Toon Davey! Davey Strus

I lead engineering teams, develop software, and teach people to code.

Leading, Developing, and Teaching

Contact me: dave@davestrus.com

Chexology 2019—present

Head of Engineering and Information Security (full-time)

I oversee and contribute to a team of engineers developing iOS/iPadOS apps with a Ruby on Rails backend. I own the architecture, security, and upkeep of all software systems and products.

  • Hired all other members of the 4-engineer team.
  • 5+ years of zero attrition.
  • Mentor the professional development of team members.
  • Work closely with the CEO and Head of Product on roadmap.
  • Led the team through a full rewrite of the flagship iOS app—from a sideloaded, fixed-dimension, iPad-only Swift/Objective-C codebase to a modern Swift universal app (iPhone + iPad) distributed through the App Store.
  • Expanded the product from coat/bag check (museums, nightclubs) and rentals (headphones, batteries) into hotel bell desk and valet verticals.
  • Materially strengthened the company's security posture. Own security reviews and technical diligence for prospective clients.
  • Contribute code to the Rails/MySQL backend and JavaScript/React front-end, review the team's PRs, and support escalated client issues.

Kenzie Academy 2019—2021

Instructional Designer (contract)

  • Designed educational curriculum and taught interactive workshops.
  • Wrote, developed, recorded, and edited instructional video series.
    • HTML (~20 lessons)
    • CSS (~20 lessons)
    • Vanilla JavaScript (~74 lessons)
    • React (39 lessons)
    • Git (12 lessons)
    • Java (26 lessons)

Fretless 2013—2019

Partner, co-founder (full-time)

  • Co-founded and co-led a software development consultancy.
  • Provided technical leadership, and performed senior-level development for clients large and small.
  • Built web and mobile applications, in the form of project work and staff augmentation.
  • Developed and taught coding bootcamp material—live in-person, live over Zoom, and pre-recorded.

Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, Angular, Ionic, React, React Native, Redux, Node, GraphQL, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB

TechPoint 2016—2018 (contract)

Xtern Bootcamp Curriculum Developer and Lead Instructor

Developed and taught practical, college-level software development curricula.

  • May 2018—July 2018: Lead instructor for a 3-week coding bootcamp for college students, with 6 cohorts over a 9-week period.
  • May 2017—July 2017: Developed React curriculum and served as lead instructor for a 3-week coding bootcamp for college students, with 6 cohorts over a 9-week period.
  • May 2016—July 2016: Developed AngularJS curriculum and acted as lead instructor for an 8-week coding bootcamp for college students, with two cohorts for the full 8 weeks.

Eleven Fifty Academy 2014—2016 (contract)

Lead Curriculum Developer and Lead Instructor

Developed curricula from scratch and taught courses in the Ruby language, the Ruby on Rails framework, and building JavaScript applications, including single-page applications with AngularJS.

  • Intro & Intermediate Ruby on Rails - 7 day intensive course
  • Intro & Intermediate JavaScript Applications - 7-day intensive course

Indiana University 2009—2013

Enterprise Software Manager
Lifetime Engagement Project Manager
(full-time)

  • Provided technical leadership, expertise, and supervision of all development activities needed to implement enterprise CRM software at IU in a variety of departments on multiple campuses.
  • Worked with administrators in Student Enrollment, undergraduate/graduate and professional schools, the Office of the President, the IU Alumni Association, and the IU Foundation to determine communication needs and implement software.
  • Assisted operational committees in establishing priorities and worked directly with vendor project manager to develop overall project plan. Responsible for staffing and operations of the CRM team.

nFrame (now Expedient) 2003—2009

Developer (2003-2007) / Manager of MIS (2007-2009) (full-time)

  • Led development and design (from scratch) of all internal applications, including intranet, trouble ticket system, device management/verification database and quoting system.
  • Hired and supervised developers and consultants.
  • Created screencasts and other training materials.
  • Assisted in monitoring firewalls, routers, switches, servers, and other equipment for customers (2003-2007).

Ruby on Rails, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, PHP, C#.NET

WebMagna 1999-2003

Partner, co-founder (part-time)

Developed web applications for clients in automotive, manufacturing, real estate, etc.

Java/J2EE/JSP, PHP, MySQL