Manager Developer

Neal Enssle

Passionate Programmer and Technical Manager

****@**********.***

Summary

I'm a passionate programmer and technical manager with more than 10 years of experience in web

applications development and team leadership.

I enjoy hands-on development of dynamic, database-driven web applications and mission-critical

enterprise systems using Ruby on Rails, ColdFusion, Java, SQL, XML, JavaScript, CSS, and Ajax.

An effective communicator with an entrepreneurial approach to building cross-organizational

consensus, I've been leading teams of developers for more than six years, with demonstrated

experience coordinating both day-to-day and strategic enterprise software development operations.

My current interests include finding constructive ways to encourage developers to "talk about code",

including how to create a dialogue around clean code and refactoring techniques using tools such as

code reviews, pair programming, TDD, brown bag sessions, and one-on-one mentoring.

Specialties

Web application development in Ruby on Rails, ColdFusion, and Java; managing technical teams;

clean coding and refactoring techniques.

Experience

Director of Technology at Foraker

November 2006 - Present (3 years 1 month)

Responsible for leading the development of technology strategies, standards, and best practices for

Foraker and our clients; developing technical architecture and functional specifications for client

projects; day-to-day project and resource management across the organization; hiring, mentoring,

and managing members of the development team; hands-on programming in Ruby on Rails,

ColdFusion, Java, and miscellaneous technologies (up to 75% of daily workload).

Accomplishments include:

Helped lead the adoption of Ruby on Rails as a common framework for all development projects at

Foraker.

Led the creation and documentation of "best practices", clean coding techniques, pair programming

guidelines, and development standards for the technical team. Led daily code reviews and the

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development of quality standards for the organization.

Hired, mentored, and managed a team of between 5-8 developers. Management practices included

weekly one-on-ones, "as needed" team meetings, daily stand-up meetings, and ongoing MBWA.

Developed multiple web applications in Ruby on Rails including a company wiki, a blog application

for a client in the energy industry, and a brand resources intranet system for a client in education.

Hands-on refactoring and optimization of a ColdFusion application to generate mission-critical

dynamic PDF files in real-time for a clients in the pharmaceutical industry.

Direct, hands-on management of one of Foraker's primary client accounts which was responsible

for approximately 50% of company revenues during my first three years.

Participated extensively in new business development and client account acquisition and retention

activities.

1 recommendation available upon request

Senior Software Development Manager at Acxiom Corporation

July 2004 - November 2006 (2 years 5 months)

I led the strategic and tactical software development efforts of 8-10 developers on more than 10

simultaneous products and projects, reporting to the CTO and CEO. Responsible for hiring,

goal-setting, mentoring, terminating, and providing day-to-day leadership for development staff.

Led the architecture of enterprise software and infrastructure enhancements.

Development work included leading the design and development of next-generation products for

the debt recovery, risk mitigation, investigative, government services, and financial markets,

including refactoring to a common ColdFusion MX development framework, and architecting a

migration to a Java-based SOA.

6 recommendations available upon request

Senior Software Developer at Insight America

July 2002 - July 2004 (2 years 1 month)

Sole designer and developer for a family of web applications designed to search public records

databases and locate individuals utilizing industry-first search, analytical scoring, and display

algorithms for Fortune 500 clients in the debt recovery, risk mitigation, legal, and government

services industries.

Full-life cycle (SDLC) design, development, and project management of an application to handle

multithreaded batch processing tens of thousands of database requests using ColdFusion and

Java.

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Maintenance, refactoring, and conversion of legacy systems to new platforms.

Web Applications Developer at Howrey Simon Arnold & White

October 1999 - May 2002 (2 years 8 months)

Duties as Web Applications Developer included programming, graphic and interface design, and

database development for multiple corporate intranet sites using ColdFusion (4.5 5.0), SQL,

DHTML, JavaScript, CSS, Flash, and the Fusebox 2 methodology.

Projects included: implementing a firm-wide branded re-design and functional upgrade of the firm's

corporate intranet; successfully developing and launching a dynamic database-driven employee

evaluations system used by all 1,500 employees in the firm; developing a high-volume file-request

management system for the Records Management group that increased operating efficiencies;

designing a successful product demonstration site for client recruitment.

Teaching and Research Assistant at University of Chicago

September 1995 - May 1999 (3 years 9 months)

As a teaching assistant, I taught advanced writing techniques and rhetoric in undergraduate

seminars and tutorials, emphasizing principles of clarity and persuasion.

As a research assistant, I performed intensive comparative historical research in varied media on

the basis of frequently imprecise search criteria and produced written and oral analysis of findings.

During this time I also designed, developed, and produced the Department of History public website

at the University of Chicago.

Education

Regis University

M.S., Software Engineering, 2004 - 2010

University of Chicago

M.A., European History, 1995 - 1999

Activities and Societies: Research assistant, 1995-1999; Teaching assistant, 1997-1999; Human

Rights Workshop Coordinator, 1997.

Gustavus Adolphus College

B.A., Honors History, 1991 - 1995

Activities and Societies: Phi Beta Kappa, National Academic Honor Society, 1995.

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Honors and Awards

InsightAmerica, Inc., Employee of the Year, 2004.

DeNault Award for Outstanding Writing in History, Gustavus Adolphus College, 1995.

National Endowment for the Humanities Younger Scholars Award, 1993.

Interests

web application development, computer programming, software engineering, leadership and

management theory, technical team management, knowledge worker management, clean code and

refactoring techniques, pair programming, user interface design, software architecture, history,

psychology, hiking, camping, soccer, fitness, fatherhood

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Neal Enssle

Passionate Programmer and Technical Manager

****@**********.***

7 people have recommended Neal

"Neal is one of the few natural-born managers I've ever run into. He has a keen sense of when he

needs to step into the "manager" role and when he should just back off and let his people do their

thing. Best of all, he takes abuse very well.

Jake Sutton, Senior Web Monkey, Foraker Design, reported to Neal at Foraker Design

"I am not one for buzzwords, so forgive me if my text isn't packed with them. But I will say this: Neal

is a great programmer that became a great manager, and as anyone in the industry knows, that is

rare, someone who is BOTH a great programmer and manager. :-) I have worked with Neal for

many years at InsightAmerica as a peer, and I worked under him at Acxiom as a contractor. I still

remember giving him a job interview at the beginning -- he bascially dazzled everyone, and he

certainly lived up to his promise. Also, he often went beyond the call of duty. For example, at

meetings, he would type out on a laptop what people were saying for my benefit, because of my

deafness."

Angeli Wahlstedt, software architect, InsightAmerica, worked directly with Neal at Acxiom

Corporation

"Neal is a loyal, dedicated and talented software leader. I was fortunate to work with Neal on a

major product re-release, his counsel and professionalism was invaluable to the project's goals and

release milestones. His unique ability to balance business objectives with technology and

budgetary constraints allowed Acxiom Risk to re-release its flagship product with minimal

headaches and static. He was an excellent colleague - I highly recommend him to any

organization."

Steven Ryan, Sr. Sales Manager, Business Unit Leader, Acxiom Risk, worked with Neal at

Acxiom Corporation

"Neal is one of those managers that you always hope exist as a software developer, but rarely

come across in your career. With a very multi-dimensional background and experience base, he's

able to write great software with attention to detail, manage and lead other developers with respect

and dignity, and communicate with business leaders and stakeholders effectively. While he was my

manager, he was also the lead developer for our biggest revenue generating product for quite some

time and still somehow found a good balance between development and leadership. As a

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developer you appreciate that he is very good at shielding you from the day to day details that you

usually don't care for, and equally stakeholders love him because he's able to accurately describe

technology problems and solutions in a dialect which is familiar and understandable to them. Neal

leads by example rather than by micromanagement or the iron fist, and genuinely cares about the

people he works with rather than treating it like just another job."

Brandon Harper, Senior Software Developer, Acxiom, reported to Neal at Acxiom Corporation

"Neal is truly one of the most respected and admired individuals I have had the pleasure in meeting.

He is a true professional and I hope that we get to work together agian in the future. He is of the

highest caliber professionally and personally."

Greg Miller, Corporate Executive Recruiter, Acxiom Corporation, worked with Neal at Acxiom

Corporation

"Neal's expertise in management has grown exponentially over the last 2 years. His people skills

are admirable and he keeps his teams motivated and on target. I've learned alot from him about

managing the technology group. He maintains focus and tenacity in creating job specs and

obtaining project goals. He is a valuable member of the senior leadership team."

Regina Matthews, Organizational Development Manager, Acxiom Corporation, worked directly

with Neal at Acxiom Corporation

"Neal is an outstanding colleague, mentor and friend. He brings a unique mixture of business skills

to the application of his outstanding technological skills. Neal has been instrumental in building the

company s software development organization from the ground-up including providing our

technological vision, architecture and products. It is truly a pleasure to be able to work beside him

each and every day!"

Scott Schell, Sr. Solutions Manager & Architect, Acxiom Insight, worked directly with Neal at

Acxiom Corporation

Contact Neal on LinkedIn

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