

Objective-C / Swift

40 %

Java

Experience

Building my reputation.
2024 – Present

MoneySupermarket Group

Platform Engineer (Contractor)

Manchester, UK

Working on the platform team to support development teams with their infrastructure needs. Also built and managed the Retool platform for the company to help build low code internal applications.

2020 – 2023

Equal Experts (HMRC)

Tech Lead Platform / DevOps Engineer (Contractor)

Manchester, UK

I joined the platform run team within hmrc as a devops engineer to help with the building and supporting of production services and infrastructure within data platform services (dps). I transitioned into a tech lead within the core engineering services team where we were responsible for services such as gitlab and artifactory and to help platform engineers to be productive and deliver projects.

2019 (Nov)

Havas Lynx

AWS Consultant (Contractor)

Manchester, UK

Signed NDA

2018 – 2020

Zeavo / MoneyPlus

Full Stack / Cloud Engineer (Contractor)

Manchester, UK

Zeavo created an industry leading, cloud first SaaS debt management CRM called DebtKit for the FinTech market to help businesses manage their customers, employees and creditors. My task while working at zeavo was to help deliver new features to their main client, MoneyPlus Group, using modern frameworks, technologies and best practices.

2018 (July) – 2018 (September)

University of Manchester

Full Stack Engineer (Contractor)

Manchester, UK

My role consisted of working individually on a project to create an application for the library research team so they can easily manage publications that require their constant attention. I liaised with the product owners and research team to help understand their requirements to help automate tedious tasks and to migrate from their spreadsheet workflow.

2017 – 2018

Waters Corporation

Software Engineer (Contractor)

Wilmslow, UK

Working at Waters gave me a different perspective of software development as the way the software is packaged and architected is completely different to what I had been used to. My task at Waters was working within the PAE department, helping make their lives easier by automating the testing procedure against each mass spectrometer that was developed.

2016 – 2016

Brookson

Support Developer

Warrington, UK

After I completed my University degree, I joined Brookson where I helped maintain a legacy project which was a portal for self-employed professionals. The project, Connect 2.5, was written in .NET using the MVC pattern with the JavaScript framework Knockout.js on the front end. I also worked Connect 3.0 which was re-writing the project using AngularJS 1.x. The team worked in a SCRUM/AGILE framework by either developing a feature individually or working closely with another team member and using tools such as Taiga as a SCRUM board.

2014 – 2015

Glow Media

Internship

Liverpool, UK

While I was studying at LJMU, I undertook a small internship at Glow Media where I spent a day a week for a few months working on developing mobile applications for clients. We used Xamarin to develop the applications for both iOS and Android. I spent all my time on the iOS side of the team where the other developers concentrated on the Android side.

2013 – 2014

DataMatters Ltd.

Industrial Placement

Bury, UK

For my University course I was required to complete a year out in an industrial environment. This has prepared me for the transition from education to work and taught me that I have the potential to push myself further. My main role was to help the GUI team in transitioning the already existing text-based system over to a newly designed web interface

2009 – 2015

JD Sports

Supervisor / Sales Assistant

Manchester/Liverpool, UK

Working in retail gave me the opportunity to work with members of the public and to work as a team player liaising with managerial staff whilst developing a healthy work ethic. My cheery disposition, excellent communication and interpersonal skills have been an asset. I have been trusted to train up new managers / supervisors even though I was only a sales assistant. They have also recognized my leadership potential and I have been asked on numerous occasions to apply for higher posts and progress within the company. However, the need to progress my educational responsibilities has prevented this.

Education

Lazy isn't in my vocabulary.
2011 – 2015

Liverpool John Moores University

BSc (Hons) IT and Multimedia Computing

Liverpool, UK

One of my proudest achievements, gaining a 1st Class Honours.

2008 – 2010

Xaverian College

3 A Levels

Manchester, UK
A tough few years doing Computing, IT and Media subjects in college.
2003 – 2008

Trinity High School

8 GCSEs

Manchester, UK

A fun and and rewarding time doing ICT, Double Science, English, Mathematics, RE, Design & Technology, French and PE.

Certifications / Awards

Hard work pays off.

AWS Certified DevOps Professional


AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional


AWS Certified Security Specialty


AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate


AWS Certified Developer Associate


HashiCorp Certified Terraform Associate


BCS Merseyside Computing Award


Cisco IoT Hackerthon