Russell Pickett
emerson@hayseed.net
438 3rd Ave
SF, CA 94118
415/387-4535
Experience
craigslist
03/2003 - present
Coder
- Wrote and maintained growing base of Perl code that runs the seventh largest web site in the US, and the largest classified-ad site in the world.
- Worked with a small team of engineers requiring extreme flexibility, fighting fires, scaling systems, redesigning and implementing features, optimizing performance, and all of the other things required to keep a large-scale web site running 24/7. Our page-hit / employee ratio was, at various times, two orders of magnitude better than other top-10 sites like Yahoo and Amazon.
- Implemented, integrated, and maintained numerous open source technologies, including Apache, Perl, MySQL, memcache, squid, Linux, OpenBSD, Javascript / jquery, cvs, git, postfix, dovecot, ssh, etc etc.
- Completely rewrote various external-facing processes from scratch, usually converting from cgi to mod_perl: posting process, email-friend, forums, search, site homepage, self-edit, best-of, account homepage, more.
- Co-designed and -implemented all-new user account system, consolidating two existing systems and leaving hooks for future features; system is still in use with many new features six years later.
- Implemented automatic daily archiving of old postings from production MySQL to internal instance.
- Created out-of-band system for inspecting new postings for spamminess and other abuse using dynamic ruleset maintained by customer service.
- Rewrote immense corpus of bad hand-rolled legacy HTML dating from 1996 into valid well-formed HTML 4 and CSS 2, reducing page size by as much as 30%. Began incorporating jquery and ajax to clarify and simplify user interaction.
- Participated in i18n project that moved all forward-facing text out of code into templates; implemented hostname- and cookie- based language selection system.
- Added RSS format option to all craigslist listings, searches, and best-of.
- Created db-driven document management system for cl /about/ and /help/ pages using tinyMCE, jquery, MySQL, duct tape, and baling wire. Migrated nearly all existing static HTML files into this system.
Hayseed Networks
11/1996 - present
Senior Systems Administrator / Co-Founder
- Founding member of technical community website/domain/ISP with 150+ regular users.
- Responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of a small cluster of Linux server and Windows 2000 client/satellite machines.
- Maintain Apache installation with 15+ virtual hosts, with PHP, MySQL, CGI, mod_perl, SSL, and various other web technologies.
- Ongoing duties include security updates, user management, sendmail / postfix, Samba, NIS/NFS, DNS, and other day-to-day administrivia.
- Shared duties include upkeep of NetScreen firewall, management of RAID 5 array, maintenance of Cisco switches, and network troubleshooting.
- Special projects have included VPN creation to users' homes, setup of webmail system, content management system for site news and user journaling, MRTG network monitoring software, SNORT network intrusion detection system, MOO chat/collaboration system.
Freelance Consulting
06/1998 - present
- Projects included Perl/CGI, search engine creation, Netscape Communicator/ Javascript customization, midsized database install/maintenance, HTML coding and debugging, and other assorted server maintenance and configuration tasks.
- Platforms and technologies have included Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Apache, Perl, MySQL, PHP, sendmail, Javascript, HTML.
- Clients have included:
Della & James / Della.com / WeddingChannel.com
09/1999 - 12/2000
Senior Systems Administrator
- Responsible for health, maintenance, and deployment of popular gift registry site, lashing together Windows NT, Solaris, OpenBSD, Oracle, IIS, and Apache.
- Wrote and maintained Perl/shell-based deploy system to automate rolling out new code; this system reduced deploy downtime from 8 hours to under 2 hours.
- Maintained and administered all in-office Unix machines, including multiple copies of the site for development and testing purposes.
- Integrated multiple office locations using Checkpoint Firewall/1 and its VPN features.
- Directed and drove project to integrate existing weddingchannel.com and della.com sites after merger of the two companies.
- Designed and implemented cage architecture for merged site, with weeks of on-site time at the colo facility.
Organic
09/1996 - 04/1998
System Administrator
- Part of a team responsible for maintenance and updates of the Organic corporate site as well as many client hosted sites, on Solaris/Apache and NT/IIS, with such high-profile clients as starwars.com and levi.com.
- Did rotating shifts of 24-hour on-call support for hosted and corporate connectivity.
- Responsible for backups/restores and other routine maintenance for onsite Solaris web, mail, and DNS servers.
- Wrote and deployed CGI-based helpdesk trouble ticket system to manage IS department tasks.
- Streamlined integration of heterogeneous NT, Solaris, Irix, MacOS, and BSDi network with NFS, Samba, netatalk, NIS, and other such technologies.
- Created VLAN / NT domain sharing between the corporate office and the first satellite office in New York.
- Provided desktop support for an algebraically-growing number of NT, MacOS, Irix, and Solaris desktop users.
Opcode Systems, Inc.
06/1993 - 09/1996
Minister of Information
- Solely responsible for corporate network's wild mix of MacOS, DOS/Win3.1, Win95, NT 3.1, Solaris, SCO Unix, BSDi, AppleShare, Netware, AppleTalk, IP, IPX, NetBEUI, Ethernet, LocalTalk, Timbuktu, ISDN, and tin-cans-and-string.
- Specified and installed company's first Internet connection, and set up firewalling, routing, and desktop IP on aforementioned wild mix.
- Part-time webmaster, time permitting, creating CGI storefront applications, tidying HTML, updating server, modifying Apache modules, etc.
- 24/7 on call for end users' and developers' problems, real or imagined, network or personal.
- QA testing for company's music software products.
- Development and maintenance of MIDI "signature" database for hundreds of MIDI devices from scores of manufacturers, for company's OMS product.
References available on request, some restrictions apply, void where prohibited.