Summary
| Name | Robert Thomson |
|---|---|
| Birthdate | January, 1980 |
| Location | Berlin, Germany |
| Industry Experience | 10 years |
| University Degree | Bachelor of Information Science (2000, Newcastle University, Australia) |
| Languages | English, conversational German (C1 level), basic Dutch, Italian (B1 level and slipping) |
| Work Status | Australian Passport, UK Passport. Authorised to work in the European Union, Australia and New Zealand. |
| Affiliations |
|
| Primary Focus | Development of GNU/Linux based systems by leveraging open source software and programming & scripting (Python, Perl, Ruby, C) languages to build fast and reliable systems. |
| Type of Work | Full Time or Contracting |
| Career Level | Senior Technical Roles |
Core Competencies
- System design, development & implementation on Linux/UNIX & Windows platforms
- Linux/UNIX system administration
- Programming with most major languages
- Extensive experience with IP networking and basic L2 networking
- Extensive database experience
- Enterprise experience with mission critical systems
- Network & System Security
- Communication skills at all levels within an organisation
- Feasibility & cost-benefit analysis of technical & business plans
- Extensive data migration experience, especially service & account databases
Technology Summary ... Recruiters love to tick boxes, this is for them..
- Linux (Red Hat, Debian, Ubuntu, SuSe), OpenBSD 4.3, some Solaris & FreeBSD
- TCP/IP, UDP, ICMP, GRE, IPv6, IPSEC, routing protocol exposure with BGP, OSPF
- Python, Perl, Ruby, TCL, Javascript, PHP, C#, Java, C/C++, D
- Puppet & MCollective for system & DC automation
- Virtualisation with KVM, libvirt, LXC, OpenVZ, and a lot of glue.
- SANs & NAS‘s, mostly ISCSI & NFS.
- Clustered/Cloud VM Management (I wrote a VM management platform from scratch)
- Configuration Management Database (intended state; wrote a system that is used by above VM management)
- HTML, XML-RPC, SOAP, XML, YAML, JSON
- Grid Computing – Sun Grid Engine, LSF (not recent)
- RPM, DEB packaging.
- Red Hat Network Satellite (OS distribution software provided by Red Hat), now open-sourced as Spacewalk
- Version Control – CVS, Subversion, Git, Mercurial, etc.
- Test::AutoBuild – perl module for automated build environments
- SMTP – Sendmail, Postfix, Majordomo, Mailman
- File Servers – Samba, Netatalk, NFS
- Web Servers, HTTP – Apache, Zope, Lighttpd
- FTP Servers – Proftpd, Wuftpd
- DNS, Domain Name System – BIND, DJBDNS
- HTTP & SOCKS Proxies – Squid
- LDAP – OpenLDAP, including customising schemas
- Authentication, Authorization, Accounting – Kerberos, Active Directory integration
- Virtualisation – VMWare, Xen, KVM
- Remote Access – SSH, Telnet, VNC
- Databases & SQL – PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, MS-SQL
- Radiator, FreeRADIUS, Interlink AAA RADIUS
- Programmatic PDF generation with LaTeX and Python
- ETL, data migration
- Mason, Myghty, Mako, Jinja
- Django Web Framework, Pylons, CherryPy, Zope
Certifications
None. I have been using Linux for longer than most Linux certification programmes have existed, and have independently kept up with developments in the community, thus I have never seen the point of pursuing certifications such as Red Hat’s or LPI‘s.
Introduction
As an IT professional with over 10 years of professional experience (and over 15 years personal experience with Linux and programming) under my belt in programming, system engineering, networking, security and administration in local and remote environments in varied industries (telecommunications, advertising, e-commerce), I’m well suited to lead and participate in top-performing technical and results focused teams in the development of new Linux/UNIX based systems, bringing along expert knowledge and skills to companies in order to help achieve their objectives in the fastest time and with minimal risk.
In the workplace I get along well with people, but am willing to offer a critical viewpoint and I welcome criticism in turn. I work as well in teams as I do alone, always enjoying a good working relationship with colleagues, management and customers. Every company to which I’ve contracted has offered me contract extensions or a permanent position and has always been satisfied with my work and my work manner.
Outside of the office I also have an interest in computing and programming, developing software and keeping up to date with the latest happenings in the software world. IT isn’t just my job – it’s my passion. Aside from computing, I enjoy an active social life whether it be going to the movies, a café or a pub with friends, and I enjoy playing sports and practicing martial arts (Kung-Fu). I also have an interest in learning languages, and have spent the last several years both learning German and mostly living in Germany. I have also spent two years in Holland, and a few months in Italy, and speak a basic level in both languages.
Objectives
I am always on the lookout for interesting projects to which I can lend a helping hand while improving my skill-set.
I have trouble seeing myself as a manager in the traditional sense, but I can see myself sliding more into team leader and management roles where I can remain deeply involved in the technological side of the work.
My ideal projects involve leveraging Open Source and Free Software systems to achieve specific results. I like to have a goal to strive for, with clear milestones along the way. But I am open-minded enough to recognise when a more flexible approach is needed, where alternate methodologies can provide greater time and cost benefits.
I primarily develop using scripting languages such as Python, Perl, Ruby, and TCL, falling back to C for speed if required.
Work History
- Nokia — Linux System Engineer with a split between devops & projects
- Seantis GmbH — independent consultant & collaborator, working on web solutions
- Royal Dutch SHELL (January 2007 — November 2008) — Linux Project Engineer / Python Engineer
- Optus-Singtel (September 2005-June 2006) — Perl Programmer (contract), Internet division
- Synopsys GmbH / Synopsys Switzerland (March 2005 — July 2005) — Unix Systems Administrator
- Thomsh Pty Ltd (Own Company, freelancing, & varied projects) (February 2004 – 2007)
- Flow Communications (September 2001 — January 2004) — Senior Programmer
- Flow Communications (February 2004 — March 2004) — Manager in charge of Systems and Platforms
- Australian Associated Press (January 2001 — July 2001) — Marketing Technical Support Manager
- Liquorlink Australia (Casual contract, 1999 – 2001) — Designer/Programmer
Noteworthy work related projects
- Virtualisation & datacenter automation framework, configuration database, VM management system – bootstrapping a DC starting with one Linux install, puppet and a version controlled repository for finite resource management, node and role configuration, and subsequently eliminating the bootstrap host with a reboot when the full solution is installed; a bespoke VM cloud/cluster solution based on KVM (& more recently OpenVZ). This project included a version controlled configuration database (Filesystem/YAML based) suitable for a medium sized company (with several hundred systems), ensuring proper use of finite resources such as IP addresses, MAC addresses, shared storage volumes, and providing inputs to the Puppet configuration system.
- IP accounting software to collect and process data usage, using SNMP for router ports, Netfilter & libpcap for passthrough traffic, and RADIUS logs for dynamic IPs, and (as a team) a customer Accounting/Billing system in Zope.
- RADIUS module to intelligently allocate users to different streams based on usage profiles in order to optimise network performance.
- Build & release management system based on mock for the development and release of packages within to RHN Satellite infrastructure, also configuration file management software.
- Import/Export restriction software integrated with Apache for RHN Satellite, as well as lots of scripts for Satellite.
- Helping to setup & debug an OpenBSD based server & desktop solution (mail, web, fileservers, desktop software) for a GEC country, to legally work around export control.
- Seantis Questionnaire – an open source Questionnaire Application based on Django, developed for a medical study.
- Amtsblatt Zug – New interface for placing & managing advertisements
Non-work related projects
- This website was written using Python and the Django framework. Also see my django testbed.
- IP Management Database in Zope, then from scratch in Python
- Language learning tools (some GUI, some web based).
- A few years ago, I wrote a text-based [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MUD MUD]] from scratch, based on the MudOS runtime and the LPC programming language, and I am interested in building a runtime & MUD programming language again, but based on a modern platform such as Parrot or the CLR with the BOO compiler framework.
Nice things people have said about me in the past
“He has the rare quality of being technically and business savvy, and yet very personable”
“Robert is a highly competent, hard-working and friendly individual. He is quick to grasp new concepts and has a skill in getting to the root cause of issues – not just technical.”