2100 Wisteria Drive
Charlottesville, VA 22911
Thomson Scientific July, 2007 – Present
(http://www.scientific.thomson.com)
I am a Software Architect at ScholarOne (http://scholarone.com), a Thompson Scientific business and a software as a service (SAAS) provider of Manuscript Central, which is a system for managing the article submission and peer review process for scientific journals.
My position affords me opportunities to create solutions for technical problems, design frameworks, perform analysis and repair of scalability issues, and increase overall reliability of the system. So far I have worked on the following projects:
I created an infrastructure for monitoring and control of long running batch processes using JMX and Ajax.
I have researched and presented initiatives to increase the reliability of our software development process.
Deltek Systems, Inc. (www.deltek.com) May, 1998 – June, 2007
Deltek is an industry leading software provider for project-based businesses. I am employed as a Senior Software Architect. While at Deltek:
I researched, reported on, and championed the adoption of SOA, web services, and XML for the last 5 years.
I designed and developed web services interfaces for Deltek’s Time, Expense, and Employee Self-service (TEwESS) product.
I was the senior architect of a project to use the J2EE platform to completely rebuild from scratch Deltek’s TEwESS product. Previously it was based on a proprietary C++ application server architecture combined with a smart client in C++ and Visual Basic.
I did a comprehensive review of security for the TEwESS product and found many problems. I fixed many of these problems and later I enhanced it with multiple forms of authentication permitting single sign-on using x509 certificates, Windows Kerberos support, and Netegrity SiteMinder software.
I designed and developed an asynchronous XML message based system for interfacing 3rd party products to ours. As part of this system, I designed a full set of XML schemas that define the configuration data that runs TEwESS.
I participated with peers from Oracle and SAP in the development of HR-XML’s open XML standard for timesheets.
I completed, debugged, and made production ready a Java applet interface, custom written by a vendor. I also set up and maintained demonstration web servers for sales to use, and took support calls from customers running it, as well as maintaining and enhancing the code.
As a developer, I developed new and maintained existing code in Java, C++, Visual Basic, HTML and JavaScript for both the Time, Expense product and for a group working on interfaces between products.
I created and maintained a knowledge base in the semantic technology language OWL of the open source packages we use in this project.
I participated in evaluating and selecting vendor technologies, including development and testing tools, such as Jbuilder and Mercury Load Runner, and infrastructure products such as Mercator, and BEA Integration.
Koshare International Inc. November 1990 – May 1998
Koshare was a small business corporation providing software development, support, and consulting services on an independent contractor basis. I was the Owner and sole employee.
Below are my three main customers during this time:
First American Title Insurance Company November 1990 – October 1997
First American is a nationwide supplier of land title insurance and financial services. Formerly named Sterling Title Company of Sandoval County and Sterling Title Company of New Mexico. I worked on contract as a Full Service Software Systems Provider. Among the services I provided:
I handled everything related to computer operations. I developed the architecture, and designed, coded, tested installed, and maintained all the software using Prolog, C++, and Assembly Language. This software was used by the company to:
Generate complete HUD1 real estate settlement documents;
Compute, print and report on New Mexico title insurance premiums;
Allow monthly checkbook reconciliation of hundreds of real estate escrow checking accounts.
Calculate, print and report payroll checks for employees with commission, retirement, and expense data for hourly or salaried employees.
A provider of custom dental appliances to dentists and other dental laboratories. I worked on contract a Custom Software Developer. For this client:
I designed, programmed, tested, installed, and maintained a billing and bookkeeping system in Prolog, C++, and Assembly Language. Among the functions provided were to:
Allow the operator to generate invoices for goods and services, print monthly customer statements, track accounts receivable, record expenses, receipt of payments, print monthly cash sales reports for computing sales tax, and print general ledger account reports at year end for filling income tax returns;
Essco, Inc. November 1990 – February 1993
A manufacturers representative and distributor of fire engines and fire fighting equipment and supplies, formerly a branch of United Fire Equipment, Inc. I was a Founder, corporate Secretary/Treasurer, and worked as the Chief Architect. At Essco,
I did the architecture, and designed, coded, tested, installed, and maintained software using Prolog, C++, and Assembly Language that automated the process of quoting, purchasing, order fulfillment, and billing for sales of fire-fighting engines and equipment. My software allowed users to:
Maintain a database of customers, departments, parts, vendors, and employees;
Generate quotes for customers from information selected from the database;
Maintain inventory and generate purchase orders for items not in stock;
Generate an order form of parts shipped, backordered, cost, price, and profit;
Generate invoices for items shipped;
Record invoices, payments, purchase orders, and purchases in general ledger accounts;
Compute payroll checks, taxes, withholding for US and NM payroll; generate monthly, quarterly, and yearly reports necessary to file employer’s federal and state reports.
Sterling Data Company April 1984 – May 1989
A software development and information services company providing services to the Sterling Group of Title Companies, Honeywell, and others. I was General Partner, General Manager, and the Senior Systems Programmer/Analyst. During this time,
I was responsible for the architecture, design, and development of two main software systems during this time. The first was a system of programs that I designed, coded, tested, installed, and maintained using Pascal, C, and Assembly Language. This software was used to:
Enter, verify, sort, process, and retrieve over 300,000 complex variable length records abstracting and describing land title documents filed in the county records;
The second system I developed during this period with the help of another programmer I hired and trained was created using Pascal, C, and Assembly Language. This software was a real estate escrow bank accounting program for managing multiple escrow checking accounts maintained in different banks for holding money during a real estate transaction. This system could:
Keep accurate records on thousands of different individual ledger accounts at once;
Keep track of multiple bank accounts;
Print reports on and archive all escrow accounts that resolved to zero.
I maintain a Blog and a Wiki about semantic technologies and computational linguistics at www.kashori.com/. My personal home page is at www.kashori.com/JohnBlack/
I am a fine Artist, a painter and sculptor. Some of my work can be viewed at http://www.kashori.com/JohnBlack/gallery.html
I teach art once a month at my Son’s kindergarten class.