Curriculum Vitae

ABOUT

My name is Ryan Achten, I am a senior software engineer currently working for the cloud accounting software company, Xero.

Graduating with a Bachelor of Communication Design, I made the move to delve into the world of code and undertake my Masters in Design Innovation. Since then, I have worked as a designer and developer, fulfilling roles from user experience research and design, all the way through to software development and deployment.

Today, I focus on fullstack development, producing polished digital experiences for a variety of clients and projects, while progressing my interests in related areas such as dev-ops and machine learning.

EMPLOYMENT

Senior Engineer - Xero (2021 - Present)

  • Full-stack development of US tax products. Backend development using .NET Framework monolith and .NET Core microservices, with frontend development using TypeScript, React and Redux. DevOps development using AWS services, Terraform, Octopus, and TeamCity (Kotlin DSL).

Senior Front-end Developer - AKQA (2019 - 2021)

  • Front-end development of web applications using TypeScript, React, Webpack, Gulp and Coveo (machine learning-assisted search). Back-end development using Sitecore CMS and .NET Framework. Mentoring and leadership across the front-end engineering team.

UI / UX Developer - Certus Solutions (2018 - 2019)

  • Development of web and mobile applications using various frameworks including React, React Native and Ember.js. Close collaboration with stakeholders to produce elegant user interfaces and experiences.

Design Researcher - Victoria University of Wellington (2014-2016, 2017-2018)

  • Designing and developing websites and interactive media for VUW-funded research projects using PHP-based CMS’ such as Silverstripe and Wordpress.

Software Developer & Commercialisation Assistant - VicLink, VUW (2016)

  • Funded to develop 3D archive interface, Vertice, from masters project to commercially-viable software.

References can be provided upon request

CURRENT TOOLS

Frontend

 React (+ Native), Redux, Vue, Cypress, SCSS

Backend

 .NET (Core & Framework), Node.js, Docker

Infrastructure

 AWS, Terraform, Octopus, TeamCity (+ Kotlin DSL)

Data

 Python, Tensorflow, Jupyter Notebook

Monitoring

 New Relic, Sumo Logic

Creative Code

 Three.js, WebGL

EDUCATION

Master of Design Innovation

Specialising in Media Design (Data.mine stream)

Graduated with Merit, 2017

Victoria University of Wellington, 2014-16

Bachelor of Communication Design

Graduated with Distinction, 2013

Otago Polytechnic, 2011-13

AWARDS

Formway Design Award - for Best Project in Master of Design Innovation

Victoria University of Wellington (2016)

VicLink Award - for the project with the most commercial potential

Victoria University of Wellington (2016)

Master of Design Innovation Completion Scholarship

Funded by Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

Victoria University of Wellington (2015)

VUW Summer Scholarship

National Library of New Zealand collaboration

Victoria University of Wellington (2014)

Creative Excellence Award - for Top Overall Student

Otago Polytechnic (2013)

Design Achievement Award

Otago Polytechnic (2011)