ABASIFREKE JAMES
Toronto,Canada
Summary
Experienced Full-Stack Software Engineer with over seven years in software development across various sectors. Proficient in Java, JavaScript, and cloud technologies, with expertise in building scalable applications and leading teams. Proven track record as a co-founder of two profitable startups, demonstrating strong leadership and entrepreneurial skills. Recognized as one of Canada's Top 30 Under 30 Developers.
Overview
9
9
years of professional experience
Work History
Scrum Lead and Senior Software Engineer
Intuit Canada
04.2024 - Current
- Building a Generative AI UX web platform that products like Quickbooks, Turbotax, Mailchimp and Credit Karma are build on.
- Leading sprint planning, grooming and daily stand-up to maintain clear communication channels and ensure alignment on priorities and expectations.
- Coordinated release planning activities to align with overarching organizational goals and timelines.
- Mentoring junior and intermediate developers while upskilling myself.
Assistant Instructor - Full Stack Developer Bootcamp
Black Professionals Tech Network - Obsidi Academy
10.2022 - 09.2023
- Facilitated training of students in Java, PostgreSQL, Spring, and web frameworks, achieving a 98% success rate with graduates securing entry-level positions at companies like TD Bank.
- Provided personalized one-on-one support, improving struggling students' performance by 20%.
- Revamped 30% of the course curriculum, enhancing teaching quality and increasing the academy's Net Promoter Score from 80% to 93%.
- Fostered an inclusive learning environment, contributing to a 70% reduction in the bootcamp's dropout rates.
- Evaluated assignments and delivered constructive feedback to deepen students' understanding.
Co-founder, Senior Software Engineer and Product Lead
POKET Canada
08.2018 - 07.2023
- Led the exploration and validation of POKET's value proposition, identifying product-market fit for a scalable solution that enables enterprises to deploy crowdsourcing engagements for location-specific insights in emerging markets. This approach allowed data collectors to earn up to 3x their national minimum wages.
- Directed UI/UX design and software architecture, optimizing the performance of POKET's Android and iOS apps for low-bandwidth environments and diverse devices.
- Developed a multi-tenant web dashboard in Angular for enterprise clients, enabling a self-serve experience for managing their field engagements in real-time.
- Refactored code bases to reduce the turnaround time of building end-to-end features from 2 weeks to 1-3 days depending on the feature.
- Automated testing and app deployment pipelines which saved about 1.5 hours of developer time daily.
- Managed and mentored a cross-functional team of developers, designers, and testers, fostering collaboration and maintaining a high-performance environment.
Senior Software Engineer
Hubba
07.2020 - 02.2021
- Worked on building Hubba's e-commerce platform to help wholesalers sell healthy food products to 10,000+ retailers
- Worked on the frontend using Vue, and React, worked with GraphQL to make API calls, and built the backend with Node, and Typescript
- Built APIs that communicated with both relational and non-relational databases
- Worked closely with the product development team to discuss various options for feature development to find optimal solutions that fit best within the product's software architecture while helping refine said architecture if needed
- Assisted in estimating task breakdown and timespan for developers
- Mentored junior developers on software development best practices and on building more confidence in their personal development.
Intermediate Software Engineer - Contract
Novera Capital & Consensys (Blockchain - Crypto)
11.2018 - 12.2019
- Led the product design, architecture, and development of the Novera Ethereum-backed Crypto exchange portal scaled to host over 1,000 concurrent users, for trading fiat, primary, and secondary derivative tokens
- Collaborated in planning go-to-market strategies for Novera
- Assisted the Consensys team in building enterprise solutions for companies like BMO, Access Copyright, and the Ontario Government on the Ethereum blockchain
- Created quick prototype web apps at Consensys using top design UI toolkits/libraries in 50% of the budgeted time, which in turn increased the effectiveness of my team's business development engagements by helping us close contracts three (3) months sooner than previously (seven months on average)
- Engaged in agile / scrum project management.
Full-Stack Software Engineer
Nascent Digital
04.2017 - 10.2018
- Worked on architecting, designing (UI) and developing new features into highly scalable Android applications like TELUS' My-Telus App which hosts millions of users and has a 4.0+ star rating - this is greater than the average rating of 2.5 stars for telecom apps in Canada
- This work strongly contributed to the addition of 99,000 new high-quality app users within a quarter
- Assisted in rebranding, redesigning and developing TELUS' Website using React, Redux, and Contentful (headless CMS), which increased customer interaction with the site, increased revenue by 7.2% in a quarter, and decreased the time it took for the content team to make meaningful changes to the site pages from days to minutes
- Worked on rebuilding Nascent's website using Angular 4, TypeScript (JavaScript), HTML and SCSS to create a more impactful user experience doubling traffic to the website
- Co-developed the CAN-AM RYKER augmented reality app using React-Native to enable high-quality cross-platform experiences, while working within the client's constrained budget which was not suitable for fully native apps.
Quality Assurance Administration - Co-op
CS I&IT Cluster - Ontario Government
01.2016 - 08.2016
- Helped coordinate the cluster's QA activities for 132 Ontario Government applications
- Created and led the Cluster's Innovation Days which facilitated the creation of 16 in-house prototype software solutions in 2 days for the Cluster's six (6) client Ministries.
- Called upon to stand-in for the Lead QA Administrator for 3 months, due to an exceptional ability to learn quickly.
Education
BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING (BENG) - SOFTWARE ENGINEERING -
York University
Toronto, CanadaSkills
Languages
- Java
- JavaScript (React / React Native, Typescript, Vue, Angular, Node)
- SQL
- HTML
- CSS
- Python
- Cloud - AWS
-
Tools and Environment
- Android Studio
- VS Code
- IntelliJ IDEA
- Eclipse
- GitHub
- AWS
- Google Firebase
- Android
- Linux
Projects
Blockchain-Powered Mobile Wallet for Emerging Markets
- Developed an Android app for digital identity and value transfers using Ethereum blockchain, tailored for low-literate users in emerging markets.
- Created ERC-20 tokens and won first place in a blockchain application development competition.
- Leveraged machine learning to personalize tea recommendations, enhancing user experience and engagement.
- Built open-source hardware for speech disorder assistance, empowering users in Kenya with accessible technology.
- Created a software solution using Microsoft’s NLP API for summarizing research papers, demonstrating quick learning and adaptability by mastering C# within hours at a hackathon.
Awards
- Plastic Mobile & Partner Orgs. CANADA'S TOP DEVELOPER - 30 UNDER 30 2018
- Ontario Government 2ND PLACE INNOVATORS - CSC CO-OP INNOVATION DAY, 08/01/16
- BEST Lab, York University 1ST PLACE - CRACKING THE CREATIVITY CODE, 09/01/15
- Google for Entrepreneurs 2ND PLACE STARTUP - STARTUP WEEKEND, YORK REGION, 10/01/15
Timeline
Scrum Lead and Senior Software Engineer
Intuit Canada
04.2024 - Current
Assistant Instructor - Full Stack Developer Bootcamp
Black Professionals Tech Network - Obsidi Academy
10.2022 - 09.2023
Senior Software Engineer
Hubba
07.2020 - 02.2021
Intermediate Software Engineer - Contract
Novera Capital & Consensys (Blockchain - Crypto)
11.2018 - 12.2019
Co-founder, Senior Software Engineer and Product Lead
POKET Canada
08.2018 - 07.2023
Full-Stack Software Engineer
Nascent Digital
04.2017 - 10.2018
Quality Assurance Administration - Co-op
CS I&IT Cluster - Ontario Government
01.2016 - 08.2016
BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING (BENG) - SOFTWARE ENGINEERING -
York University