51% Technical

49% Creative

Hybrid developer since 2004

Hire me.

Hello. You already know my name.

Currently I am a Web Engineer at Google. I define myself as a Hybrid Web Developer, Programmer, Technical Consultant and Analyst, with a creative twist who loves to innovate, inspire, and simplify solutions. Based in London and Bristol in the UK.

My background is based in Computer Science. It was here I discovered I fitted in to a rare breed of what I like to call "hybrid developers", others may call this a "design technologist" - in short, I equally enjoy being both creative and technical minded.

To me, it did not make sense to have a beautifully designed, efficient, modular back end, if it was not complemented with a front end that had just as much thought go in to it. Usability / user experience is just as important – otherwise it will only ever be used by the person who created it. Both components should be elegant and complement each other.

I soon discovered web/mobile technologies allowed me to combine both sides of my personality. My final year MEng thesis was in "Reality mining using mobile devices and pseudonymous social networks". For this I won the Innovative Web Applications Prize and was nominated for the national SET awards in the "Best IT Student" category. I was delighted to make it to the final 3 candidates in the UK for this, which was judged by the IET.

Google - My current job

Web Solutions Engineer.

Currently I work at Google in a team known as "Creative Innovation" helping to develop bespoke technical web solutions (both front end and back end) for Google's largest clients (Tier 1 marketers, publishers, and agencies) and internal teams globally.

We typically work on projects that have never been made/standardized before to deliver a scalable solution using the Google infrastructure / best practices utilizing the latest web technologies such as HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, ActionScript and Java - in short we often attempt to make what is considered infeasible to do in-house at other companies, possible. Typical clients include (but not limited to) HP, Canal+, McDonalds, Coca Cola, Unilever, Renault, YouTube, MSN, Yahoo, MySpace, RCS, to name but a few.

Our team consists of sharp, analytical minds - we all enjoy solving complex strategic, operational, and technical challenges for the world's largest publishers and advertisers. As a member of the Creative Innovation team, I help to push the boundaries of the online display industry which is Google's next $10 billion+ dollar business - display advertising through our innovative solutions and by providing technical training/presentations at industry specific events globally, delighting customers.

As part of my 20% time at Google I have also been a mentor at Google Campus since April 2012 where I advise and help high-tech startups in London. Campus is Europe’s newest co-working space / entrepreneur community for high-tech digital startups. We host mentoring programmes, speaker series, networking events and help great ideas come to life by inspiring others. I mentor in a variety of subject areas such as:

In addition to campus I also mentor individuals and small companies globally via Google Helpouts on the weekends. You can see some of the feedback received in the right hand side of this page. I actively work with many other teams within Google globally in other 20% projects who enjoy making use of my hybrid skill set. Just a few examples include: StreetView as a Web Engineer, ZooX as a Creative Technologist, Location / BLE as a Web Designer / Engineer, and Developer Relations as a Web Engineer for Material Design Lite / Web Starter Kit.

Qualifications & Certifications

Publications & Media

I have also been featured / written / involved in the following online articles:

Honors & Awards

Previous jobs

Yes, I was a busy guy...

XMOS

Along with founding my own company, I also worked as a Senior Web Development Engineer at a global semiconductor company - XMOS, looking after their online developments, implementations, and digital strategy. During my time there I helped to build the companies’ successful online presence from that of a small startup to the global web preseence it has today. From 3D modelling products in Autodesk Maya and multimedia production to backend programming, I wore many hats to ensure they had a strong professional digital presence. I also acted as a technical evangelist for XMOS within robotics and education communities worldwide and created xcore.com - the largest global community of professional SDS embedded developers attracting individuals from many areas including: freelancers, hobbyists, corporate hardware/software developers and academics.

Since joining XMOS, I set to work on optimising XMOS's digital presence globally. The result of this is that XMOS is now utilising the world leading Akamai CDN network to deliver its digital assets, which improved website performance by around 249%. I also utilised a number of digital marketing techniques which improved XMOS.com's daily visitors by over 300%.

Having worked with world leading companies such as Akamai in my quest for optimal solutions, I have even been featured in a Computer World article related to "how to improve your website's uptime".

Pure42

I was also Director and Co-Founder of Pure42 - combining my passion for creativity with my more technical Computer Science background to produce bespoke, usable, and well implemented digital solutions in a number of areas.

We only considered working with companies / individuals who were as passionate about their own company as we were about what we did.

Pure42 offerred a number of services including (but not limited to):

We had consultants in both Bristol and London and great contacts at world leading companies to ensure we could find the optimal solution. Purely creative, purely technical, we were Pure42 - a rare collection of what we liked to call "hybrid developers" and minds who produced something elegant and special every time. Being a hybrid developer I was actively involved in both creative ventures and the underlying technical implementations too.

Photography

I also specialise in HDR photography and photo manipulation (love Adobe Creative Suite) to capture the beauty of the world around me as I see it. I hope by browsing through my photos you will catch a glimpse in to my world - that tree on the side of the road has so much more beauty to it than most people ever notice - I like to try and reveal that. I also use traditional methods where appropriate, where HDR would not be suitable. My tools of the trade at present are a Canon 500D, with a 17-85mm lens, and myself. Indeed, no tripod or other such accessories are used. I have even founded a page on Google+ for HDR photographers - view to get inspired - over 60,000 members and growing! I am also delighted to say a few people have requested to use my work in books, calendars, apps, and websites.

Skillsets and interests

Specialties include (but not limited to): HTML5, CSS, CSS3, JavaScript, JQuery, Node.js, Google AppEngine, Java, PHP, MySQL, SQL, Google APIs, XML, AJAX, JSONP, JSON, Google Maps, GIS, Google APIs, Adobe Flash, ActionScript, VB.net, VB6, Windows, Linux, Apache, software, web design, LAMP, troubleshooting, remote assistance, technical consultancy, hardware, networking, data mining, page scraping, social networks, mobile devices, GPS programming, Drupal, scalable bespoke systems, CDN, Akamai, multimedia, graphics, user experience, usability, scaling, cloud systems, innovation, and rapid prototyping.

Key areas include: Web development, Web applications, Web Design, Graphic Design, Software Design, Social Media, Creative, Usability and User Experience, Advertising, Digital Marketing.

My other interests are: music, movies, travelling, meeting new people, digital art, SLR photography, HDR photography, 3D modelling in Autodesk Maya, gadgets, random facts, flying, space, and hot air ballooning.

What are people saying about me?

I have had the pleasure of working with some great people - many have even gone as far to leave feedback about their experiences when working with me. Below are some of the snippets I have received via LinkedIn and Google Helpouts in the recent past:

Jason is a great person to work with and has the rare quality of being proficient in both web design and development. His passion about web standards and coding best practices is evident in every project he takes on. He's a team player and an excellent communicator, a real asset to have on your side." Peter Elst, Product Technology Manager, Google.

"Jason was incredibly helpful & definitely went above the call of duty for our helpout. I was struggling to understand the templating script handlebars.js and he built an entire Git commit "handlebars-helper" which made it much easier to use. Exactly what I had been searching for. Huge thank you Jason! Let me know if you ever need illustrations to grace the front-end of your code - would love to return the favour any way I can." Maggie Appleton, Illustrator & Designer.

"Wow! I'm so inspired and rejuvenated about JavaScript and code in general. Jason is clear and concise, yet detailed, with examples. He asked the right questions to get to the root of what I was looking to learn. I'm also looking forward to using the resources he recommended. Jason - Sincerely, thanks so very much! Time to geek out on a Sunday :-)" S. Turner, Google Helpouts.

"Jason is a pleasure to work with. He combines an obvious natural talent for design with intelligence, creativity, attention to detail and professionalism. He comes highly recommended by me" Jonathan May, Director at HubBub.net, who worked directly with Jason at XMOS + Pure42.

"Jason is awesome. I have paid good money for multiple online web development mentors and Jason's free helpout was MUCH more enlightening than any lesson I've had to date. He took the time to explain concepts and helped debug code in a way that enforced learning. His career advice, tips on how and what to study, and the order in which to study was also very helpful. Very glad I sought him out. HIGHLY recommended!" Andrew Lampart, Google Helpouts.

"This dude is the real deal! He had my problem solved before we even jumped in the scheduled helpout. Other than helping me solve my problem, he had tons of other great advice and tips to add. Best value on Helpouts! " Mason Lawlor, Entrepreneur/Creative.

"Amazing! Answered all my design and back-end questions even though I thought I wasn't explaining it right. He gave me a big confidence boost on getting better at web design." Omar, Google Helpouts.

"Jason gave feedback that I can, and plan to, immediately put to use! Having a fresh set of eyes take a look at our site was great and Jason obviously knew what he was talking about. Thanks." Brian Chapman, Google Helpouts.

"Jason has a very strategic attitude to the application of technology and his life/career in general, which is a very rare and valuable quality in business. He is outstanding as a mentor and provided us with incredible amount of valuable advice in a short space of time. It is a pleasure to work with someone like him." Diana Tkhamadokova, Director at I Style Myself.

"Jason definitely knows a few things about web development and it was great interacting with him, he left me inspired to work on a project of mine I have been wanting to start" Elijah Lynn, Senior Software Engineer at NBC Universal.

"Jason shows impeccable amount of knowledgable and experience within him in addition to his touching personality. Being a student I needed some key counselling tips to shape my future and regardless of the fact that this is not his key area of expertise he was overwhelming and supportive to share his side of the story. Indeed, he is amazing!" Anish, Google Hangouts.

"Jason designed and developed an amazing website for Fortis Resourcing (recruitment agency specialising in financial services). We found him to be very competent in all IT related matters, he was also very diligent in ensuring the website was ready for our launch day. Fortis would have no hesitation in recommending him to any potential clients." Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, Expert. Martha Shephard, Director at To Be Seen who hired Jason as a Web Developer / Graphic designer.

"Jason is an amazing teacher! He has in depth front-end knowledge (HTML5, CSS3, JS) and could help us understand all the problems in our existing code base for our web application. He had requested a list of relevant issues that we wanted to discuss prior to the help out and had solutions ready for them. The session was incredibly useful and we would definitely look forward to interacting with him again." Aaron, Google Helpouts.

"Jason volunteered to help students from City of Bristol College gain first hand experience of running a business at one of our Plunge events. Jason's vitality and creativity was a great hit with the students while his obvious expertise cemented his credibility amongst the other 50 expert volunteers. A great guy to have around." Top qualities: Personable, Expert, Creative. James who hired Jason as a Mentor to young people.

"My Helpout with Jason was beneficial in several ways. As a non-technical person, Jason answered all the questions I had related to tech. More importantly, Jason gave me insight into topics that I had not yet considered. After talking to Jason I have a better understanding of the problem I'm trying to solve, and can work proactively on overcoming future hurdles I had not yet considered." Shea, Google Helpouts.

"Jason brought to XMOS a unique blend of artistic creativity, technical knowledge, and vision for digital strategy. Since joining XMOS, he has set to work on optimising XMOS's digital presence globally. He also utilised a number of digital marketing / advertising techniques to drive traffic to XMOS.com, helping to improve visitor numbers by over 300%. As a part of this role, he also influenced our distictive corporate branding, which allows us to stand out in what is usually a sea of blue logos." Mark Lippett, COO at XMOS Semiconductor Ltd.

"Jason provided a great and reliable service for us theming the new UBU website. I'd have no hesitation in recommending him or using him again." Top qualities: Great Results, On Time. Ben Organ, director at Nudge Digital, who hired Jason as an IT Consultant.

"Answered every Question I tossed his way, and was able to explain everything in detail and in a way I could easily understand. Jason is very knowledgeable on this subject and was able to answer questions that would be considered expert level with ease. In general I would recommend Jason for anyone who may need help understanding front-end/back-end web development. Jason was well familiar with Google plug-ins for eclipse, which was a huge bonus for me as a native Android developer trying to get more familiar with Google App-Engine. My experience was an overall successful helpout session and I am very pleased with the knowledge I obtained from Jason. Thank you". Michael Jordan, Google Helpouts.

"Jason was an excellent student and has been an excellent ambassador for both the department and the university" Nigel Smart, senior professor and head of Computer Science at University of Bristol.

You can read more over on my LinkedIn account.