Chris Petersen: Resume

Please note that this is my "full" resume. It isn't tailored for any specific job application, and thus contains a wide sampling of skills and experience. If you wish to speak with me in more detail, you can contact me via my feedback page. Do not call me. I have a job and really don't like to be interrupted by recruiters. I check my email regularly, and will reply quickly if I'm interested.

Be aware that I am not looking for employment at the moment. I am happily employed in a very stable job that I enjoy. That doesn't mean that I'm not open to considering other opportunities, but it does mean that I have no interest in contract positions, anything outside of the Seattle area or anything that pays less than I currently make.

You can also feel free to check out my linkedin.com profile.

Chris Petersen

COMPUTER SKILLS

Database design and administration: Considerable knowledge of design, administration, and performance tuning of MySQL, SQLite, PHP, and Perl DBI. Some experience with PostgreSQL.
Web design and administration: Apache, HTML, PHP, XML, SOAP, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), Javascript (including AJAX) and Perl CGI. I also have a great deal of experience with search engine optimization (SEO) and web-based user interface design.
Programming: Advanced knowledge of Perl (13 years), PHP (6 years), UNIX shell scripting (8 years), Javascript (6 years), and basic reading knowledge of C, C++, Java, and Python.
Linux system administration: I have administered Linux servers personally and professionally since 2000. Aside from the software listed above, I also have experience managing Email, DNS, Samba, Xen, and many other Linux services and server applications.
Operating Systems: Linux (primarily Red Hat/Fedora/CentOS), MacOS, Windows 98/2k/XP/Vista.
Digital multimedia: Graphics (extensive use of Adobe Photoshop, scanners and digital photography), audio/video codecs (see my open source contributions below), web-based media delivery, and basic audio and video editing and mixing.
Expert knowledge of RTFM and STFW.

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

Developer: Marchex. Seattle, WA, 9/01/08 to present
- PHP and Perl developer for Yellow.com and other sites.
Chief Operations Officer / Lead Developer: Schedules Direct. Seattle, WA, 7/07 to present (part time)
- Founding board member of nonprofit corporation that provides TV listings data to users of Open Source and free software, along with education about Free and Open Source software.
- Resigned from the board of directors in January of 2008 to take up the position of Chief Operations Officer.
- Designed, implemented and maintain schedulesdirect.org website, using PHP, Perl, SOAP, CSS and Javascript technologies.
- Currently designing a large-scale redundant content distribution system to distribute TV listings data to members' approved software applications.
- Coordinate and oversee work of other developers on the website and related services.
- Oversee day to day business and financial operations for this small nonprofit.

Senior Software Developer: iFLOOR. Tukwila, WA, 12/01/07 to 8/31/08
- Perl, HTML and PostgreSQL developer on iFLOOR.com's custom ERP software and e-commerce website.
- Upgrade legacy CVS revision control system to Subversion (SVN) and train others in its proper usage.
- Development lead, "second chair" project manager, and SEO architect on redesigned iFLOOR.com website (June 2008).
- Configure Bricolage content publishing system, and train users in some of its more advanced template features.
- Replace antiquated True Spectra image manipulation/delivery system with tools based on ImageMagick and the Google Maps API. You can see a demo/tutorial about the zoom functionality here.
- Integrate Power Reviews product review system.
Lead Developer / Webmaster / Manager: Silicon Mechanics. Bothell, WA, 11/01/02 through 11/30/07
- Design, implement, maintain and oversee development for a customized PHP- and MySQL-based solution for SiMech's business/ERP/CRM process. Aspects include pre-sale quotes, e-commerce and over-the-phone sales, support incident and RMA tracking, project and inventory management, customer management, and shipment invoicing and tracking.
- Hire, train and manage a team developers and testers to assist with development and accommodate company growth from 11/02 employee count of 8 to 100+ employees by the time I left.
- Set up and administer Apache and replicated MySQL servers.
- Design the majoriity of graphics, HTML, CSS, Javascript, and other "look/feel" aspects of the siliconmechanics.com website as it looked from early 2004 until the present.
- Administer email, DNS and firewall servers (currently as backup administrator after passing duties off to full-time SysAdmin in 8/06).
- Photograph systems and other products, and perform any necessary digital post-processing (slowly transitioned these duties to product manager and graphic designer in 2006 and 2007)
- Help with system and rack integration when needed.
- 3/05, promoted from Developer/Webmaster to Sr. Developer upon hiring my first assistant developer.
Programmer: VersusLaw, Inc. Redmond, WA, 11/01 to 11/02
- Designed and wrote Perl-based web robots designed for extracting legal information from various websites, including building a modular framework to facilitate creation of future robots.
- Designed and implemented several modifications for the versuslaw.com search engine.
Chief Programmer: Web Eye Technologies. Seattle, WA, 8/96 to 5/02
- Designed and developed an online shopping cart program using SQL and Perl DBI.
- Expanded this program into a complete web-based website-design tool and content management system (CMS), designed to return the power of website creation to the hands of the small businesses and e-commerce users who own the sites, without requiring any special web-design knowledge on their part.

OPEN SOURCE DEVELOPMENT

Project Maintainer: MythWeb Seattle, WA, 6/03 to present
- Open Source (GPL) web interface to MythTV, a popular DVR (Digital Video Recorder) application suite. Written in a combination of PHP, Perl and Javascript.
- Mentored a student to enhance MythWeb as part of Google's 2006 Summer of Code.
- MythWeb has received rave reviews from LinuxJournal, LinuxTag and thousands of users around the world.
Project Maintainer: nuvexport Seattle, WA, 6/03 to present
- Open Source (GPL) program that interacts with MythTV, allowing its users to export recorded TV shows to a variety of more portable video formats. Written in Perl.
- Mentored a student as part of Google's 2006 Summer of Code to convert nuvexport into a C++ application natively integrated with the core video processing libraries used by MythTV. Unfortunately, this student dropped out before submitting any useful work.

EDUCATION

The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Master of Arts in the Social Sciences
Emphasis on South Asian Anthropology
Graduated: August, 2001 (GPA: 3.40)

Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA
Major: Philosophy
Minors: Psychology and Religion
Graduated: May, 1999

OTHER SKILLS

Languages:
- Near fluency in conversational Spanish.
- Basic German.
Photography:
- General photographic skills, both technical and artistic
- Studio photography for inanimate objects (product shots, primarily of computer equipment).
- Extensive experience in digital photography and digital photo reconstruction.
- Archeological record keeping (pit and artifact documentation), and museum artifact photography.
- Publication: Diario de Avisos: Nov. 18, 1999, p. 29 (Newspaper: Canary Islands, Spain).
Basic surveying:
- Surveyed pyramids with a professional cartographer, for mapping and possible digital reconstruction.
Archeological skills:
- Basic skills, including laying baulk string, drawing square diagrams, digging, filling out artifact tags, and cleaning pottery.

INTERESTS

Akili Dada: I serve on the advisory council of this nonprofit organization dedicated to providing high-school scholarships to young women in Kenya.
Open Source Software: I am a firm believer in the value of Free Software, and am actively involved in several open source projects. You can see my major contributions listed above.
Linux: I have used Linux for a long time. I am also a contributor to the Fedora Project.
Brewing: I'm fascinated by all things fermented, though I focus primarily on cider, mead, and the occasional homemade cheese.
Medieval Reenactment: I have participated with the Society for Creative Anachronism (an international not-for-profit organization dedicated to the study and reenactment of the middle ages) and other experimental archeology groups on and off since 1995, mostly as an excuse to go camping with good friends.

ARCHEOLOGICAL EXPERIENCE

Piramides de Güímar: November, 1999.
- 3 weeks of digging on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain).
- Directed by Dr. Thor Heyerdahl.
- Surveyed pyramids for map-making, worked as dig photographer, and spent some time digging and sifting.
Khirbet Cana: July and August, 1998.
- 5 weeks of digging in Israel with the University of Puget Sound.
- Detailed daily lectures on archeology, early Galilean culture and Biblical scholarship.
- Archeological tours led by local experts to many of the ruins in and around the Galilee.