Full Stack PHP Developer 04/2014 - 03/2021

I was hired as a PHP developer to join a development team of two, tasked with supporting various applications across the OBE organization. My first major project involved developing a new dashboard system for OBE's AS400 IBM iSeries ERP instances. I built the initial framework and devoted significant effort to creating individual tiles and informational pages that displayed crucial business metrics. These dashboards were highly visible across the company and became integral to our operations.

Soon after, I was assigned to a large-scale project known as GAME-On. This initiative, which had started years prior, was a collaborative effort between OBE and IBM. The project's goal was to create a system where external business customers could log in, submit quotes, and track projects. However, the existing development fell short of expectations. After collaborating with IBM for a few months, it was decided to abandon the project. Fortunately, with support from upper management, I was given the opportunity to develop a new system from scratch.

Over the next year, I designed and built a comprehensive content management system for GAME-On. This system allowed customers to bundle documents into bid submittal packages, upload and manage quotes, track the progress of custom orders, and even use a custom shopping cart to purchase stock parts from selected plants. GAME-On proved to be a transformative tool for the business.

During this period, I also worked on various significant projects, often as the sole developer responsible for designing and building frameworks. I developed custom tools and web applications for different departments, including an internal API system used by applications like GAME-On. I also collaborated with Experian to integrate into their systems, helping to unify our many individual customer lists. Additionally, I continued to enhance the dashboards by building new tiles and reusable reports.

Eventually, I was tasked with creating a system for our parent company, CRH. They needed an extensive online assessment tool for their Commercial Excellence team to replace a complex Excel-based process. Despite being given only three months to deliver a proof of concept, I successfully built a fully functional system with the guidance of the Commercial Excellence team. The system featured user management, assessment transfer, action plan creation, and self-administration capabilities. This success led to a request from the Operational Excellence Team for a similar tool, allowing me to develop a new version and incorporate additional features.

Throughout my time at OBE as a Full Stack Developer, I was able to leverage my technical expertise and expanded my knowledge by tackling complex business requirements. My graphic design skills were also crucial, as I was responsible for both backend development and frontend design and development. Without a dedicated marketing department, I became the go-to person for graphic design needs throughout the entire company, including rebranding and logo development.

Ecommerce & Price Quote Manager 03/2021 - 03/2022

OBE embarked on a major initiative to consolidate their various ERP systems into a unified SAP solution. As part of this plan, OBE's subsidiary, CRLaurence (CRL), was selected to be the first to transition to SAP. The process began with the hiring of several external consultants to redesign CRL’s online e-commerce portals. Due to issues arising during this transition and my previous experience with GAME-On and the quoting team, I was promoted to the role of Ecommerce & Price Quote Manager.

Until this point, OBE and CRL had maintained separate IT departments, which meant we were unfamiliar with each other’s systems and processes. I collaborated closely with the external project lead, the external consultants, and the CRL Team responsible for the new e-commerce site to help meet their objectives. Although several key deadlines had already been missed, I was determined to get the project back on track. It soon became evident that the new site lacked essential security components and had significant design flaws affecting the user experience. I took on the challenging task of working with all of the external teams to address these issues.

Given the lack of prior collaboration between the IT departments, I became the primary contact for CRL’s inquiries and requests. I facilitated communication between CRL and the relevant OBE teams, particularly focusing on the security aspects. I worked with the security team to define site scan requirements and ensure PCI compliance. Within weeks, I managed to realign the project, integrating security requirements and developing new approval methods within OBE's software development cycles. Additionally, I introduced improved processes for handling issues and feature requests.

As OBE began its transition to the Azure Cloud Environment, I led the effort to develop a strategy for managing web traffic to the new SAP e-commerce sites. This involved collaborating with Microsoft to ensure our standards were met, setting up front-doors and web application firewalls, and creating complex traffic management rules. I also managed the implementation of new domain names for various SAP projects and worked extensively with our DNS teams. This role quickly established me as the go-to person for both OBE and CRL’s Azure instance needs.

One of our first crucial Azure projects involved migrating CRL’s e-commerce data from an older Akamai server to Azure. This challenging and complex task significantly improved response times and reduced costs by eliminating the need for the separate server services.

Over the course of a year, I worked closely with the SAP team to guide CRL through their transitions. We successfully launched the main US CRL e-commerce site on SAP, followed by several subsidiaries and international sites. This experience allowed me to collaborate with the infrastructure team in new and valuable ways, and I took pride in the cross-functional work accomplished with the various internal and external teams around the world.

IT Manager 03/2022 - 05/2024

During my tenure as the eCommerce Manager overseeing the SAP transition, I continued to handle most of my Full Stack Developer responsibilities, managing various projects and implementing occasional feature updates. When CRH, the parent company of OBE, announced plans to divest OBE and CRL, I was personally named in the divestment documents to assist CRH in establishing a new web environment for the ComEx and OpEx projects as well as establishing guidelines for their future projects.

CRH lacked an internal IT department capable of managing this task, so they relied on the IT teams from their subsidiaries, including OBE. Consequently, I transitioned from my eCommerce role back to the IT department at OBE as an IT Manager to support this critical work. Given that CRL was on track and successful in large part due to my efforts, I felt confident in focusing on the divestment requirements.

My initial task was to collaborate with CRH's Commercial Excellence and Operational Excellence teams to set up environments on their chosen cloud service provider, AWS. After launching the AWS instance, I successfully duplicated and migrated both systems, adding several new features and redesigns per their requests. These updates had a strict deadline to be completed before the divestment was finalized. At one point, I was managing four instances of these tools across the different teams, a challenging task to keep them synchronized. Ultimately, both companies were extremely satisfied with the outcomes, and from what I've heard, the tools continue to be crucial to CRH’s operations.

Following the divestment, OBE underwent significant leadership changes, presenting complex IT challenges. I remained a key point of contact for various IT teams, helping to facilitate numerous internal projects and new requirements. As well as continuing to address CRL's needs with regards to their ongoing SAP migration, I also focused on collaborating with the different business units within OBE to coordinate their needs with the IT department.

I also continued to support OBE's Azure instances while pursuing certifications. This included working on new Azure projects, such as implementing functional APIs for the new quoting system related to the SAP project. And maintaining as well as expanding the Front Door Gateways utilized for all new web based projects.

Additionally, I upgraded several systems I had originally developed, including creating a unified version of the dashboards. Previously, these dashboards were specific to each plant’s ERP system, but the ERP upgrade project required consolidating them into a single dashboard with comprehensive plant data access.

I continued assisting various business units, including helping one unit design their eCommerce platform for their products, marking the start of their SAP migration. They sought my expertise based on my previous work with GAME-On and CRL's SAP migration, to help design, architect, and build their platform.

Collaborating with the newly reformed infrastructure team, I contributed to several upgrade projects, including migrating many servers to new instances. This involved extensive data backup, migration planning, and setting up new instances.

In summary, while transitioning from the SAP eCommerce upgrade project to a more ambiguous IT Manager role, I navigated complex and novel challenges effectively. My contributions were pivotal to many IT department successes during a period of significant transition.