Dr Pete Donnell

pete@kit­son con­sul­ting.co.uk

Summary

I like solving problems. I enjoy mentoring and learning from other team members. I am comfortable talking with stakeholders at all levels about business requirements, technical matters, and the relationship between the two. Over my 15 years in the IT industry, I have successfully combined technical skills with organisational skills to deliver dozens of projects for clients of all sizes.

Experience

Kitson Consulting Limited Bristol, UK

Director/Technical Lead January 2009 – Present

• Full stack web development (PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, Python).
• Systems programming (Python, shell scripting).
• Database design, optimisation and administration (MariaDB/MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server).
• Linux server administration (Debian, Ubuntu, CentOS, Amazon Linux).
• Security analysis and security processes.
• Coding standards and review.
• Team recruitment, management, training and mentoring.
• Client communications.
• Business development and project bids.
• Technical documentation and user guides.
• Legal compliance for Kitson and external clients (PCI-DSS, GDPR, employment legislation, financial regulations, etc).

Britannia Seas Limited Birmingham, UK (remote)

Lead developer (contract) June 2023 – Present

UK-based real estate PWA (progressive web app - web version as well as Android and iOS apps). Decoupled back end and front end based on REST/RESTful APIs with JWT based authentication for the back end. I designed the system architecture using Linux, MySQL, PHP (back end), Vue + Ionic (front end), built the back end, prototyped various front end components including Google Maps and Stripe integrations, and recruited and managed the team of developers. Tracked in Git and deployed on Linux. (Resumed from 2020.)

University Hospital Southampton Southampton, UK (remote)

Full stack developer (contract) April 2022 – May 2023

Member of NHS remote working team developing leading NED-accredited web application for endoscopists. Based on ReactJS/Node/Semantic UI for the front end, C# for the backend/API layer, and Microsoft SQL Server/Oracle for the database storage layer. My role was primarily focused on the front end, implementing new user features and streamlining existing features using React.

University of Southampton Southampton, UK (remote)

Full stack developer (contract) December 2020 – March 2022

Part of a multi-disciplinary team developing a LIMS (laboratory information management system) for testing COVID-19 samples in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight region. My role was centred on systems architecture, server configuration and monitoring, API development (Python/Flask backed by PostgreSQL database), and front end development (PHP/jQuery/HTML/Bootstrap).

Britannia Seas Limited Birmingham, UK (remote)

Lead developer (contract) October – December 2020

UK-based real estate PWA (progressive web app - web version as well as Android and iOS apps). Decoupled back end and front end based on REST/RESTful APIs with JWT based authentication for the back end. I designed the system architecture using Linux, MySQL, PHP (back end), Vue + Ionic (front end), built the back end, prototyped various front end components including Google Maps and Stripe integrations, and recruited and managed the team of developers. Tracked in Git and deployed on Linux. (Project suspended prior to completion due to COVID.)

SIPit Pro Limited Bristol, UK (remote)

Lead web developer (contract) July 2019 – September 2020

White label real time web app for managing SIP based VoIP calls. PHP, Python, PostgreSQL, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Server-Sent Events. Hosted on Linux on Google Cloud Platform and AWS. Code tracked on Git. In addition to systems architecture and development, I also managed the small team of developers. Successfully delivered and still the market leader in terms of available features.

Engaging Potential Limited Newbury, UK (remote)

Lead Developer (contract, part-time) September 2014 – June 2019

Web based student management platform for special needs education provider. Based on PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, MySQL. Tracked on Git, hosted on Linux. Includes data analysis for legally required reports on attendance and learning outcomes. I liaised with non-technical stakeholders and managed the development team, in addition to designing and coding the system.

K2 Management Limited Bristol, UK (hybrid)

Technical consultant (contract, part-time) September 2014 – June 2018

• Bespoke system required to interface with client's proprietary numerical simulation software. Queueing back end coded in Python and MySQL. Web interface developed using PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, MySQL to enable engineers to manage compute jobs on private Linux cluster.
• Google Maps API on Google Cloud Platform, showing geographical location and KPIs of all portfolio projects worked on by international engineering company. Developed in PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, MySQL.
• Python-based automated system to synchronise large proprietary data sets between multiple office locations on 3 continents.
• Web portal developed in PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery for engineering company to present data to their clients. Incorporated Google Maps API on Google Cloud Platform. Maps, graphs and tables generated from MySQL using Python with Matplotlib and synchronised between multiple servers.
• Assorted strategy/advice, system maintenance and other small IT projects.

West Virginia University Morgantown WV, USA

Visiting Researcher March 2017 – May 2017

 June 2014 – September 2014

Ongoing collaboration with researchers in the UK, USA and Romania, following on from work at Portsmouth.

University of Portsmouth Portsmouth, UK

Senior Research Associate February 2012 – May 2014

• EPSRC funded postdoctoral research position in the mathematics department.
• Research focus on chemical reaction network theory.
• Developed computational tools to make mathematical results accessible to non-specialists.
• Presented research in peer-reviewed journals and at conferences in the UK and internationally.

Capital Sport Limited Buckinghamshire, UK

IT Consultant (contract) January 2012 – February 2012

Consultancy on overhauling internal IT systems, including setting up new on-premises mail server and migrating all email accounts.

MCP Systems Consultants Ross-on-Wye, UK

IT Consultant (contract, part-time) January 2009 – December 2011

Provided technical expertise to support team of management consultants. Delivered projects for a variety of large clients including IBM and the NHS. Also developed and maintained internal infrastructure.

University of Bristol Bristol, UK

Research Assistant June 2004 – September 2004

• Student placement with biology group researching hearing in insects.
• Automated processing of experimental data using C++.
• Automated generation of graphs using Visual Basic.

Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Oxfordshire, UK

Research Assistant June 2003 – September 2003

• Student placement with particle physics group researching dark matter.
• Translated Monte Carlo particle detector simulation from QuickBasic to C++.

Technical strengths

• Computer Languages PHP, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript (including React and jQuery), POSIX shell scripting, HTML5/CSS3, C++, C#, Java.
• System Administration Linux, Apache, Postfix, security, SQL, TLS/SSL, backups, SSH, firewalls.
• Languages English (native speaker), Vietnamese (advanced), French (working proficiency), Spanish (basic)

Education

University of Manchester 2023

Department for Education Data Science Bootcamp (100% grade average)

University of Helsinki 2020

Building AI (advanced level)

University College, London 2004 – 2008

PhD in Mathematics

Imperial College, London 2001 – 2004

BSc in Physics with Theoretical Physics (first class honours)

References

Available on request.