277 Main Street, Suite 302, Greenfield MA 01301 USA
413-230-9451 — paul@bissex.net — paulbissex.com/portfolio
Pronouns: he/him
Python Web Development With Django
Published by Addison-Wesley, November 2008 (co-authors Jeff Forcier and Wesley
Chun). One of the first books on the leading Python web programming framework.
408 pages, ISBN 978-0132356138.
Technical Reviewer, Pragmatic Bookshelf (https://pragprog.com/)
Senior Software Engineer
LCvista, November 2023 to present
Over 200,000 professionals at US accounting firms use LCvista’s software for
learning management and compliance tracking. As Senior Software Engineer I
collaborate with product owners and my engineering team to improve and expand
the product. I write code for new features and improvements, and review code
from other engineers.
Lead Backend Engineer
Tactiq, March 2023 to August 2023
I was Lead Backend Engineer on the Tactiq “Pipeline” product, a communication
channel connecting over 40,000 chain retail stores to their distributors. I led
the Pipeline back-end engineering team while also writing code. Worked closely
with Product and front-end/mobile engineering to develop new features. Codified
and documented back-end engineering processes.
Principal Software Engineer
Routable Inc., May 2022 to January 2023
This fintech startup provides a business payment platform for companies of all
sizes. Helped lead a major change to the internals of the platform, aimed at
making it a more appealing choice for enterprise customers. Made feature-level
contributions on front-end and back-end both. Regularly reviewed code from
engineers in several different areas. Along with other senior engineers, helped
create process changes to improve velocity and quality on our teams.
Senior Software Engineer
Phone.com, April 2021 to March 2022
Built and maintained configuration and administration tools for customers of
this cloud-based business communications provider. Used by over 45,000
customers used these tools to manage services, users, phone numbers, and
devices. Developed front-end components in React, and back-end AWS Lambda
functions in Python. Helped roll out new tooling to enforce code quality
standards. Spearheaded feature releases. Improved automated test coverage and
quality using pytest, Jest, and Selenium.
Principal Software Engineer
MassChallenge Inc., January 2017 to April 2021
Developed and maintained the Accelerate platform, which runs all MassChallenge
startup accelerator programs globally. Scale: 10,000 industry experts, 25,000
startups, 60,000 entrepreneurs. Led the conversion of our 100,000-line Python 2
codebase to Python 3, completed ahead of schedule, then led upgrade from Django
1.x to Django 2.x. Improved performance of key reports and interfaces. Planned
and managed long-running projects. Reviewed code daily. Mentored junior
developers.
Senior Developer
Lionbridge Technologies, Waltham MA, April 2016 to November 2016
Developed and maintained Lionbridge OnDemand, a translation services platform
written in Python using Django Rest Framework. This included a web-based UI as
well as an extensive API customers integrated with their CMS platforms.
Implemented a system for dynamic service rates based on specific source/target
language combinations. Reviewed code changes from junior and senior developers.
Software Developer
Cox Media Group Technology, Atlanta GA, June 2011 to March 2016
Developed and maintained Medley, a web/mobile publishing platform for Cox Media
Group's newspaper/radio/TV properties, handling tens of millions of pageviews
per day. Medley was written in Python using the Django web framework and the
Ellington CMS framework. Integrated Medley with third-party vendor systems.
Designed second-generation REST API. Maintained ad-serving infrastructure. Did
a development spike to add content versioning to the CMS. Researched NoSQL data
stores (Riak KV and Neo4J) for next generation of the product. Assisted with
hiring; mentored new developers; evaluated contractor work.
Senior Developer
Nextown Technologies, Miami Beach FL, Dec 2010 to May 2011
Member of core five-developer team for a "penny auction" startup. Application
stack included Django, Flask, nginx, RabbitMQ, and PostgreSQL. Wrote and
maintained code in Python and Javascript. Wrote automated tests. Mentored new
developers.
Director of Software Development, Instructor
Hallmark Institute of Photography, Turners Falls MA, Jan 2005 to Jun 2010
Taught web development skills to 150-200 students per year as part of intensive
photography and business curriculum. Developed and maintained web applications
for all parts of the school. Developed and maintained attendance tracking and
reporting system. Created electronic grading system. Instituted project
tracking and source code management. Wrote documentation. Advised management on
web technology decisions.
Web Developer, Owner
E-Scribe New Media, Greenfield MA, Dec 2000 to June 2011
Developed database-backed web applications for business and nonprofit clients.
Created administrative interfaces for non-technical users. Provided code review
services for Django-based startups. Debugged and enhanced existing sites.
Integrated client sites with third-party services for commerce, email
automation, and search. Hired and managed contractors and interns. Prepared
proposals, managed customer accounts.
Pydantic: Better Living Through Type Annotations — Boston Python, March 2023
Working as a Software Engineer — UMass Amherst COMPSCI 320, November 2022
Porting 100,000 lines of Python 2 to Python 3 — Django Boston meetup, September 2019 (video)
Move Fast Without Breaking Things: Testing Python Applications — NERD Summit, March 2019 (video)
NodeJS Two-Day Intensive with Sequoia McDowell, Williamsburg MA, February 2016
MassChallenge, Boston MA — Judge and Mentor for FinTech, HealthTech, and Early Stage startup accelerator programs
Franklin County Technical School, Turners Falls MA — Active member of Program Advisory Board for Web and Programming shop; guest speaker
Tech Foundry, Springfield MA — Volunteer Instructor
dpaste.com — Programmer pastebin site written with Django, used by the Django community since 2006. Django debug mode and
iPython %pastebin command both use this site. REST API, syntax detection, custom themes, responsive layouts, markup preview.
django-blocklist — Open source Django app for IP-based blocklisting.
B.A. in Languages and Literature, Bard College, Annandale NY