Résumé

Objective

To solve interesting problems by developing useful software.

Work Experience

Automattic, Inc. (2011 – Present)

Director of Keyword Blacklists

  • Led development of the Akismet anti-spam service, which processes billions of pieces of content every week.
  • Led development of the Akismet WordPress plugin, one of the most widely-installed plugins on the Web.

Design Engineer

  • Worked to ensure that WordPress.com is perfectly customizable for every user

AOL Inc. (2009 – 2011)

Principle Software Engineer

  • Led technical development of a full rewrite of AOL Shopping.
  • Led technical development of a shopping-based Q&A platform for AOL Shopping
  • Led technical development of Emurse.com and developed a system to support distributed Emurse-powered job boards

Mahalo.com (2007 – 2009)

Senior Software Engineer

  • Led development of Mahalo’s human-powered search engine and underlying CMS.
  • Managed and improved API that powered the Mahalo Answers Q&A product.
  • Developed browser extensions to support and augment the Mahalo.com user experience.

SearchMe.com (2007 – 2008)

Technical Consultant

Developed Mozilla-based website imaging technology for use in company’s visual search engine.

AOL/Time Warner (2006 – 2007)

Senior Software Engineer, Netscape

  • Primary developer for the Netscape Navigator Web browser, which was based on Mozilla Firefox.
  • Developed and implemented features for Netscape.com, at that time a 200MM pageview/month Web property.
  • Principle developer for the Netscape.com API; developed browser extensions to demonstrate usage of the API and augment the Netscape.com social news experience.

Web Browser Extensions (2004 – Present)

Developed Web browser add-ons for the Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome Web browsers using XUL, HTML, and JavaScript; extensions developed include ScribeFire, the official Foursquare add-on for Mobile Firefox, YouTube Comment Snob, TwitterBar (now HootBar), FireFound, Feed Sidebar, RSS Ticker, URL Fixer, and OPML Support for Firefox.

The source code for all of my extensions (and some other open-source projects) can be seen at http://github.com/cfinke

Skills

I have a genuine affinity for software development and problem solving. I am deeply committed to fast and accurate work, and I am able to work flexibly and efficiently.

I have extensive experience with PHP, SQL, Python/Django, and the requisite HTML/CSS, mainly in relation to building large-scale Web applications. JavaScript is second-nature to me, whether it’s being used to power the client side of AJAX applications or as the backend for browser add-ons.

Awards and Honors

  • My browser extension Tapsure won the Best in Show prize in Mozilla’s Mobile Add-ons Cup as well as being the top add-on in the Innovation category.
  • I received an AOL ‘QMonster Award’ in the fall of 2010 in recognition of the successful rewrite and relaunch of AOL Shopping.
  • My browser extension and Web service FireFound was a Grand Prize winner in Mozilla’s Extend Firefox 3.5 contest
  • My browser extension TwitterBar was a winner in the first Mozilla Mobile Add-ons Challenge
  • My Firefox extensions ScribeFire, Feed Sidebar, URL Fixer, RSS Ticker, FireFound, and TwitterBar have all been highlighted as Recommended Add-ons by editors at Mozilla Add-ons.

Education

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 2005
BS in Computer Science