George Sullivan

Strong technical mind with leadership potential

Software | Hardware | Liaison | Leadership

Resume (Tech) Resume (Mgmt) Email Phone

Leadership - Years of leadership experience both in the military and out. I work best when helping people solve problems and always seem to organically rise into decision making roles or positions that supply relevant technical and logical perspective. I'm currently acting as a mentor to a number of local small businesses in non-tech fields.

Learning - I'm always seeking out better ways of doing things, but temper this enthusiasm with pragmatism - software is not always 90% complete if you can stop the refactor monster and arrest scope creep.

Technical Experience - Over 11 years of real-world technical experience means I can pick up and run with almost any software or hardware platform. I regularly impress with how quickly I can pick up new technologies, and am a master troubleshooter who has a reputation for being able to step in and save the day.

Software - Over 5 years in the software world, writing code that is consumed by the public or technical personnel means that I understand that code must be written to work robustly and reliably first and foremost.

• 1yr - Business/Software Consulting - ATS Technical Services
• 2.5 yrs - ISS Engineer - The Boeing Company
• 2.5 yrs - Engineering Co-op - NASA
• 0.5 yrs - Instructor - Texas A&M Engineering Innovation Center
• 3 yrs - Technical Lead (Avionics Technicians) - United States Air Force
• 3 yrs - Avionics (Laser and RF) Technician - United States Air Force

The Professor (in early development)

Barons of the Galaxy, 2019

Developing a database-driven tool suite for players of an online browser based game in my spare time as an exercise in familiarizing myself with new frameworks.

Backend (Laravel) - Application suite runs on a Laravel 6.4 backend that connects to a MySQL database. Laravel templating, MVC architecture, and its built-in RESTful API framework are used to their fullest extent to speed up development and create more maintainable code. The database handles all relevant user and game information, and most user interaction is submitted via XSRF encoded Axios promises.

Frontend (React) - The frontend primarily utilizes React 16 with a few custom libraries like React Bootstrap to create a consistent user experience. Some custom CSS was used to develop the fancy Nav menu (inspired by the USAF website's nav).

Optimization Algorithm - The waypoint optimization algorithm on the movement calculator page uses a hybrid nearest neighbor/branch-and-bound algorithm, seeded by the user input (assumption is that the user will usually try to start from an optimal path), and using memoization to reduce processing time. Additionally, the algorithm can change the way it processes the bottom nodes of the tree, allowing users to "hold" the final waypoint for round trips or to set a final destination. This solution reduces the problem space by a minimum of 50% in most cases. Web Workers are leveraged in compatible browsers to minimize the impact on the user experience.

Development/Deployment - The development environment for this application is a closer to industry, with local development branches being pushed to a Git repository on a remote staging server. After merging and verifying that deployment survives the transition to staging, the prouction instance pulls, compiles, and deploys the code.

Interface - The interface was designed with ease of use and mobile users in mind. Most actions are just a tap away, and critical actions like deleting data requires two-click confirmation. Use of SASS makes normally complex custom elements like the nav much easier to develop and maintain. Toast messages, an interface that matches the game website, and a black hole inspired spinner add a little extra flair.

Ownership: ATS Tech

Language: Web

Customer: Barons of the Galaxy

Special Features: Laravel, React, SASS, Mobile-Friendly, Git, Staging, Anti-Modal

SAAS: Automatic Quote Generator

Contractor Business Solutions, LLC (pending)

An HVAC quote generator that's "so easy, even your grandmother can use it." Designed as a Sofware As A Service (SAAS) solution for HVAC contractors. Contractors build the systems on the backend, then embed the application into their website.

Remote authentication - The application calls itself via 3 lines of embeddable code. The server checks the contractor's credentials and payment status against the requesting domain and allows or disallows access as required.

Javascript - All user behavior is recorded and can be used for marketing analysis. Application makes extensive use of asynchronous server requests to populate data fields and update the interface without long load times or locking up the interface thread. Questionnaire form flow runs through a JS state machine.

Multi-tenant MySQL DB - Nearly all elements of the frontend are modular and adjust based on settings chosen by the HVAC contractor. Intent is to make the quote interface tailored to the contractor's branding. The backend interface gives contractors control over nearly every text element in the form and on the quote page.

Entering Live Beta - Currently preparing application for live beta with a single contractor prior to an expanded beta with multiple contractors.

Software patent is in-work by the future owner.

Ownership: ATS Tech (until release)

Language: Web

Project Duration: 4 months

• Requirements: 2 weeks
• Development: 3.5 months (~260 billable hrs)
• Refactoring: N/A
• Polish: N/A

Customer: Contractor Business Solutions, LLC (pending)

Special Features: Domain-based authentication, dirt-simple interface, fully customizable, full-stack SAAS application

Clover Payment Demo

True North Medical Billing, 2019

Was asked to develop a custom payment platform for a medical billing specialist. The billing specialist was fielding calls exceeding 10-15 minutes to take single payments; she was looking for a means of automating the process to free up time for other tasks.

Easy to use - The application requires an interface that's simple enough to be used by private and business customers of all age groups and technical levels.

Lightweight - Application is extremely lightweight for maximum compatibility - no libraries. Layout is mobile-oriented. Javascript requirement for submission prevents less sophisticated attacks.

OAUTH - Uses the Clover payment gateway which requires OAUTH authentication. Had to develop from scratch due to lacking Clover documnetation. Requests are submitted via an AJAX request and the server communicates with Clover API via JSON-based communication, then reports back to the browser.

Prototype - Client ultimately decided not to move forward, so this project was not taken beyond prototype/demo.

Ownership: ATS Tech

Language: Web

Project Duration: 0.5 weeks

• Requirements: 1 day
• Development: 2 days
• Refactoring: N/A
• Polish: N/A

Customer: True North Medical Billing

Special Features: Lightweight, OAUTH, simple interface

Luxury Business Website

State 28 Custom Design & Fabrication, 2019

Was asked to develop a custom website for a local fabricator that targets high-end commercial and industrial customers. Needed a slick but simple interface that is eye catching and emphasizes the business owners' veteran status.

Animated Business Card - Took full advantage of the flexibility of CSS3. The landing page has a hero video on desktop but turns into an animated business card at mobile sizes - something I haven't seen before.

Ownership: ATS Tech

Language: Web

Project Duration: 3 weeks

• Requirements: 0.5 weeks
• Development: 1 week
• Refactoring: N/A
• Polish: 1.5 weeks

Customer: State 28 Custom Design & Fabrication

Special Features: Dynamic landing page, slick layout, animated business card, galleries, murica

International Space Station Telemetry Analysis Tool (Prototype)

The Boeing Company, 2017/18

"Five Dimensional Analysis" - Developed a telemetry analysis tool to augment the existing 2D graphing toolset. This is what I call "five dimensional analysis" - X, Y, Color, Transparency, Filtering.

Reads Raw Telemetry - There's a lot going on under the hood in this one (wish we had source code to walk). This gem loads and interprets the prorpietary NASA telemetry file format

Multiple Plotting Choices - Telemetry data can be displayed in rectangular coordinates, polar coordinates, or on a MAP using ISS GPS data. Also have some special backgrounds/screens implemented for certain custom views that match up to existing NASA products so data can be compared in a familiar environment during post-analysis.

Real-World Impact - This has been used to make real decisions and solve real problems with regard to ISS systems (a point of personal pride). The interface updates in realtime as you use the tool - it's pretty impressive watching how quickly it can traverse 1-2GB datasets.

Ownership: The Boeing Company

Language: C#

Project Duration: 24 weeks

• Planning: 4 weeks
• Development: 16 weeks
• Refactoring: 4 weeks
• Polish: N/A

Customer: The Boeing Company

Special Features: ISS Telemetry, custom interface elements, proprietary data formats, adjustable coordinate system, multidimensional analysis

The G.E.O.R.G.E (Grand Exercise of Replicating George's Expertise)

The Boeing Company, 2018

RF Analysis Software - Developed a CAD-lite application tailored to a specific RF system that was undergoing long-term testing. Allowed users to design and analyze test setups for proposal with other commercial partners.

Simplified Workflow and Cost Savings - Prior to this, test design and analysis fell to a single person working the problem either in Excel or ADS ($100k/seat license). Now anyone in the group can design a (linear) RF circuit.

Interface Based on Real-World Equipment - The main panel of the test equipment was replicated in software to provide less technical users with a familiar interface. They can arrange a test setup, flip the switches, and see exactly what they should expect on every port.

A few implementations of note are:

• Automatic identification of schematic elements by name and auto-linking to the interface panel
• Intuitive schematic interface with snap-to-object functionality and the ability to drop in and wire together as many circuit elements as the user's RAM will allow
• Near-realtime recalculation of circuit performance in response to user input - using an asynchronous recursive node-based algotithm
• Load and save functionality with deep deserialization of nested objects into a plain-english editable file for maximum user customizability

Ownership: The Boeing Company

Language: C#

Project Duration: 4 weeks

• Planning: 1 week
• Development: 2 weeks
• Refactoring: N/A
• Polish: 1 week

Customer: The Boeing Company

Special Features: CAD schematic, dynamic interface, deep copying, RF analysis, "so easy, even an engineer can do it"

Gun Trust Generator

Brazos River Tactical, 2019

PDF Document Generator - Was asked to build an application that generates "legal" documents for a fee. Takes some basic user input and feeds it into a MPDF-generated document based on HTML template files.

Asynchronous Payment Interface - A small web app that handles AJAX requests for live interface updates, asynchronous payment messages (via the Paypal IPN interface), PDF generation, and automated error reporting.

Ownership: ATS Tech

Language: Web

Project Duration: 4.5 weeks

• Requirements: 2 weeks
• Development: 1 week
• Refactoring: 0.5 weeks (customer changed payment method)
• Polish: 1 week

Customer: Brazos River Tactical

Special Features: Document generation, dynamic download link generation, database interface, Paypal delayed payment notification handling

Simple Business Website

Above Gravity Plumbing, 2019

Was asked to develop a website for a local plumber. He's a bit of a gamer and wanted something that looks professional but also fits the spacey theme of his company.

Dynamic Page Elements - There's a little PHP that dynamically changes the call prompt to "after hours emergency service" after 5PM CST.

Novel Use of CSS Transforms - The astronaut mascot bobs around using CSS transforms, and the contact form captures a bit of oldschool video game aesthetic.

Ownership: ATS Tech

Language: Web

Project Duration: 2.5 weeks

• Requirements: 0.5 weeks
• Development: 1 week
• Refactoring: N/A
• Polish: 1 week

Customer: Above Gravity Plumbing

Special Features: Dynamic page assets (call prompt), parallax starfield, bobbing space men

George's Stock "Toy"

Personal, 2017

Wrote an experimental application that gathers live IEX trading data and analyses/dumps possible trade indicators in realtime. If you choose to build and run this with recording enabled, be aware that it will try its very best to fill your hard drive.

Data Stream Handling - Never completed due to a lack of time and shifting interests. It's a bit ugly, but it serves as a good example of simultaneous data stream handling and interfacing with a REST API. Most of the meat is in TopsRecorder.cs

Ownership: Personal

Language: C#

Project Duration: ~2 weeks

• Requirements: 2 days
• Development: 1.5 weeks, in spare time
• Refactoring: N/A
• Polish: You must be joking!

Customer: Me

Special Features: REST API interfacing, handling muiltiple simultaneous data streams, asynchronous operation, low latency analysis of medium to large data sets

EDR Processor

NASA, 2015

Rewrite of a Matlab-based post-processor of flight recorder data. Command line application. Heavy data processing in low level code.

Extensive Comments - this code was intended to be user-maintained and can be challenging to read because it adapts to the settings in the config file. The meat of the project is in edr_reader.c.

EXTREME Performance - The EDR processor os written in C instead of Matlab/Octave and takes full advantage of the power of C's flexible memory handling and streamlined data processing. It achieves a level of performance several orders of magnitude faster than the original application (~40,000% performance improvement - 8 hours down to about 70 seconds)

Ownership: Public Domain

Language: C

Project Duration: 4 weeks

• Requirements: 1.5 weeks
• Development: 2 weeks
• Refactoring: 1 week
• Polish: 0.5 weeks

Customer: NASA Engineers with basic coding knowledge who will maintain program and config file

Special Features: Configuration file, Matlab script generation, freehand equation parsing, high speed data processing, commenting that's not half bad

Air Conditioner Calculator (Basic)

Smug Mug Software, 2012

Dirt simple HVAC sizing calculator for users looking to purchase new A/C equipment. Released on the Android store in 2012 under Android v2.2 (Froyo).

Interface updates in realtime based on user inputs. Automatically comes up with rule of thumb measurements based on a derived best-fit calculation from analysis of industry rules of thumb.

Ownership: George Sullivan DBA Smug Mug Software (now inactive)

Language: Java/Android

Project Duration: 2 weeks

Customer: Public Release

Special Features: Simple to use, convenient interface, mathematically derived calculation.

Air Conditioner Calculator (Advanced)

Smug Mug Software, 2012

Evolution of the A/C Calculator Basic, intention was to give homeowners and HVAC contractors the ability to perform their own Manual J HVAC calculations. Features an extensive interface with multiple wizards that allow for incredibly detailed reports of structural heat loads.

Application was approx. 40% feature-complete, but development stalled due to increased workload resulting from transfer to university and other responsibilities taking priority.

Ownership: George Sullivan DBA Smug Mug Software (now inactive)

Language: Java/Android

Project Duration: 1 month

Customer: Unreleased

Special Features: Advanced calculations, well organized data, slick interface.

Future SMS

Smug Mug Software, 2012

THE FIRST SMS scheduling app for Android! Future SMS allows users to create and schedule text messages, as well as set up recurring messages. Came in handy before timed do-not-disturb mode was a widespread feature in primitive smartphones. Useful for reminders and texting people who are asleep.

Customizable modular interface allowed users to change the order of interface elements based on which they used the most.

Ownership: George Sullivan DBA Smug Mug Software (now inactive)

Language: Java/Android

Project Duration: 3 weeks

Customer: Public Release

Special Features: Background processes, simple to use, modular interface.