8514 Fredericksburg Ln.
Houston, TX 77083
Phone: 832-875-3422
Email: adam.lacoste@hotmail.com

Adam Lacoste

Work History

Waste Management

Houston, TX
October 2011—Present
Web Development Analyst III, UI Team
  • Maintained and enhanced a mature, enterprise-level e-commerce website serving over 1 million customers monthly as part of a tightly integrated front end team of UI developers and UX designers
  • Diagnosed and resolved front end quality defects (HTML, CSS, jQuery/Javascript) in high volume and under tight time constraints
  • Performed iterative enhancement of website presentational and user experience features in close cooperation with UX designers
  • Utilized cutting edge web development technologies and methodologies such as Node.js, LESS and html5shiv

2nd.MD

Houston, TX
August 2011—October 2011
Senior Application Developer
  • Developed new application features including a user dashboard, unified inbox and conference calling system implementing Twilio
  • Refactored, streamlined and reorganized code at every level of the application: MySQL queries, PHP models and controllers, HTML views and jQuery Javascript
  • Designed and drafted a set of coding standards to improve the quality and maintainability of the technology team's code base

Alert Logic, Inc.

Houston, TX
January 2010—August 2011
PHP Developer, UI Team
  • Maintained a highly complex user interface incorporating PHP, Javacript, HTML and CSS through debugging, refactoring and proactive enhancement of massive codebase
  • Developed new features to meet customer demands and emerging trends, threats and opportunities in the network security field
  • Optimized code processes to scale with heavy load conditions, reducing a 16 hour process to 4 hours without any loss of functionality in one notable case
  • Acted as 24/7 on-call troubleshooter for all live environment UI components, handling critical issues that arose and overseeing scheduled and emergency software roll-outs
  • Cultivated expertise on one subcomponent of the application, becoming its go-to resident expert, while endeavoring to reach comfortable familiarity with the application's many other subcomponents as well
  • At various times, operated as part of tightly integrated cross-disciplinary project teams, looser long-term development groups within the UI team and autonomously on individual tasks

Freelance

Houston, TX
July 2009—March 2010
Consultant PHP & Expression Engine Developer
  • Created a dynamic Expression Engine site for FKM utilizing a single gateway template structure
  • Acted as representative technical expert in client meetings for Easterly & Co. where PHP questions were anticipated
  • Coded special-case Expression Engine templates utilizing default EE tags & syntax where possible
  • Scripted necessary additional functionality with light-footprint PHP, such as form processing and database queries (the latter to avoid using default EE search)

Twenty-Nine North

Houston, TX
April 2009—November 2009
PHP Developer
  • Planned the features and scope of Project Shakespeare in meetings with project manager & designer
  • Developed database design & documentation; administrated MySQL database throughout project
  • Designed & coded application back-end in PHP framework CodeIgniter, features including user accounts & account management, order placement & tracking, e-commerce, as well as report generation

Idea Integration

Houston, TX
March 2006—May 2009
Site Builder/Web Technologist
  • Developed website designs from creative comp (mockup) stage to final realization in clean, strict XHTML/CSS layout
  • Coded web functionality using client- (JavaScript) and server-side (PHP, VBScript) scripting
  • Using a content management system (Expression Engine), developed a flexible template structure allowing client content population
  • Worked on many projects for notable clients including Hewlett-Packard, Lakewood Church, Jacksonville Zoo, Travelex, Breast Cancer Marathon and Snapfish Labs
  • Represented Idea Integration at the Houston Accessibility Internet Rally (AIR) 2007 as part of a 5-man team, developing a fully 508-compliant website for a non-profit client in 8 hours; Idea Integration won first place

Maxtop Technology

City of Industry, CA
February 2003—June 2004
Web Designer
  • Developed websites for company brands and provided updates and expansions thereafter
  • Provided customer and technical support for Maxtop products by email
  • Managed press relations and arranged product reviews with online publications

Education

DeVry University

Pomona, CA
July 2002—February 2006
Bachelor of Science, Computer Information Systems
  • Coursework included object-oriented programming, database design & maintenance, flowcharting & concept visualization, web development, technical writing, and project management
  • Senior Project consisted of a team of six (3 CIS and 3 BIS students) tasked with developing an informational website and e-commerce storefront for the Cooper Regional History Museum of Upland, CA; the team won two Outstanding Senior Project Awards for BIS and CIS

Skills & Proficiencies

Expert:

  • PHP: web application development adhering to OOP principles in an MVC environment, with a heavy focus on database manipulation and defensive, security-minded programming
  • XHTML/CSS: developing XHTML Strict valid web designs, isolating semantic/organizational markup in the HTML and presentation in the stylesheet, with a heavy focus on cross-browser compatibility
  • Documentation: clear and concise description technical processes in written form utilizing common productivity software such as Microsoft Word, Excel and Visio

Intermediate:

  • MySQL: schema design, query optimization across multiple versions (5.1–5.5), statement security and sterilization practices (prevention of SQL injection)
  • JavaScript: AJAX-based behavior, client-side validation and functionality enhancement; raw and library-based (jQuery, Prototype)
  • Expression Engine: building website template frameworks which are lightweight and efficient through use of OOP principles

Beginner:

  • Flash ActionScript 3.0: coding simple interactions and animations without relying on keyframes
  • PHP Frameworks: use of CodeIgniter and Kohana to replicate the functionality of common CMS software such as Expression Engine
  • Creative Design: development of "look and feel" elements, including wireframes and comps