Get in touch @ zac@zacmoss.co.uk
I’m Zac Moss, I’m a full-stack software engineer and alumni of the Makers Academy July ‘22 cohort. I write in Javascript (including React and React Native), Python, and Ruby.
I learned to code after meeting software engineers working remote while on a rock climbing trip in Thailand. I loved the sound of a career that allowed so much flexibility! When I returned I entered lockdown and immediately started a course on Codecademy. I’ve been hooked ever since.
| Name | Description | Tech/tools |
|---|---|---|
| Remember To Vote (Live site / Repo) | A demonstration website for a messaging service that reminds voters to vote on the day of the election by texting them their polling station address. Created for Campaign Lab. | Typescript, React, NextJS, Node.js, Vercel, Jest, Twilio API, Electoral Commision API, HTML, CSS |
| Twitterpulse | A full-stack web application that ranks Twitter users based on their interactions with other high-profile Twitter users. Powered by Firebase, with a React front-end reading data from a Firestore NoSQL database, using Node.js Firebase Functions in the backend. A Python script runs daily, interacting with the Twitter API using the Tweepy Library and analysing up to 2 million tweets a month. Responsible for everything except the UX design. | Javascript, React, Node.js, Firebase, Firestore, Jest, Python, PythonAnywhere, Tweepy, Twitter API, HTML |
| Polling Station Address Sender | A script that messages potential voters the address of their polling station using SMS or WhatsApp. Created for Campaign Lab. | Javascript, Node.js, Electoral Commision Api, Twilio, Jest |
| Chitter (Front-End / API) | A full-stack MERN social media web application that allows users to create accounts, make and like posts, and tag other users. Users are sent an email when tagged in a post. Front-end is currently in progress! | Javascript, React, Node.js, Express, Twilio SendGrid, MongoDB, Jest, Cypress, Supertest, Bcrypt, HTML |
| Divvy | A mobile app for calculating how to split group meal costs in restaurants. Users can take a photo of a receipt and have it itemised on the app. It supports additional charges including tips, service charges, taxes, and can deduct discounts. | Javascript, React Native, Node.js, Expo, Realm, Taggun, CSS |
| Acebook | A full-stack MCV social media web application. Users can make a profile and upload a profile photo, add friends, see and comment on their friends posts, and like comments and posts. | Javascript, Node.js, MongoDB, Handlebars, Jest, Cypress, HTML, CSS |
| MakersBnB | A full-stack MCV rental marketplace. Users can post properties or spaces they own or manage and other users can request to book them. | Ruby, Sinatra, Active Record, PostGres, RSpec, HTML, CSS |
| Gilded Rose | Inventory manager for a fictional shop. Items degrade in quality with each passing day depending on the special qualities of the item. | Javascript, Jest |
| Bank Tech Test | Mock tech test, a transaction handler for a bank account. It validates and records withdrawals and deposits and can return a bank statement based on the account’s transaction history. | Javascript, Jest |
| Busiest Climber | Web scraper and leaderboard creator. Scrapes the second largest database of rock climbs in the world and builds a top ten leaderboard for an area based on who had completed the most climbs. My earliest project! | Python, Selenium, BeautifulSoup |
I love to be challenged: After my first online course I wanted a project that would flex my new coding skills. I wrote a script that would interact with one of my favourite websites, a database of rock climbs from around the world. It didn't have a public API so I learned how to scrape the site using Selenium to render dynamically loading pages and BeautifulSoup, a library for parsing a page's DOM, and converted the data into a leaderboard for who had completed the most climbs in an area. This proved popular with my climbing friends who are very competitive!
Not afraid to fail: In my last group project at Makers we had two weeks to develop an app from scratch. We decided on a bill-splitting app for working out group meal costs in restaurants. For an added challenge, I suggested we make it a mobile app and write it in React Native - neither of which I had any experience with! This paid off when we finished with an iOS app that we could deploy through Expo.
Calm under pressure: I am used to keeping it together in high-stress situations. I have worked in special effects teams on film and tv productions working with fire and water effects where mistakes could have consequences of serious injury. As a climbing photographer I would be responsible for my own safety while abseiling, hanging in mid-air on a rope while taking photos of professional climbers and athletes - sometimes only getting one attempt to get the shot!
I’m always working on something: If I’m not developing my own projects (just ask me what I’m working on at the moment), you can find me solving kata on Code Wars where I have a 3 kyu rating.
- Freelance software developer specialising in full stack web applications and automation using React, Javascript, and Python.
- Recently worked on a full-stack application using React, Node.js and Python to automate user interaction data collection with the Twitter API and Tweepy library of up to 2 million tweets a month.
- Utilised a Firestore NoSQL database for cloud data storage.
- Practiced TDD to ensure high-quality code by utilising Jest and Pytest frameworks.
- Successfully developed the front-end using React and Firebase Functions in Node.JS, creating a secure and user-friendly experience
- Joined the Makers Academy bootcamp with hopes and dreams of emerging as a professional software engineer.
- Learned to work in a team environment using Agile methodologies to build exciting projects
- Met a bunch of wonderful people and was continually excited by code
- Ruby & Javascript
- Taught TDD processes with testing frameworks including RSpec, Jest, and Cypress
I worked as part of a special effects company based in SW London. As well as learning how to use many wood and metalwork tools and skills, I had the chance to work on a lot of different effects including fire and pyrotechnics, smoke and haze, and water and rain.
Some effects I was involved with included:
- setting various things on fire like a kitchen, a boxing ring, and a moped,
- dropping two tons of water on a caravan,
- covering a street in Hackney in fake snow,
- running a bath (genuinely an effect).
Worked on everything from blockbuster film productions to commercials and music videos. As an assistant director I would work as time keeper on set and keep the day moving along. I was also responsible for managing groups of background artists in groups of anywhere between ten to several hundred people.
Digital Film and Screen Arts - 2-2
I really enjoy rock climbing and photography. I took an eight month trip through Europe and Turkey (lots of baklava), climbing some incredible and challenging routes (seeking challenge is a theme here) and taking photos of climbers ranging from amateur friends to Olympians. If you're interested you can check out photos from my adventures at https://www.zacmoss.co.uk/
I also like to solve Rubik's cubes. Over lockdown I had a goal of getting a solve in under one minute, my fastest time is 1 minute and 83 hundreths of a second. Always looking to improve!