Neil Kandalgaonkar
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area
website
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email
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LinkedIn
Goal
Help people to cooperate at internet scale.
Buzzword-compliant section
Java, Javascript, Perl, Python, PHP, XSLT
XML, HTTP, HTML, SMTP
Apache, mod_perl, Java servlet engines, MySQL, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server
Unix (Linux, Solaris, *BSD), Windows (most variants), Mac OS X
Software experience
Software Engineer, Yahoo (Flickr)
August 2008 - April 2009
I made a lateral move to Flickr from another Yahoo site, Upcoming.org. I went from being a senior engineer on a small but influential property, to being the new guy on a Top 100 site. I was let go as part of Yahoo-wide layoffs in April 2009.
- Responsible for overseeing, improving Flickr's payment system
- FlickrMail interface and speed improvements
- Some unfinished projects with partner companies that are still confidential
Software Engineer, Yahoo (Upcoming.org)
December 2006 - August 2008
I was the first hire at Upcoming.org after its acquisition by Yahoo in 2005. Upcoming.org is a collaborative events calendar, allowing users to publicize and discover events via their network of friends.
- Replaced confusing "metro" tags with a robust geographic system, solving #1 user complaint
- Many interface improvements, such as making more functionality work via AJAX, which eliminated page reloads
- Integrated Upcoming.org events into main Yahoo Web Search results
- Overhauled build and release system for Yahoo infrastructure and site operations practices
- Helped grow team (more than tripling in size)
- Excellence award for technical team leadership, 2008
- Won "Best Use of Data" award at Yahoo Hack Day Q3 2007
Software Engineer, Google
September 2005 - October 2006
I was part of the team that launched Google Checkout, an online payments system. My primary job was to get Google Checkout ready for non-US markets, partly by coding and partly by coordinating. I touched almost every part of Checkout, and also many related systems:
- Modified Google's user accounts system for Checkout's unique requirements.
- Made many changes to the frontend experience and checkout flow, especially the AJAX-driven portions.
- Redesigned parts of the data store, a hybrid of relational and other technologies.
- Extended the XML API used by merchants, plus documentation.
Developer, Enfold Systems
April 2005 - July 2005
Enfold Systems provides consulting and enterprise tools for Plone, an open
source, Python-based content management system. I left the company amicably when I got a job offer from Google.
At Enfold, I helped streamline build processes, added some features
to their web proxy product, and improved the usability and genericity
of the product install system.
Lickr, open source project
April 2005
Lickr was the first complete AJAX interface for Flickr, implemented as a Greasemonkey extension for Firefox. Previously, Flickr
had relied on Flash and it was an open question whether an AJAX interface was even possible or desirable.
Flickr followed soon after with their own AJAX interface for all browsers.
Consultant, Vision2Hire Solutions
May 2002 - November 2004
Vision2Hire Solutions
provides online human resources software, based on Perl. I created
reporting systems, a US Equal Employment Opportunity compliance module,
and integrated their site with partners using Web Services.
Along the way I refactored much of their codebase into cleaner and
more testable object-oriented modules, and also instituted various
modern coding practices.
Developer, ActiveState Corporation
September 2000 - December 2001
ActiveState caters to
professional developers working with scripting languages such as Perl,
Python and PHP. I moved across the country for the chance to work with
their stellar team. I started in web development, and later moved into
Language Technologies.
- Standardized API and configuration system for a spam filtering and email processing engine.
- Re-engineered Programmer's Package Manager Server, a core advantage of the company's developer tools. This system searches for and installs scripting language add-ons.
- Helped architect the ActiveState Programmer Network, both a portal website for developers and an online product licensing system.
Systems Architect, Stylus Strategic Communications
June 1997 - November 1999
At Stylus, I designed and programmed web applications for some of Canada's most successful corporations.
- Webmaster and web applications programmer for Bell Canada
Enterprises (BCE), and subsidiaries such as BCE Emergis, Bell Canada
International, and CGI Group.
- Created synchronized video/slideshow systems to broadcast
corporate events over the Internet, at dialup modem speeds.
- Re-engineered a major text-based wire news service for multimedia capabilities.
- Motorsports race news website, enabling real-time collaboration
among photographers, journalists, and translators around the globe.
Other experience
- Crew member on Interpretive Arson fire art projects, 2007 - present
- Volunteer tutor with Frontier College, at Britannia High School in East Vancouver, 2005
- Font designer, A Handbook of the Cherokee Verb: A Preliminary Study,
Cherokee National Historical Society, 2002
- Webmaster, Concordia Computer Users Group, 1995-6
- Production Manager/Editor/Webmaster, various university and college publications, 1989-95
Education
Bachelor of Arts, Communication Studies, Spring 2000
Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec
Languages
References and letters of recommendation