NoFeed Ltd ~ Nicholas Wieland (ngw)

For the past 20 years, I have dedicated my career to refining my expertise in backend development.

In the beginning, I built an E-Commerce website using PHP for a local small business that hired me in 2004 as their only developer.

From there, I worked my way to major corporations, banks, telecoms and governments, as well as several startups, providing them with my professional expertise.

I specialize in Ruby and Ruby on Rails, but I am full-stack with a touch of DevOps.

As an unapologetic tech enthusiast, I have a deep affinity for all things related to technology, and I'm constantly seeking out opportunities to expand my knowledge and learn about new concepts.

NoFeed Ltd.

I recently started my own consulting company called NoFeed Limited, marking a big step forward after almost 20 years.

Fifteen years ago, I persuaded my friend Deelan to create a frontend for my startup, "NoFeed ~ No music for the masses." This was a social network focused on reviewing music records and using tagging and metadata to suggest new music. Please note that this was a long time ago.

I couldn't get that name out of my head. When it came time to choose a name for my limited company, the decision was an easy one.

Skill set

I've been a developer, a product manager, a CTO, a tech lead.

I have experience working with Jira, but I can help out with AWS CloudFormation as well.

I've built plenty of Docker images as well as implemented several HTML/CSS designs.

I can help your team figure out the right application architecture, and facilitate a retrospective right after.

I mentored a lot, wrote a book, spoke at conferences.

Experience

I worked on the Prisoner Escort and Custody Services as my first project for the UK government. It was a tough and demanding experience and definitely a baptism by fire, but I learned a tremendous amount from it.

We created a Ruby on Rails app that works together with a Node.js frontend, and also developed and launched libraries to gather data about UK prisons from several contractors.

Throughout my involvement in the project, I single-handedly took charge of the backend. I specifically engineered the API to handle file uploads, restructured the internal library to enable external data source retrieval, actively engaged in the development of Docker images, introduced webhooks and ensured smooth maintenance of the system.

I still love to think about that time. I loved working on a project that had clear benefits for society. I appreciated the challenge and importance of working closely with researchers who conducted user research and were deeply invested in the project.
I am proud to have been a part of the top-notch security team at Funding Circle. Our team comprised of Ruby and Clojure developers and DevOps experts who collaborated to strengthen the security of Funding Circle's extensive microservices ecosystem. We continuously updated and improved security measures to provide the highest protection for our users' data.

I've personally updated tens of Ruby applications, rewriting most Dockerfiles to follow their new standards, updating all dependencies and deploying them in production. I learned more about Ruby's ecosystem, designing and managing a microservice structure, organizing a larger system, and exploring the exciting Clojure language.

My tenure at Funding Circle stoked my enthusiasm for Docker, considerably enhanced my engineering know-how, and bolstered my capabilities as a DevOps professional.
When Ruby on Rails first emerged as the new technology, a startup approached me seeking an experienced Ruby developer to join their team, as they were having difficulty finding one on their own. I was intrigued by the opportunity to work with such cutting-edge technology and help this startup reach their full potential.

After a year and a few releases, I was promoted to CTO and tasked with managing a team of young developers. Our goal was to fix a web application that had no testing and scalability issues. We turned it into a reliable app that can handle high traffic and serve major clients such as Google, Nike, Microsoft, AT&T, and Procter & Gamble.

I was responsible for all technical aspects, including growing the team, managing the product, creating a scalable architecture for the application, and conducting usability tests.
I adore greenfield projects, the ones I can start anew "in the right way". This one was particularly interesting and useful, mixing two fields I'm deeply fond of: software engineering and technical SEO.

The CDDO data-catalogue is a robust search engine that enables easy exploration of government APIs and datasets. It's the perfect tool for accessing departmental data resources, given its wide-ranging database. With this impressive platform, users can effortlessly filter and search for relevant information, thanks to its user-friendly interface.

Working with user researchers and quality assurance technicians helped me grow as an engineer. I faced several challenges while designing a platform for all government agencies, such as dockerizing it and ensuring it met the latest accessibility standards.

The alpha release of the project on Heroku caught the attention of the project owner and exceeded expectations, leading to its approval for further development.

You can also Check out my complete resume here.

Contact me!

I'm always eager to talk about projects, startups, companies or ideas, so please drop me a line. I am available to meet over a beer or have a friendly chat, regardless of whether you decide to hire me. Let's connect and see what we can build together!

Click any of these:

Hi, my name is Nicholas Wieland,

and I'm a freelance software engineer.

NoFeed Ltd.

Skill set

Experience

Contact me!