Technologies used in the building of this website:
Introduction
I’m a Dev. I learn languages for a living. And I love it.
With several years of experience creating, implementing, and contributing to the development and design and of interactive websites and custom applications, I am fluent in Typescript, ReactJS, NextJS, API calls, and several Javascript languages, frameworks, and libraries. Though I have spent substantial time personally contracted to build apps and websites for a wide variety of products and causes, I truly love working on a team. I'm known for my communication skills and enjoy collaborating with all members, from frontend to backend to UX/UI designers to management to client. Working smart and being diligent, but never afraid to reach out for extra eyes and input, is what leads to efficiency in the development environment.
Served as lead front-end developer during the creation of a React application projected to serve over 100,000 users worldwide, utilizing ReactJS with MUI framework to realize a Figma design.
Created intuitive websites for companies across sectors including legal services, real estate, entertainment, and food and beverage sectors, using ReactJS with TypeScript and frameworks including MUI and Chakra UI.,
Co-founded a non-profit music festival which raised over $15,000 for a Portland-based women's shelter. I managed web development and promotional initiatives which achieved an 80% annual increase in festival revenue.
Skills and Tech
Portfolio - Websites and Apps
Resume Scripter
Technologies Used:
This is the application that I have spent the better part of the last two years developing. The code is proprietary, hence there is no github link to its content. However the above link is hopefully indicative of the depth and complexity of code that this app required. It is currently in use by the organization and is in beta-mode development phase for shopping out, with strong interest from universities, school systems, libraries and government agencies. We are also currently developing its multi-lingual potentials.
RS Works: Resume Building Application
An app built for employees of a resume-building agency to aid with the development of highly personalized job-seeker documents; e.g. resumes, cover letters, on-line presence development, etc.
Demo of the app provided by
Resume Scripter founder Andrea Gerson
Secret Society Organics
Technologies Used:
I was hired to design and build a product website separate from the parent company. This led to a new logo design with the aesthic expanded to the website, which then required a complete redesign of each variety of the product's label and the Product Sales' sheet for promotion and distribution.
Papa G's Organic Tofu
A product website built with Reactjs and Chakra UI. Designed and created all components, graphics, artwork, and layout.
Bridgetown Bluegrass & Folk Festival
Technologies Used:
This is a Portland-based music festival occuring annually that my business partner and I founded and built from the ground up, beginning in 2017.
A Bluegrass and Folk Music Festival
An annual music event website built with Nextjs, Tailwind CSS, APIs, REST requests against IMAP and SMTP servers, Stripe commerce integration, and styled with Chakra UI. Eventbrite integration allows external link for purchase of tickets and merchandise from the website. I built all front and back end integration through node.js, designed and created all components, graphics, artwork, and layout.
Hack for LA
Technologies Used:
I initially volunteered with Hack for LA's Civic Tech Index project during a day-log “hack-a-thon” in which I helped with some simple front-end responsiveness. I instantly realized the potential for enormous benefit that, when completed, this application could provide. I signed on as a regular volunteer and, over the next year and a half, was one of several developers who gave around ten hours a week of their time. I was later promoted to Lead Front-End Developer, which required a more organizational role as well more regular meetings with project managers. Unfortunately, due to an undisclosed higher-level organizational concern, the project was haulted weeks before a projected Alpha-Release and has yet to be revisited. Following the link below will give access to the majority of what was created and hopefully a decent indication of what this project, when completed, could accomplish.
Civic Tech Index
A Hack for LA project, the CTI is a web application to connect willing volunteers with projects relavant to civic issues, world-wide. Through use of its “Tag Generator Wizard”, projects are tagged with appropriatly related topics, enabling them to be cataloged and easily accessed by developers and project leaders globally.
Graphic Design
Professional Experience
Frontend React Developer
RS Works
Portland, OR
Sep. 2021 - PresentI worked with a career-tech startup to develop a scalable platform to help workforce development teams craft impressive resumes and cover letters in minutes, projected to serve over 50,000 job seekers in first the year of launch. I’ve consistently leveraged my skillsets in project management, vendor relations, and web development to ensure the timely completion of critical initiatives. In this capacity, I collaborated with a software engineer and UX consultant throughout the development of a complex ReactJS application, promoting full adherence to Figma design specifications across multiple display sizes while ensuring alignment with current ADA guidelines.
Key Highlights:
- • Developed custom reusable components, utilizing Chakra UI and Formik, while adhering to UX/UI principles of continuity, intuitivism, equality, and accessibility.
- • Created designated screens and dashboards using Elementor, maintaining consistency of branding and components.
Skills:
Git · Web Applications · User Interface Prototyping · Figma (Software) · Wordpress · Elementor · Front-end Coding · Mobile Application Development · Web Application Development · React.js · JavaScript · Front-end Development · Web Development · Responsive Web Design · Project Management · Node.js · Slack · Formik · Jira
Web Developer
Independent Contractor
Remote
Nov 2021 - PresentI’ve created intuitive, modern websites for companies across sectors including legal services, real estate, entertainment, and food and beverage sectors, implementing e-commerce capabilities for products sold across North America. Through this work, I’ve been contracted to build business websites using ReactJS with TypeScript and frameworks including MUI, Chakra-UI, Create React App, and Next.js.
Skills:
Git · Web Applications · REST APIs · E-Commerce · Next.js · Responsive Web Design · Full-Stack Development · TypeScript · Chakra-UI · Formik
Co-Founder / Organizer
Bridgetown Bluegrass Festival
Portland, OR
Aug 2016 - PresentAs a Co-Founder of a nonprofit music festival, I oversaw the launch and expansion of events which have showcased the work of over 250 talented artists to date, contributing to the development of an organizational website, social media presence, registration processes, and e-commerce features. My work has led to favorable reviews in regional media outlets, including Willamette Week and multiple regional radio stations and programs, successfully raising over $15,000 for a Portland-based women’s shelter and achieving an 80% increase in festival revenue.
Key Highlights:
- • Created content to engage broader audiences which led to nearly 250% increase in event attendance in one-year-period.
- • Designed festival posters, promotional videos, pamphlets and merchandise, selling out of limited-edition t-shirts during all events.
- • Trained and supervised over 100 dedicated volunteers to date, overseeing scheduling of shifts and venue walkthroughs.
Skills:
Web Applications · REST APIs · Digital Media · People Management · Responsive Web Design · Project Management · Community Organizing · Full-Stack Development
Lead Frontend Developer - Pro Bono
Hack for LA
Remote (Los Angeles, CA)
Mar 2021 - Jul 2022I served as the lead developer throughout the creation of a React application projected to serve over 100,000 volunteers worldwide, utilizing ReactJS with Material-UI framework to realize a Figma design. During this time, I built an online index application uniting civic tech organizations, allowing users to quickly locate and filter organizations and volunteer opportunities based on causes, affiliations, and regions.
Key Highlights:
- • Leveraged GitHub open-source communities to make charitable work more visible to potential donors and volunteers, with application currently serving 300+ organizations working on hunger remediation, criminal justice reform, and affordable housing.
- • Worked with product managers throughout development of features and improvements, promoting seamless user experiences.
Skills:
Git · Web Applications · REST APIs · Figma (Software) · Front-end Coding · Mobile Application Development · Web Application Development · Front-end Development · Web Development · Responsive Web Design · Project Management · Community Organizing · GitHub · Jira
Education
Full-Stack Coding Certificate
University of Oregon
On-site: Portland, OR campus
Six-month on-site intensive coursework in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, MySQL, and Node.js.
Associate Degree of Liberal Arts
Marylhurst University
Lake Oswego, OR
Minor focus on Modern Irish Language (Gaeilge)
Arts Degree Programme, Certificate of Irish Studies
University College Cork
(Coláiste na hOllscoile)
Cork, Ireland
First Class Honours: Modern and Ancient Irish language, Music Theory/Practise, Celtic Civilization, Archaeology, Politics
Personal
My primary enjoyment is derived from music: playing, listening, composing, as well as instrument design and construction. Having done plenty of repairs on instruments belonging to my bluegrass banjo students, my love for woodworking quickly trainsitioned into luthiery: the hand-making of stringed instruments. Though I predominantly build banjos, I have made a variety of other instruments and am currently constructing my first Irish bouzouki: one of my favorite instruments to play. Music has given me the opportunity to travel to multiple continents to perform as well as to teach; I've toured New Zealand on multiple occasions, spent several months in Uganda as a house band in a local bar, and most recently my bluegrass band was awarded a federal grant issued by the US State Department to tour in eastern Russia. I enjoy teaching others and have taught classes to both individuals and through various colleges and universities. I have always loved experiencing foreign cultures, often an eye-opening and humbling experience, and spent my college years in Cork in the south of Ireland. As part of my degree, I studied Gaeilge, the native Irish language, and love to converse with anyone else who shares this arcane interest. Myself and my colleague run a non-profit that puts on the Bridgetown Bluegrass & Folk Festival each year, earning money to build shelters for those in need as well as fund youth music programs. I also posses a strong interest in fermentation science, having spent twelve years as a brewer and cider maker, and enjoy building stills of my own design for making spirits and tinctures at home. Currently I live with my wife and our two young lads in Portland, Oregon, the city I grew up in.
Contact
maxskewes@gmail.com