Hi, I'm George Butiri!

Problem Solver Extraordinaire!

Well balanced, father of two, husband, Aries, and cat dad. But, most importantly, I'm a programmer. I've been a programmer since I was 11 years old. I remember my first computer was a TI-99. You know, the one you plugged in the back of the TV? Well, I didn't have any way of saving my line number BASIC code, so I had to re-write the same code over and over to play the games. I got really good at writing BASIC code.

* I speak in memes and quote from older TV shows quite a bit.

"I've done a lot in my life... I intend to do more." - George Butiri

My Portfolio

Crypto-Currencies and APIs

After having created so many APIs in the past, I decided to use some existing ones too. I really enjoy APIs and their versatility. I also started looking into bitcoins and other crypto-currencies. Fascinating stuff. So, I decided to make a program that runs periodically to check prices of crypto-currency prices. Using the Coinbase API, I check for prices and make a purchase or sale depending on a formula that Robert Lichello came up with a while back. It's called the AIM formula, and it's a great tool for stock investment. Since Bitcoins are very similar to stocks, I decided to apply the formula using that Coinbase API and I've been pretty happy with the results over the past 6 months.

"If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything." - Albert Einstein

ActingShowcase.com

I did some amateur acting when I lived in Ohio. None of the projects that I got involved in really went anywhere, so I decided to start producing myself. It wasn't easy, but I managed to squeeze in a couple of feature length films, along with several short films. Won some awards, but filming itself got harder and harder. So, using my skills of programming, I created a system. An MS Access database and an interface made in VB Script (ASP).

That project kept evolving and growing until it became a talent website where producers can meet actors via an online video interface that used the TokBox (OpenTok) platform. It was an instant hit. There are more phases planned out for it, but for now, it's good enough. Check it out sometime by visiting the website itself.


Explainer Video

One thing I made for ActingShowcase.com was an explainer video to explain why anyone would use the website.

I directed the video, edited it and added some minor illustrations. The audio and video assets were acquired from fiverr.com. The total cost of the video was under $100.


LaunchMaps.com

A map interface where you can find jobs for cool companies. I also built this project from the ground up. Not only did it have a lot of front end involvement from connecting to google maps api, to customizing the marker clusters, but I created a whole backend admin area where the owner / recruiter could utilize to recruit potential candidates.

I created a backend engine that would scrape jobs from 12 different ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) including taleo and jazz.

I also created an API that recruiters could use to query information that the engine collected. And, I went out of my comfort zone to create an extension that recruiters could also use to blast out HTML emails regarding company / job information.


TwoMartinis.com

This was the website dedicated to all (if not most) of my video projects. Everything from Crops, the movie to commercials for Heinz contests.

Some of these won me several awards; two Telly Awards and four Communicator Awards to be exact. A few of the project even won some film festivals for best editing and best writing.

Crops, for example was a project where we had about 70 cast and crew on set one time. It was a big scene. My software that ended up becoming actingshowcase.com helped schedule, plan, and even print individual sides for the actors involved sorted by scenes to be shot that day. It was an incredible experience, and I learned to appreciate the big box office movies even more.


CROPS

This was my second featured film. It won a few awards and festivals. It's not a Michael Bay picture, and definitely didn't have a Michael Bay budget. The whole thing cost approximately $10k.

The development process of this film influenced me to make actingshowcase.com


CI Core

This website was built on CI-Core. It's a platform that is supposed to be a CMS, and keeps the developer in mind. The customization factor is very high as one could build anything with the help of a developer. Always evolving, growing, and expanding, new updates find their way into the system depending on what the needs are.


PEGAStudios.com

I created the PEGA Studios website http://pegastudios.com after my son encouraged me to make some games. They're not very complex games, but they're quite fun if you give them a chance. I love creating things from the ground up, so games only came natural. Considering the fact that I have had experience working with a game publisher before.

The games are hybrid apps done with Cordova / Phonegap, and basic HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Enjoy.



Awards and Certificates

"We are Universe experiencing itself." - Allan Watts

Certified Scrum Master

Having been exposed to scrum since I used to live and work in the Netherlands, I sure did enjoy the process. I enjoyed it so much that I applied it to every work place I've been. It's been amazing to see the changes that take place and how much more efficient everything is when it's used. And then, in the summer of 2016, I went even further. I got certified!

Patent for Parking Permit

Working with my friend from Germany on an idea, we thought we would try to get a patent. Of course it's not easy getting a patent, so it took us a while. The patent is basically for a sticker identifier system that gets scanned and parking payment is verified. The driver (or parker) can check their balance, and add more time directly from a downloadable app.

Magento U

When I worked for CrimsonWing, back in the Netherlands, they were a Magento shop. Not knowing too much Magento, they sent me to a course in Amsterdam. It was something special. I learned just how complex Magento was. And we only touched the tip of the iceberg. I learned that it was too complex for my tastes.


6 Telly awards

The Telly Awards is the premier award honoring the finest film and video productions, groundbreaking web commercials, videos and films, and outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs from around the world. The Telly Awards recognize winners with Silver and Bronze awards.

After creating several video projects, I decided to put my talents up to the industry standard. I compared very well, considering that I won a total of 6 Tellys across multiple projects.


4 Communicator Awards

The Communicator Awards is the leading international awards program recognizing big ideas in marketing and communications. Founded over two decades ago, The Communicator Awards receives over 6,000 entries from companies and agencies of all sizes, making it one of the largest awards of its kind in the world.

Similar to the Telly Awards, I've created other projects and submitted them to the Communicator Awards standard test. I didn't get as many awards as the Tellys, but it definitely made me appreciate what video producers have to go through to stand the quality test.

My Resume

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein

You might be wondering why I have so many work places on my resume. I'd like to look at it as experience. Imagine how valuable someone is when they've experienced a dozen different companies and how they do things.

You might want to check out this Medium article I wrote regarding this concept of "job hopping". Don't agree with me? Write me sometime, and let's discuss.


Web Developer at CoinNinja.com

Akron, OH

April 2018 - April 2019
  • Rebuilt coinninja.com/news. Migrated it from WordPress to custom CMS.
  • Lunch and learn sessions regarding AIM formula.
  • Demo of concepts for trading on the crypto currency exchange.
  • Created the map integration for the DropBit app

Technologies Used

LAMP, PHP, JavaScript, AWS, jQuery, CSS, HTML, Jira, Trello, Pyro CMS, CodeIgniter, MS Power Point, MS Excel, Google Docs


Web Development Director at Ink Agency

Irvine, CA

May 2016 - April 2018
  • Salvaged tire.yokohama.ca by managing the redevelopment of the entire website.
  • Rebuilt the yokohama.ca website working with the creative team and account managers in one month using a secret weapon.
  • Created a custom CMS for yokohama.ca that helped reduce turn around time for updates, increased performance and efficiency, and put the power back in their hands.
  • Added value in the decision making process to improve efficiency across the whole web development department
  • Renewed the client retainer by redesigning the yokohamatire.com websites (plus yokohamatruck.com and yokohamaotr.com).
  • Maintained code in PyroCMS (CodeIgniter) and Laravel
  • Used Laravel for cron jobs and scripts
  • Rebuilt the yokohamatire.com website using the same technology as the yokohama.ca website
  • Leveraged the scrum process in combination with usage of tools like Trello and Jira in order to minimize noise for development and plan production with the least amount of misunderstanding
  • Lead development on the new Brainspace website using WordPress
  • Used hubspot to create email templates and landing page templates
  • Conducted lunch and learn sessions to educate others about web development

Technologies Used

LAMP, PHP, JavaScript, AWS, jQuery, CSS, HTML, Jira, Trello, Pyro CMS, CodeIgniter, MS Power Point, MS Excel, Google Docs


Lead Web Developer at CBS Corporation

Burbank, CA

Jan 2015 - Mar 2016
  • Managed a team of 4 developers and one QA.
  • Working to bring several properties to WordPress.
  • Building custom plug-ins for existing WordPress sites.
  • Creating a sustainable yet simple deployment process using Git.
  • Set up Continuous Integration.
  • Wrote documentation for development and deployment processes.
  • Kept servers chugging away through utilization of GIT and apache maintenance.
  • Implemented scrum agile process using Jira.
  • Worked directly with Director of Engineering to develop and implement SDLC.

Technologies Used

LAMP, PHP, JavaScript, jQuery, CSS, HTML, Jira, Scrum


Senior Front-End Developer at T.E.N. (Source Interlink)

Irvine, CA

Jan 2012 - Dec 2014
  • Managed front-end development for the automotive.com, motortrend.com and other Source Interlink properties using jQuery, CSS, HTML5 and AJAX.
  • Worked in a WordPress environment, back-end and front-end to manage blogs for Source Interlink Properties using WordPress' internal system and jQuery for front end manupilation, as well as pure JavaScript for sticky ads.
  • Lead developer on a pushState site for blogs.automotive.com.
  • Implemented proper use of SVN Repository for multi developer environment.
  • Performance enhancements to speed up websites.
  • Created Responsive / Adaptive design for cardomain.com
  • Used Bamboo deployment processes integrated with Jira to release code into the wild.

Technologies Used

jQuery, CSS, HTML, Jira, SASS, JavaScript


Senior Web Developer at Spil Games

Hilversum, Netherlands

May 2010 - December 2012
  • Maintained code on the Zapapa Framework for Hyves games.
  • Maintained code on the Teens game portal and CMS in a Scrum team.
  • Setup and designed pages in Drupal for corporate site.
  • Built several tools, i.e. Jira card printer and translations importer.
  • Proposed new design for all gaming portals with unified code base.
  • Helped other teams with UI and CSS.
  • Used Jira integrated with Confluence and Bamboo for code documentation and continuous integration.

Technologies Used

LAMP, PHP, jQuery, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, Cake PHP, Jira, Confluence, Bamboo


UI / UX Web Developer at American Greetings

Cleveland, OH

Feb 2007 - Mar 2010
  • Laid out billboards for AmericanGreetings.com using databases to organize dates.
  • Created newsletters using basic HTML, Javascript, and CSS to meet web mail standards across most email clients and browsers, and spam filters.
  • Helped with UI layout and design on an iPhone application project.
  • Worked closely with business managers, and artists to implement graphics, advertisements, banners, Flash modules, mocks and templates.
  • Worked closely with business managers to implement translations for image graphics for the kiwee.com website.
  • Designed template creation software to be used in house to make template layout easier to implement using PHP and MySQL.
  • Aided in the design of several applications with the Flash Team at AmericanGreetings.com.
  • Created a tool for “Hack Day 08”.
  • Programmed and maintained billboard advertisement modules, and helped in their implementation.

Technologies Used

jQuery, CSS, HTML, JavaScript, PhotoShop, Dreamweaver, MS Excel


Part-Time Instructor at Remington College

North Olmsted, OH

Jan 2006 - Feb 2007
  • Worked closely with students to help them gain self confidence in use of software packages.
  • Brought real world examples into the classrooms to demonstrate use of software.
  • Taught VB Script and MS Office.

Technologies Used

MS Office, MS Word, MS Excel, MS Access, MS Power Point


QA at Sony (SCEA)

San Diego, CA

Aug 2003 - Oct 2004
  • Tested MLB 2005
  • Network support for online games, such as My Street, and SOCOM 2.
  • Documented and reported online abuse and spam.

Technologies Used

File Manager Pro, VCR, PlayStation 2

If you need to get a PDF version of my resume, click below to download.

 

Personal Life

Hobbies

Piano

Volunteer for my son's PTA Website

Skydiving

Independent Film Production

Can solve Rubik's cube in 2 minutes and 40 seconds.

Chess

My son's Youtube Channel

Video Editing


Places I've Lived

The world is huge! It's full of wonder and mysteries, and I've traveled enough to see its similarities, and what makes every place unique. People are pretty much the same everywhere you go. Work is work no matter where you are. But the difference is in the details. And so is its beauty. Below are some of the coolest places I've had the chance to live.

Romania

The Netherlands

Maine

Ohio

California

Contact Me