Aran Clary

Senior Full-Stack EngineerHe/Him

About

I'm a seasoned full-stack software developer with over 30 years of hands-on experience. My track record includes managing data pipelines, crafting backend services, and delivering stunning UIs. I excel at leading teams and interfacing with product development.


Dream Job Traits
Collaboration, innovation, impactful results, teamwork, work-life balance, recognition.
Actively searching for an opportunity
Available starting on April 1st, 2024
These roles would be a great match
Frontend Developer
Principal Software Engineer
Engineering Team Lead
With this commitment
Full-time
In any of these capacities
On-site, Hybrid, Remote

Portland, OR, US
Not available to relocate
Willing to travel
English
LinkedIn
GitHub
CPAN
PDF Resume

Skills

  • Frontend Development
    Typescript, React, Responsive Design, Jest, CSS, Tailwind, HTML, JavaScript
  • Backend Development
    Node.js, REST, gRPC, Git, Linux, Docker, nginx, Perl, Bash
  • Data Engineering
    Memcached, DynamoDB, MySQL, Redis, PostgreSQL
  • Cloud Operations
    Infrastructure as Code, Kubernetes, AWS, Terraform, CI/CD, Grafana, Prometheus, OpenSearch
  • Interpersonal
    Collaboration, Agile Processes, Mentoring, Release Management, Stakeholder Management, Requirements Gathering, Technical Writing, Emotional Intelligence, Active Listening
  • Developing Passions
    Rust, Serverless, Lean Processes, Generative AI, Game Design, GCP, Sociocracy

Experience

GoGuardian

Engineering Contractor | Dec 2023 - Now | Contract | Remote

ZipRecruiter

Principal Software Engineer | Feb 2014 - May 2023 | Full-time | Remote | Santa Monica, CA, US

I had a long and broad ranging career at ZipRecruiter, from DevOps and cloud infrastructure engineering to product development. Over the years I mentored junior engineers, was a release manager, wrote documentation and functional specifications, gathered requirements and communicated changes. I introduced automated builds, tooling to increase visibility into our systems, and helped the company migrate away from a monolithic code base to microservices.

When I first joined ZipRecruiter, which was then a small startup, I promptly optimized the codebase and revamped processes to improve release reliability and production environment stability. In the first half of my tenure, my focus was on boosting developer productivity by introducing essential processes and tools that facilitated company growth.

In the latter half of my tenure, my role evolved to encompass active collaboration with product teams, engaging in an agile workflow that included sprints, retrospectives, and daily stand-up meetings. I worked closely with product managers and stakeholders to complete high-impact projects on strict deadlines.

  • Improved the codebase by replacing complicated sections of code with simpler, more straightforward solutions which were easier to maintain, more flexible, well documented, and had increased test coverage.
  • Created a development database replication system using filesystem snapshots and cross-region replication, enabling instant access to destructible production datasets.
  • Introduced Grafana, continuous integration, Slack, reusable test data fixtures, enumerable other tools.
  • Actively advocated for test coverage, documentation, and high-quality code.

Rent.com

Principal Architect | Apr 2011 - Mar 2014 | Full-time | On-site | Santa Monica, CA, US

At Rent.com I embraced a multitude of roles including Backend Developer, Architect, Manager, Scrum Master, DevOps Product Owner, Hiring Manager, Release Manager, and Frontend Developer.

My responsibilities at Rent.com were both diverse and dynamic. I actively engaged in the research and integration of new technologies, the construction of software infrastructure to facilitate efficient coding practices, and mentoring colleagues. I was adept at multitasking and dedicated to documentation, writing unit tests, crafting essential tools, and meticulously profiling and optimizing the site. Additionally, my contributions extended to writing a substantial amount of code.

  • Instrumental in the overhaul of the renter-facing website, ensuring a modern aesthetic and seamless performance on both desktop and mobile platforms through responsive design.
  • Spearheaded the migration from Subversion to Git.
  • Created an in-depth deployment dashboard which aggregated data from JIRA and Git, providing realtime visibility into issues holding up a deployment and all changes going into a deployment.
  • Established a dedicated DevOps team.
  • Lead the effort to migrate our entire infrastructure to a new data and authorization platform when the company was acquired by a competitor.

ValueClick

Software Engineer | Jan 2005 - Apr 2011 | Full-time | On-site | Thousand Oaks, CA, US

At this ad network I embarked on a journey in an unfamiliar corporate environment. Fortunately, I had the guidance of a visionary engineering director who recognized my untapped potential. This invaluable mentorship paved the way for rapid growth as I seamlessly adapted my extensive coding expertise and freelancing background to this new setting. As time progressed, I emerged as one of the most impactful developers and effective managers within the organization.

  • Successfully spearheaded a year-long initiative, leading a compact team of two, including myself, focused on the comprehensive overhaul of our publisher administration portal.
  • Developed a library for the retrieval of data for reporting, which decoupled the retrieval process from the data requirements, allowing for seamless modification of data sources without altering the code.
  • Managed a team of developers, conducted interviews, streamlined onboarding, and trained new hires.
  • Instrumental in seamlessly integrating the software, systems, and developers of a newly-acquired company into our ecosystem.
  • Collaborated closely with the database team to scale our infrastructure, enabling seamless management of billions of daily impressions and facilitating efficient generation of aggregate data views.
  • Rewrote the monthly publisher payout process, ensuring resilience to failures and significantly reducing its runtime.

Thinkstock

Software Engineer | Apr 2003 - Dec 2004 | Full-time | On-site | Charlotte, NC, US

At this stock photography company, I served as one of two developers responsible for managing custom built servers containing terabytes of videos and images. My responsibilities included handling OS and software updates, improving the website by adding features and enhancing efficiency, and assisting the marketing and sales teams in meeting their goals.

IDForce

Engineering Lead | May 2001 - Mar 2002 | Full-time | Hybrid | Charlotte, NC, US

I independently developed an online collaboration tool equipped with live whiteboards, chat, and file sharing features for a London-based startup. The development process involved multiple trips to London to collaborate and ideate with the design team. Notably, during the tool's development, I pioneered an AJAX-like technique, years before AJAX became a widely recognized term in the industry.

Silent Forest

Software Engineer and Sysadmin | Jan 1996 - Apr 2003 | Freelance | Hybrid | CA & NC, US

Excelled in delivering end-to-end web solutions for a wide array of businesses both domestically and internationally. As a one-stop solution provider, I successfully navigated all stages of project life cycle, from conceptualization and architecture design to implementation and final delivery. I distinguished myself through the creation of high-quality software and an ability to uncover and fulfill unanticipated needs of my clients, thereby providing them a strong online presence. My comprehensive suite of services, backed by my adeptness in multiple technologies, positioned numerous small and medium sized businesses for success in the digital age.

MapCruzin

Co-Founder | Jan 1994 - Jan 1996 | Full-time | On-site | Santa Cruz, CA, US

Built software solutions primarily aimed at providing crucial mapping services for government entities and non-profit organizations. I spearheaded both backend and frontend development, delivering websites that facilitated greater transparency and engagement within the environmental activism sphere. Additionally, I played a key role in contract negotiation and drafting. While the company was heavily involved in data collection and processing, my primary focus was on creating effective software tools and ensuring a seamless user experience, thus empowering communities with accessible information.


Recommendations

It is difficult to overstate the impact that [Aran] has made at the two companies where I’ve been grateful to be his colleague. As a mentor, he has had the largest impact on my career journey of any engineer I’ve ever worked with.

Mike Rozek

Mike and Aran both worked at Rent.com and ZipRecruiter in various roles

He was a big asset to me in my career development and to the many companies he has worked for. If you’re looking for a strong Principle Engineer/Architect then you should see what Aran has to offer.

Maxwell Cabral

Max and Aran both worked at ZipRecruiter in various roles

I have worked with countless engineers, usually of very high caliber, but engineers of Aran's talents are far and few in between. I have had the privilege of working with Aran for almost three years now, and grew to rely on his instincts, and technical depth.

Aran is the kind of engineer who can build a startup from the ground up, efficiently, fast, with a good solid architecture and a keen sense of the big picture, and yet he is also able to deep dive and solve very elusive technical issues, or find good opportunities for optimization, often while reviewing others' code.

Aran has a very positive attitude, one that is calming and infectious, and a strong sense that he can accomplish anything. That, in turn, builds confidence in the team he is leading, motivating them while getting them excited about whatever project he is leading.

It has been a true pleasure watching Aran mentor other engineers, and come up with tools / ideas, completely of his own initiative to drive efficiency and better collaboration.

Aran will always be on my short-list of top engineers I would not hesitate to work with again.

Alain Avakian

Alain was the CTO of Rent.com and directly managed Aran

Aran succeeded in making me feel welcome and productive as a new developer in his organization nearly instantly. He provided the perfect amount of guidance, support, and mentoring I needed to come up to speed quickly on a large codebase. He's a spectacular programmer, a thoughtful manager, a kind person, and an unbeatable addition to any team.

Eduardo Ariño de la Rubia

Ed was a senior software engineer at Rent.com and directly reported to Aran

Working with Aran was a complete joy. He maintained a high level of focus on both the quality of his code and the overall quality of the product he was delivering to our customers. I served as the product manager for Aran’s teams over numerous projects spanning almost four years. I was always amazed by his empathy and kindness on a personal level and the dedication to awesome work on a professional level. His heart and mind are always in the right place.

If there was a Perl Coders Hall of Fame, this man would get in on the first ballot. I would love the opportunity to work with Aran again. Any team that can count [Aran] as one of its members is truly made better for it.

Eric Feay

Eric was the product manager for Aran's team at ValueClick

In the five years that Aran and I worked together, he has consistently proven himself as an awesome resource for complex issues. His ability to get to the heart of an issue quickly and offer valuable insight and opinions has helped reduce development time on many projects. This combined with his willingness and patience to educate and grow with his peers makes him a valuable addition on any project he joins.

Demian L'Ecuyer

Demian was a senior software engineer at ValueClick and worked directly with Aran

Aran is a rare breed in the world of technical managers. He is extremely technically competent, and could easily do the work of any of his reports. His highly commendable development/architecture skills are nicely complemented by his patient, affable, and approachable demeanor. This combination of technical adeptness and people-oriented personality is what is difficult to find in this profession, and what makes working for Aran a true pleasure.

I consider myself fortunate to have worked for Aran. He taught me much about Perl specifically and Software Development in general. More importantly, though, the example of his leadership helped me to better do my job as an applicaton developer, and later as a project lead. I would not hesitate to recommend Aran for any position having to do with Perl - manager, architect or otherwise; and I would gladly welcome the opportunity to work with him in the future.

Eric Schultz

Eric was a senior software engineer at ValueClick and reported directly to Aran

Aran is a very knowledgeable technical manager. He keeps track of where everyone on the team is at and offers help when needed. He has a varied background which comes in handy when developing solutions.

Paul Vining

Paul was a software engineer at ValueClick and reported directly to Aran

Aran is smart, considerate, productive and a quick study. He was a pleasure to work with. He was very supportive of both his department members, marketing, distributions and other departments while employed at Thinkstock. Highly recommended.

Diona Kidd

Diona was a lead developer at Thinkstock and was Aran's manager

I have never met an individual as talented as [Aran]. Working with him professionally over the years I have to say I admire his natural ability combined with his work ethic. Aran knows what he is talking about and knows how to communicate it. He possesses over ten years of experience as a web developer and is one of the best in the world.

Shawn Faison

Shawn worked for a client of Aran's