Ben Duffield-Harding

Software Engineer and Makers Academy alumnus specialising in building full-stack web applications with test-driven development, CI/CD and Agile methodologies. Coming from a background in customer service and personal training, I thrive when working in teams and have a strong ability to communicate technical ideas. I am currently seeking a permanent position which will allow me to further improve my Agile skills.

Projects

Name	Description	Tech/tools
Chitter Social Media Website	Social media website built with Flask and PostgreSQL, with graphics made in Three.js and GLSL. Deployed on a virtual machine with Digital Ocean.	Flask, PostgreSQL, GLSL, Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, Three.js, Tailwind.
BDH Art & Design Shopify ECommerce Store	Art & Design showcase utilising Shopify Integration, exploring graphic design principles - colour theory, layout design and typography. Utilised Netlify forms to collect customer queries.	GLSL, React Three Fibre, Adobe Creative Suite, React, Tailwind, Figma.
Pokedex Android Mobile App	The app has been created with React Native and is available to download for Android devices via the link. Graphics have been created in Illustrator and animated in After Effects. The search function uses the Poke API to populate the pokemon detail page.	React Native, Adobe Creative Suite, Expo, Figma, Tailwind.
Three.js Portfolio Website	Landing page model created in Blender and imported into Three.js to create motion graphics. Portfolio website designed in Figma and created in Typescript/React with Tailwind styling.	Figma, Three.js, React, Netlify, Tailwind, Typescript.
HomerBot AI Chatbot	This is an AI chat bot using OpenAI's API; the AI model has been fine tuned with dialogue to respond like Homer Simpson. Website designed in Figma, with graphics made in Piskel, made using Next.js	Figma, React, Next.js, Tailwind, OpenAI API.
Streetwear Website	Streetwear fashion website with a stylish design. Optimised for accessibility and SEO using Lighthouse, uses Netlify forms to collect customer data.	Figma, React Three Fibre, React, Netlify, Tailwind.
Crypto Token Website	Website optimised for accessibility and SEO using Lighthouse. Wrote a smart contract to client specifications and deployed to the blockchain.	Figma, Solidity, React, Netlify, Tailwind.
RecipEasy (Makers Final Project)	Created to solve the inaccessibility issue of long form recipe blogs. A web app that scrapes the recipe data from a page, populating a recipe in the app that can be modified, saved, and stored.	MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node.js, Tailwind, Figma.
Mobile Acebook	Created a Facebook clone in an Agile team using SwiftUI, features include: create an account, create a post, upload and display a photo in the feed page.	Swift, SwiftUI, Cloudinary.
SwiftUI Pokedex Mobile App	Designed an interactive mobile app using SwiftUI that fetches and manipulates data from an API.	Swift, SwiftUI.
Pokedex React App	Designed a React app that fetches and manipulates data from an API.	React, Bootstrap.
Acebook App	Created a Facebook clone in an Agile team. Features include: create an account, write posts with likes and comments, send & receive friend requests.	MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node.js.
Chitter App	Created a Twitter clone using test driven development and implemented continuous integration with Github actions.	Python, Tailwind CSS Flask, Flask-Mail, PostgreSQL.
REST API Server	Server made using Flask with GET request functionality. When called the server sends an HTTP response with the required RESTful headers and caching functionality using Flask-Caching.	Flask, Python.
Weather API Server	Made for the purpose of understanding how to fetch and manipulate data from an API, and further my knowledge of building web servers with Express.js.	Javascript, Express.js.
HTTP Server	Created to help explain GET and POST method requests in my article on HTTP.	Python.
Battleships Game	Created to develop skills in test driven development and programming terminal user-interfaces.	Python.
Open Source Contributor	Contributed several bug fixes and codebase additions to open source projects on Github which led to improved user experience. Completed Hacktoberfest 2023, an event that celebrates open source development.	Python, Django, CSS.
AWS WordPress Website	Built to gain experience with WordPress websites, and to consolidate knowledge from completing AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials.	AWS Management Console, AWS Elastic Beanstalk.
Dynamic Blog Website	Created to gain an understanding of DevOps processes, deployed using DigitalOcean Cloud services.	Python, Django, PostgreSQL.
Static Portfolio Website	Created a visually stunning and engaging UI for my portfolio using Three.js.	Javascript, React, Three.js.

Work Experience

Freelance Web Developer (Mar 2024 - Jun 2024)

• React, Tailwind, Next.js, Netlify and Figma.
• Designed websites on Figma to client specifications, taking into consideration UX design trends.
• Deployed with continuous deployment on Netlify, I utilised Netlify forms to collect customer data for clients.
• Wrote interactive smart contracts and created ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.

Code and Jobs, Freelance Technical Writer (Dec 2023 - Jun 2024)

• Created articles to assist software engineers in resolving technical challenges and participating in the tech community.
• Researched and wrote about cutting-edge technologies like cryptocurrency, aiming to simplify complex ideas for both personal understanding and audience clarity.
• Actively interacted with Medium and Code & Jobs readers to foster connections within the tech field.

Makers Academy, Junior Software Developer (Oct 2023 - Mar 2024)

• Developed a strong foundation in Python, Javascript, and Swift.
• Collaborated on several group projects in Agile teams, contributing to a culture of inclusivity by introducing discussions and feedback on individual code contributions ensuring knowledge is shared across the team.
• Took responsibility for backend development of MongoDB and PostgreSQL databases, successfully pairing with teammates specialising in other areas of the project resulting in an efficient Agile workflow.

Waterstones Cafe, Lead Barista (Sep 2021– Oct 2023)

• Trained new staff on café equipment to foster a relaxed and confident team atmosphere.
• Maintained high coffee quality standards under pressure, resulting in increased customer retention and sales YoY.
• Fostered good team morale and enhanced customer satisfaction through strong relationships with colleagues and customers.

Puregym, Personal Trainer (Dec 2020 - Sep 2021)

• Planned and choreographed exercise classes for mixed-age groups of 10-20 people, adapting exercises to accommodate diverse participant needs.
• Choreographed and delivered dynamic group exercise classes tailored to both group and individual requirements, enhancing member retention and satisfaction.
• Passionate personal trainer specialising in nutrition, hypertrophy training, and the psychological benefits of physical activity.

Holland And Barrett, Supervisor (June 2018 – July 2021)

• Quickly promoted to supervisor at Holland and Barrett, worked closely with the manager brainstorming ideas that led to our team breaking records for customer loyalty card sign-ups within the company.
• Communicating technical concepts to customers effectively, following a process of first principles when advising them on products and lifestyle changes that will solve their health issues.
• My approachability and sensitivity contributed to an increase in loyal returning customers.

Skills

Communication

I honed my ability to communicate technical ideas to the public while working as a supervisor at Holland and Barrett. The customer interaction required sensitivity to listen to the customers symptoms and describe a set of products and lifestyle changes that will improve their condition, while taking any contraindications into account. This developed my problem solving skills and my ability to communicate technical anatomy and physiology to the general public. I use my skills to write articles for Code & Jobs and Medium publications.

Teamwork

During my time working in a cabinet making warehouse as part of the delivery team, I oversaw a changeover of staff and was responsible for organising a new multicultural team of freelancers and employees. I was a bridge of communication between the staff and the manager with whom I worked closely. Successfully contributed to positive team morale while working long days and ninety hour weeks. As a software engineer I use my teamwork skills while engaging in Agile methodologies and ceremonies to successfully plan and develop engineering projects to user specifications. I regularly apply pair programming where effective, to solve problems efficiently while supporting my peers.

Problem Solving

When working as a personal trainer I was responsible for planning and choreographing exercise classes for mixed age groups of between 10 and 20 people; adapting exercises to suit attendees with varying requirements. I use my problem solving skills as a software engineer daily, building projects and contributing to open source software. During my time at Makers Academy I have thrived when making the user the focus of my solution, building features that impact user experience.

Organisation

As part of the management team at Waterstones Cafe I was responsible for delegating tasks and organising the team. Motivating them by including them in management decisions, we decided together about product changes and furniture layout to support sales, contributing to an increase in sales YOY. When working in Agile engineering teams at Makers, I introduced discussions and encouraged commenting in our code to ensure knowledge is being shared throughout the team.

Education

Makers Academy (Oct 2023 - Mar 2024)

• Utilised test-driven development using Jest and React Testing Library when creating full-stack web applications with the MERN stack.
• When working on engineering projects in Agile teams we utilised pair programming effectively by pairing individuals that had specialised on different layers of the project. For example, when building our recipe web scraping app, I had built the backend and paired with my teammate who had worked on the frontend, together we successfully connected the two.
• Wrote clean, reusable code following object oriented programming principles throughout my projects
• Introduced a leadership rotation in Agile teams ensuring that each team member was accountable for our work, and clarifying our Git workflow and communication.

The Institute for Optimum Nutrition (Sep 2019 – Jun 2020)

• Chemistry, Biology, Anatomy and Physiology
• Distinction

Stratford-Upon-Avon Sixth Form (Sep 2013 - Jun 2015)

• A-Levels with a specialism in Product Design

Hobbies

🏃‍♂️ I like competing in running events. Most recently completing the Wolf Run, a 10km trail run over obstacles and through rivers. Next one is the Bournemouth half marathon in October.

🖌️ I love to express myself through my artwork. I paint with oils or watercolours - portraits, but also experimenting with effects created between oil and water. Fascinated by patterns found in nature, I have been experimenting with digital art - creating art with code written in P5.js, GLSL, Three.js, Blender.

📚 Passionate reader. I read sci-fi and fantasy. I explore my interests in philosophy and psychology mainly through audiobooks and writing.

🗺️ I have a strong drive for adventure. I have spent two years travelling and working in Australia, as well as spending time exploring Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Bali, Philippines.