Astrophysicist-turned-dev adept in data analysis and tech solutions; aiming for a full-stack role to drive real impact.

SkillsRobin ID: 
Kedsene
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Work expectations

Status
Actively looking
Not looking
Open to new opportunities
Hired through SkillsRobin
Location
Melbourne
-
Open to relocating
Commitment
Full-time; Casual / Freelance / Part-time; Internship
Availability from time of offer
Immediately
Profession
Software engineering
1-2 years
 experience
UX/Digital design
 experience
Top 3 programming languages/frameworks
Ruby, Ruby on Rails, Python
Also knows
Javascript, React, SQL
Top 3 UX Skills
Preferred work environment
In the office; Fully remote; Hybrid
Interested in working involving
I am looking for an opportunity where I can contribute and tackle fresh challenges. Making the transition from Academia to the Tech Industry has been an adventure that I have been enjoying, and I am keen to keep the momentum going. I learn quickly and place a high value on continuous learning and professional development. I aim to expand my skillset towards becoming a full-stack engineer, integrating my analytical and development skills.
Not interested in work involving

Other information
Able to work in Australia without visa sponsorship
Requires visa sponsorship to work in Australia

Pay expectations

Full-time
$
65000
per year
Casual / Contract
$
35
per hour
Pay is negotiable in exchange for equity
Pay is not negotiable in exchange for equity
Open to volunteering or working for equity only
Not interested in volunteering or working for equity only if joining as a co-founder

Referred by

Geoffrey Donaldson
Chief Technology Officer at Black Box Co
February 28, 2024
  •  
I managed them directly

This individual always dives in, head first to any objective presented to them, regardless of if it's a familiar task, or a new challenge. They are a very considerate team member, always looking out for their colleagues, and searching for ways they can best support them. It was an honour to work with them, and would do so again, given the chance.

Work experience

Proudest professional achievement
In terms of professional achievement, I think my favourite project was during my time at Black Box Co. I worked on the integration of our SaaS product for the livestock industry with a new payment provider. More specifically, I worked on allowing a user to update their credit card details and cancel their current subscription plan. Additionally, this migration project evolved into developing a new onboarding flow for new users, a vital initiative for the company. This project stood out for me as the most significant in my time there, marking a departure from typical tasks like feature deployment or bug fixes I had been used to. It required a deep dive into user experience considerations and brought about engaging discussions with operations and my colleagues about how the user journey could be improved. I particularly enjoyed observing how our principal engineer established a roadmap for this project. To me, setting up this new onboarding flow was not that different from working on a research problem and it reminded me of my time in Academia. This is what I enjoy the most when I work. I find it important to break down a problem into different smaller tasks while not forgetting about the big picture. Why are we doing something? What are trying to achieve? Who is this aimed at? Being able to hear from our operation team or customers about the livestock industry and the reality of data collection on the field was really insightful. Finally, I have learned to appreciate the more hands-on approach of being a developer. Immediately seeing the impact of my work via implementing a new feature on an app is a game changer compared to what I experienced when writing a peer-reviewed publication for instance.

Junior Software Developer at Tech Startup
Jan 2023 - Nov 2023

  • Contributed to the integration of the company's app with a new payment provider.
  • Rethought a new onboarding flow for new users.
  • Developed new data importers following specific formats of data uploaded by users.
  • Resolved numerous minor bugs reported by users and the Operations Team across both backend and frontend.
  • Skills: Ruby, Ruby on Rails, RSpec, Ember, Git, SQL, TDD, Pair-Programming, Remote Work, Stakeholder Engagement, Problem Solving.

Data Scientist at Agriculture Research Organization
May 2021 - Jan 2023

  • Engaged with users to understand their needs and build customized reports, enhancing decision-making capabilities.
  • Developed preliminary machine learning models focusing on cow fertility and beef carcass characteristics in collaboration with Queensland University of Technology.
  • Published research paper: Link to paper.
  • Skills: Analytics, Literature Review, Python, BigQuery, SQL, Remote Work, Stakeholder Engagement, Problem-solving.

Data Science Intern at Tech Education Institution
Mar 2021 - May 2021

  • Leveraged data logs gathered by Splunk to drive insights and implement GitHub Classroom for RMIT School of Computing Technologies.
  • Developed dashboard drafts providing lecturers with visibility into online classroom activity.
  • Skills: Splunk, Dashboard, DevOps.

Research Scientist Intern at University Laboratory
Dec 2019 - Mar 2020

  • Contributed to developing a proof-of-concept workflow for early identification of valve disease signatures from ultrasound images of the heart.
  • Developed Python scripts and applied computer vision techniques for medical image interpretation.
  • Skills: Research, Literature Review, Data Analysis, Python, Colour Space Conversion, Segmentation, K-Nearest Neighbour, Features Extraction.

Research Scientist at Astronomy Research Institute
Apr 2016 - Nov 2019

  • Conducted in-depth studies on the enrichment of gaseous structures surrounding galaxies using the HIRES spectrograph.
  • Derived posterior probability distribution functions to estimate parameters of primordial structures.
  • Processed raw data collected from HIRES into clean spectra and published two research papers as the first author.
  • Presented research outcomes at national and international conferences.
  • Skills: Astrophysics, Research, Literature Review, Problem Solving, Data Analysis, Bayesian Statistics, Python, Scientific Writing, Public Speaking.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Astrophysics
Swinburne University of Technology | 2016 - 2020

  • Thesis Title: Near pristine gas in the early Universe.

Master of Science (MS) in Astrophysics and Subatomic Physics
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 | 2013 - 2015

Bachelor of Science (BS) in Physics
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 | 2011 - 2013

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Referred by

Geoffrey Donaldson
Chief Technology Officer at Black Box Co
February 28, 2024
I managed them directly

This individual always dives in, head first to any objective presented to them, regardless of if it's a familiar task, or a new challenge. They are a very considerate team member, always looking out for their colleagues, and searching for ways they can best support them. It was an honour to work with them, and would do so again, given the chance.