Curriculum Vitae

Name:  Tim Colgate
Email:  CV@mettalogic.co.uk
Personal Home Page:  www.mettalogic.co.uk/tim
Company Web Page:  www.mettalogic.co.uk

Education

'O' levels:  7 Grade A, 2 Grade B, 1 Grade C
'A' levels:  Maths A, Chemistry A, Physics A
'S' level:   Chemistry 1
BSc(Hons) MEng in Microelectronic Systems Engineering at UMIST

Career overview

I returned to Credit Suisse as a technical architect for 3 years, working in Credit Risk. I worked primarily on multi-threaded, C++ application servers running on Solaris, with Sybase databases, as well as technology evaluation, specifying hardware, setting up servers, SOX and configuring DR.

I worked at Royal Bank of Canada as a contract analyst programmer on a Market Data project, building prototypes and evaluating technology, using C++, Python, Windows, Linux, PHP, Apache, PHP and MySql.

I returned to Credit Suisse as a contract analyst programmer for 15 months, working in Market Risk. I worked on a VAR system; redeveloping a multi-threaded, C++ application server running on Solaris and using Orbix and Oracle. I then migrated the system to Linux.

I returned to Royal Bank of Scotland as a contract analyst programmer for a 5 month project in the Group Risk area. I specified, designed, developed, tested and released an enhancement to a multi-threaded, C++ application server running on Solaris.

I worked for 13 months as a contract analyst programmer in the front-office, fixed-income Repo area at Goldman Sachs. I developed, maintained and supported a number of systems written in C++, Java and C on Solaris using Sybase databases.

I worked for 16 months as a contract analyst programmer in the Group Risk area of Royal Bank of Scotland. I used a variety of technologies to build and enhance applications on Windows and Unix, including C++, MFC, ODBC, ADO, COM, VB and Source Safe on Windows; and C++, Java, Sybase, C, JSP, Apache, Tomcat, perl, shell scripts and RCS on Unix.

I worked for 6 months as a contract analyst programmer in the E-commerce area at Barclays Capital: firstly on a bond trading system on NT written in C++ using STL and JTC threading library; then on a multi-tier FX trading application, where I used C++ (with STL) on Solaris, and Sybase. I used XML in inter-process communication and ClearCase for version control.

I worked for 2½ years as a contract analyst programmer and later team leader/technical architect at Credit Suisse First Boston on 3-tier client-server systems in the back office. I wrote high-volume, multi-threaded servers in C++, using RogueWave tools on UNIX, accessing a Sybase database. Clients ran on NT and were written in VB. To interface the VB clients to the servers I wrote COM objects using ATL. I also wrote web pages using Javascript and CGI (Perl and shell script) to make our data available over the intranet.

I worked for 3 months as a contract analyst programmer at FT Information writing C++ under AIX to develop a client/server system using CORBA (Orbix) to communicate with Oracle databases.

I worked for 5 months as a contract analyst programmer at Barclays, making code Year 2000 compliant. The code ran on UNIX (AIX) and NT 4.0 platforms in a variety of languages including C, C++, Shell scripts and Java. Results and documentation were stored and retrieved on an intranet using HTML and CGI scripts.

I worked for 1 year as a contract analyst programmer at Peek Traffic. I was in charge of C library development and maintenance on UNIX systems (Motorola SVR4, SCO and Sun). Design was done using Cadre's Teamwork structured analysis and design (Yourdon) software. I used RCS for version control TCL and Expect scripts for automated testing and gdb for debugging.

I worked for over 3 years at Lock Inspection in the role of software manager, writing real-time, embedded code in C and Assembler; and C++ programs to run under DOS and Windows - the Windows programs using Borland OWL (GUI library). Other work carried out at the company included: hardware design, training, documentation and handover.

I worked for 1 year at BCT as an analyst programmer, writing C and shell scripts on a number of UNIX systems, including HPUX.

Career Details

Credit Suisse - May '07 to May '10

I worked on the Insight project, which is responsible for calculating Credit Suisse's exposure to Credit Risk. The system consists primarily of several multi-threaded, C++ application servers running on Solaris, some Sybase databases, and a Java front-end running on WebLogic. Corba and MQ are used for communicating with other systems, and PowerCenter for ETL.

I worked as a (hands-on) Technical Architect, responsible for selecting and ordering hardware, setting up development, UAT and production servers, failover and disaster recovery, SOX controls, and technology evaluation (e.g. a feature/performance comparison of Sybase ASE, Sybase IQ and Oracle for a data warehouse). I also: worked on the existing C++ servers; migrated Access databases and forms to C++ and Sybase; migrated the code base from ClearCase to Subversion; interviewed prospective team members and gave presentations and demonstrations.

In addition I worked with the lead Technical Architect in Risk IT, to introduce a common set of Unix/Linux development tools across the department, and went on to demonstrate some of these tools to the Tools Team in Credit Suisse, with a view to rolling them out across Credit Suisse. I also attended meetings with the Head of Department to discuss short and long-term technical strategy in the department.

Royal Bank of Canada - Feb. '07 to Apr. '07

I worked on a project to provide market data across the bank globally. Initially I set up 3 Linux servers, a Wiki for collaboration, and Subversion for source code control. I then evaluated a number of technologies. I built a prototype market data web service by using Python scripts to load Bloomberg end-of-day data into a MySql database running on Linux, and using Apache and PHP to provide a query interface to the data. The database interaction was encapsulated, to make it easy to change to a different database. Using the same data, I also wrote a simple distributed market data service using ZeroC, and compared the throughput of C++ with Python, and tested clients on Linux and Windows.

Credit Suisse - Oct. '05 to Dec. '06

I worked on a project on the MaRS team in the Market Risk area of Credit Suisse. MaRS is responsible for calculating value-at-risk for the bank. The system consists of: some GUIs; a number of C++ application servers communicating via Orbix on Solaris; and Oracle databases. Part of the system caches data from a database in a multi-threaded application and performs calculations on it.

I analysed, redesigned and developed the cache to support larger data volumes and enhanced functionality. I also wrote test programs and documentation. Code was held in ClearCase. I then worked on a project to port the application servers to Linux. This provided significant performance improvements and cost benefits.

Royal Bank of Scotland - Apr. '05 to Sep. '05

I worked on a project on the UniVaR team in the Group Risk area of RBS. UniVaR is responsible for calculating value-at-risk for the bank. The main component of the system is a multi-threaded C++ server running on Solaris, using a Sybase database on the back-end. The business required an enhancement to the system to support new risk calculations.

I was responsible for finalising the requirements, and the subsequent design, code, test, release and handover. All the work was C++ on Solaris, apart from some small changes to the Javascript front-end.

Goldman Sachs - Feb. '04 to Mar. '05

I worked in the fixed-income Repo area which provides processing, GUIs and reports to Trading, Sales and Operations departments, as well as feeds to and from other areas of the bank. Some of my time was spent supporting front-office staff; maintaining existing applications; introducing new reports etc. This involved working with a variety of technologies including C, C++, Java, Sybase, CVS, perl, CGI, shell scripts etc. I was also involved in the design and build of new systems, and was able to introduce new ideas, for example to use XSLT to convert XML. I also introduced a number of tools (some open source and some that I had developed) and suggested procedural improvements.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act has affected the way banks control and monitor access to their systems. I was responsible for defining and introducing new procedures for controlling database access. This involved auditing the existing systems, producing a plan, managing other staff and dealing with other areas of the company; to make sure a consistent approach was being adopted and that the project was completed in time for an external audit.

Royal Bank of Scotland - Aug. '02 to Dec. '03

I worked on a project called GRD in the Group Risk area of RBS. GRD is the "golden source" of counterparty and related information for "large" customers (non-retail) at RBS. The system provides daily extracts, intra-day and web interfaces, a GUI for maintaining and browsing data, and also takes in data from external sources e.g. Moody's.

I was responsible for rewriting the back-end of, and making enhancements to, the MFC C++ GUI application; writing new applications to use GRD data; upgrading production and development hardware and software; defining a disaster recovery environment; and website development; as well as giving presentations, mentoring and providing support. This required working with a range of languages (C++, Java, C, perl, shell script) and technologies (Apache, Tomcat, JSP, Sybase, CTlib, ODBC, ADO, JDBC), on Unix and Windows; and involved a pro-active approach to simplify, and improve the resilience of, the existing production processes.

Extended break

I took some time off, to work on the house and garden, and spend time with my family. I have also been undertaking a number of programming and web projects, both for myself and others. Some of these can be seen on my website: www.mettalogic.co.uk/tim. Skills I have been using and improving include: Linux, GNU C/C++ (gcc, g++), STL, QT, SDL, OpenGL, Perl, Python, PHP, Java, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, RCS, CVS.

Barclays Capital - Nov. '00 to May '01

Barclays were developing software, as part of the Bondclick consortium, to sell bonds on the web. They were also developing an application for the traders to allow them to trade on many different bond markets (e.g. Brokertec, SWX, EuroMTS). My job was to write the interface software between the two projects. This was written as a plug-in library in C++ on NT, and used COM to interface to the web-side software. Data was formatted in XML.

I then moved onto an FX trading application. This used web-based Java on the front-end and C++ on Solaris with a Sybase database at the back-end. I wrote a number of the back-end components, as well as tools and test software (mostly C++, some shell script). Code was stored in ClearCase. I was also responsible for migrating the existing data to a new data model, which I documented, along with its associated stored procedures, on the intranet - automatically generating HTML from the database.

Credit Suisse First Boston - Jan. '98 to Aug. '00

Credit Suisse had a requirement to provide reference data to other systems in the bank. They stored the data in a Sybase database, which was replicated to other sites, and needed a simple-to-use GUI application to allow maintenance of the data, and a convenient and efficient interface for passing the data on to other systems. I co-designed and wrote a multi-threaded UNIX (SunOS/Solaris) server in C++ to cache and manipulate data into a format suitable for other systems. I also wrote a COM object to make this data available to VB applications. I then worked on the maintenance application, which involved VB GUI work, Visual C++ using ATL for the COM objects, and C++ with RogueWave tools h++ for the UNIX server. Code was stored in PVCS. I used shell scripts and SQL to start, monitor and configure the servers. Configuration was mostly done using meta-data, designed to be Summit compatible.

I then moved to an eighteen-person project (GRD) to consolidate all reference data across the bank globally. Development on the project was split between London and New York, with the majority in London. I was hands-on team leader for the six London developers and responsible for the overall technical architecture (analysis, design and implementation). I was also technical liaison to the New York team, to help them set up the software developed in London, and to advise on how to make enhancements without introducing incompatibilities with the London part of the system. I was able to reuse much of my previous work, and extend it, for example to deal with the much larger volumes of updates and queries (100+/sec). Software was required to: load data from existing systems, converting the data model and validating the content; make the data available to other systems using an ad-hoc query interface; distribute data to other systems using MQ Series messaging; and provide a GUI for the maintenance of the data. I was also responsible for the project's intranet website.

FT Information - Oct. '97 to Jan. '98

FT Information sell company information, including news stories, annual reports and share information. They have a number of databases (mainly Oracle) and use Orbix (a CORBA implementation) to provide a consistent interface to the data. Front-end programs are hosted on PCs and UNIX machines. I designed and wrote C++ code on AIX to extract batches of company information, format it in HTML and make it available for FTP download to customers. RogueWave and Orbix libraries were used as well as basic C++ libraries including STL.

Barclays Bank Plc - May '97 to Sep. '97

Barclays has developed "the Branch Platform" - UNIX-based software to run in all their branches, providing APIs to business applications, and insulating staff from UNIX system administration. This software is written primarily in C and shell script on RS 6000s running AIX 4.2. I was involved with checking code for Year 2000 problems, correcting and testing problem areas, and updating the design. I then went through the same procedure with supporting applications. These were written in a variety of languages including C++, Java, Shell script, HTML/CGI script on UNIX and NT platforms. In order to allow easy communication with other Year 2000 project teams, results were stored on an intranet and accessed with HTML and CGI scripts.

Peek Traffic Ltd - May '96 for 1 year

Peek Traffic provide software and hardware for traffic management systems; to the Highways Agency, local councils and abroad. I worked as a software contractor on a project using C on UNIX systems. My main responsibility was the development and maintenance of libraries which provided common routines for the rest of the project (including message passing, semaphore locking, diagnostic reporting, serial interfaces and shared memory). High level design was done using Teamwork software by Cadre. Coding and testing was done with standard UNIX tools: gcc and GNU's version of make for compilation, RCS for version control, TCL and Expect for testing, gdb for debugging.

Lock Inspection Systems Ltd - Nov. '92 for 3¼ years

Lock Inspection's product range consists primarily of metal detectors, which detect metal contaminant in food and pharmaceutical products. They have world-wide sales and offices in three countries. While at the company I was in charge of software and digital hardware development, reporting directly to the Engineering Manager. The software was written in C and assembly code to run on an embedded system, as well as communications applications, diagnostic software and utilities written in Borland C++ (using OWL) for Windows to run on a PC.

Other responsibilities included: writing quality procedures to enable the company to apply for ISO9001; installation and running of the departmental network; design of processor boards; writing installation and user manuals; training staff and customers to maintain and use our products; handover of all projects to the production and purchasing departments.

BCT Business Systems Ltd - Sep. '91 for 1 year

BCT Business Systems make UNIX accounting software and other UNIX utilities. I worked there for 1 year writing programs in C and UNIX. I wrote programs that allowed faxes to be generated and transmitted electronically from any UNIX machine on a network. This included rasterisation and run-length encoding of text and overlaying of graphics. I also wrote utilities using terminfos and curses (the standard UNIX 'graphics' package).

I was responsible for all stages of program development from analysing the requirements, through functional, design and test specification, coding and testing, to creating the text for the user guide and technical reference, and supporting the customer.

Radstone Technology PLC - Continuous placement system

During my degree course I was sponsored by Radstone Technology PLC. Due to working at the company for short intervals, it was essential that I was able to quickly assimilate each project, as well as make sure that it was thoroughly documented and handed over. While there I performed a number of tasks including: writing a Pascal application to manipulate EPROM files; writing test procedures and test software for 80486 boards; and porting C and assembler programs from Motorola 680X0 to Intel 80X86.

© Tim Colgate 2010

CV can be downloaded in OpenOffice format, Word DOC, PDF or RTF.