Brandon Ray

Hello, my name is Brandon Ray and I am a software engineer living in Chicago, IL. I have had an interesting path on how I have gotten to this point. I graduated from MIZZOU with a degree in Information Technology. I interned at a manufacturing company where I was hired as a full-time employee before graduating. I stayed with this company before I decided I wanted to branch out more and moved to an engineering consulting company. From there I decided that I wanted to do more traditional software engineering and moved to Enterprise Holdings doing database and reporting activities and ultimately went to work on their Android rental management application. I wanted to spread my wings more and decided to get back into consulting where I could do various aspects of full-stack software engineering. I greatly enjoy to learn new things and to keep up with the latest technologies. I'm fascinated at how technology can improve our daily lives and well-being.

What I Do

Full Stack Development

Currently, I am working as a full-stack developer leaving no code untouched! Focusing primarily on Android development, I am also responsible for the development and maintenance on many Java backend services, the CI/CD pipelines for all the applications, the web UI front ends of others, and the list goes on.

Data Engineering

My entire software engineering career has included database and reporting aspects. One role was entirely devoted to this, writing SQL and ETL code to present reports in SSRS and Sharepoint. Also have created and maintained desktop and web based applications to help users decipher terabytes of information quickly.

Manufacturing Systems

My career originated in the world of manufacturing. Working on database and reporting applications to begin with, but quickly promoted to electrical and reliability engineering. This involved reviewing electrical and mechanical installation schematics, programming production lines and robotic assistance devices, and creating applications to measure and report efficiency on production lines.

Architechting

In all areas of my career I have played a part in application and system architecture. This is sometimes the most fun aspect of software development when starting a project from scratch. Analyzing the problem, determining at what scale the application will be, and then developing a solution that will work flawlessly while giving the ability to grow and advance the project in the future extremely satisfying.

Pet Projects

QualiTech Checkpoint

(Name still in the works. 😅)As I have been temporarily pulled away from Android development in my main career help out in areas where some of my other skillsets are of great use, I wanted to continue my Android development. Through my previous experiences in manufacturing I took one of my first ever projects of creating a Quality Control system for use in manufacturing and modernized it to the mobile world. Click here to learn more!

Resume

12 Years of Experience

Education

2014
University of Missouri - Columbia

Bachelor of Science - Information Technology

Minor in Computer Science

Experience

Feb 2024 - Current
Walgreens

Senior Software Engineer

  • Maintenance and development on internal Android applications used by 8000+ stores to manage inventory, same day orders, and other applications that team members use to manage their work.
  • Completed major upgrades on 25 micro services used within the company for the internal applications, notifications and alerting on devices and verbal alerting systems, and various reporting services.
Aug 2023 - Feb 2024
Daugherty Business Solutions

Consultant - Software Engineer III

  • Actively contribute to the modernization project at Anheuser-Busch, focusing on transforming legacy applications into a cloud-centric model using Azure cloud services.
  • Serve as the go-to expert on the team for data collection from plant production areas, facilitating the integration and publishing of data to Azure with IoT devices and the Azure IoT Hub.
  • Develop custom applications in C# and Python, addressing specific operational challenges. Key applications include synchronizing redundant KEPServerEX OPC servers, implementing advanced logic calculations on production data to enhance the functionality of KEPServerEX, and applications that provide additional layers of high availability in scenarios of potential application server failures.
Nov 2020 - Aug 2023
Daugherty Business Solutions

Consultant - Software Engineer II

  • I am a consultant with experience in developing and implementing full-stack modernization strategies for clients such as Anheuser-Busch, focusing on the integration of machine PLC interfaces, multiple data platforms, various front-ends, and cloud-based technologies. My work involves leveraging technologies like Kepware's KEPServerEX connectivity solution to bring plant floor devices into the world of IoT, pushing real-time data through the Azure IoT Edge up to the Azure IoT Hub, and storing this data in time-series databases and an Azure Data Lake. Through my efforts, clients are able to benefit from immediate data access through APIs and direct attachment to the Event Bus.
  • I have also worked as a mobile application developer consultant for companies such as Bayer and Edward Jones, where I focused primarily on developing client-facing Android mobile applications. I am experienced in developing iOS applications, Angular applications, and Java-based web services. My expertise in these areas allows me to deliver high-quality solutions that meet business needs and exceed client expectations.
Dec 2019 - Nov 2020
Enterprise Holdings

Engineer 2

  • Act as product team lead, assisted product owners in prioritizing product development efforts, mentored new team members and interns, and implemented full-stack application improvement.
Jun 2018 - Dec 2019
Enterprise Holdings

Engineer I

  • Created and enhanced Android and Java applications used by 9000+ locations, resulting in improved efficiency and customer satisfaction.
  • Modified Splunk reports and dashboards to monitor application health and performance.
Dec 2017 - Jun 2018
Enterprise Holdings

Senior Software Engineer

  • Created HTML5/AngularJS applications using Bootstrap, entity framework and Google APIs and build improvements upon them to accommodate company needs.
  • Created and maintained C#/XAML code for reporting applications.
Nov 2016 - Dec 2017
Enterprise Holdings

Software Engineer

  • Developed SharePoint SSRS reports and SSIS ETL packages to manage fleet, sales,
    employee performance, competitors’ information, reservations and forecasting.
Jan 2015 - Nov 2016
ICC Inc

Manufacturing Systems Engineer

  • Developed and deployed a C# server-client application at major manufacturing
    companies to analyze and report machine statistics on production lines.
  • Built .Net applications for chemical batching processes and data entry.
Feb 2014 - Jan 2015
Henkel Consumer Goods

Reliability Engineer

  • Developed and used MES software resources to help identify areas for cost reduction.
  • Resolved line performance issues increasing production efficiency by 15%.
Jan 2013 - Feb 2014
Henkel Consumer Goods

Electrical Engineer Site Associate

  • Managed several $1M+ capital projects from idea to installation of new and existing production lines, including their IT infrastructure designs and deployments.
Jun 2011 - Jan 2013
Henkel Consumer Goods

Intern/Co-Op

  • Created software-database applications for quality improvements and MOC practices.
  • Wrote SOPs for best practices used by maintenance and operations personnel.

Competencies

Android Development

90%

Cloud Technologies

70%

Backend Development

75%

Desktop Development

70%

Web Development

65%

Data Engineering

82%

Coding Skills

Java

85%

Kotlin

77%

C#

83%

Python

65%

Swift

50%

SQL

85%

NoSQL

40%

JavaScript

73%

HTML / CSS

90%

Certifications

Contact

Get in Touch

573-579-5287

Chicago, IL

brandon@brandonray.me

Freelance Available

How Can I Help You?