Contact
About
David is a technologist, full-stack web developer and project manager, specialising in open source and customised applications. With a client-driven focus, David applies detailed knowledge of web technologies and IT security to his work: frontend/backend development, UI & UX design, system administration, operations and end-user support.
His passions are users, accessibility, engaging user experiences (UX), open source, Python, JavaScript and Linux. His experience extends to various other languages and technologies, enthusiastically investigating and adapting to unseen (and challenging) IT environments.
David's personal strengths are his attention to detail, adaptability and initiative, problem solving ability, ability to communicate and professional integrity. He believes in openness and honesty, advocating for users and fostering communities; he is an organiser of a regional developers' group and actively maintains/contributes to open source software.
He once recovered a very expensive electron microscope by restoring an ancient Solaris hard drive bit-by-bit (literally), has hiked islands and the outback to install technology and programmed and debugged live underwater electronics.
Profiles
Employment
DavidJB Consulting 2016 — Present
Independent IT project consulting
Security research and vulnerability reporting
Web app prototyping & development
Software code analysis, review and report production
Professional development, training & user support
James Cook University 2014-05-31 — Present
Developer & administrator of web applications for researchers, research projects, University community and the public. Lead developer, project manager, security and technical consultant for research and corporate enterprise, with a focus on UX and delivering engaging experiences by creating user-friendly tools. Platforms primarily built in JavaScript (React, Express) and Python (Django, Pyramid, Bottle, Flask), but also PHP, Shell and other technologies.
Lead developer of core University projects, including JCU Research Portfolio, ORCID iD Linker, Research@JCU, JCU Journals
System administrator & technical operations lead, eResearch Centre
Project manager & maintainer of JCU Advanced Standing Credit Portal
Maintainer and lead of open source projects, including Nginx Shibboleth integration
Creator of the JCU CookBook and JCU Content Distribution Network (CDN)
Operator/implementer of automated status monitoring tools
Supervision & mentoring of project staff, tertiary/work experience students
Member of University's Change Advisory Board (CAB); Equity Contact Officer (ECO); Mental Health Working Group
Technical representative for ORCID and Australian ORCID consortium
Technical advisor for Research Data Management (RDM) systems, policies and practices
Designer & developer of CMS websites, including JCU America, CVI Heritage and Classroom on the Reef
Physical hardware services (underwater streaming for Orpheus Island, 3D Vislab)
James Cook University 2011-05-02 — 2014-05-31
System administrator delivering services to Australian researchers in areas such as medicine, biodiversity, climate change and agriculture. Custom web application and micro-service development for research projects, University departments and individual researchers. Platforms primarily built in Python (Pyramid, Plone), frontend mapping libraries (Leaflet/OpenLayers) and web technologies.
Developer/project manager of eSpaces.edu.au – collaborative workspaces with federated access to all researchers from Australia and New Zealand
Developer/project manager of ACCLAiM – secure medical examiner portal
DevOps for secure portals including Cyclone Testing Station and Tropical Data Hub
Installation and customisation of JCU Journals (research journal hosting)
Creation of University-wide feedback application
Development of research tools: AgMudmap.org, TerrestrialClimateChange.org.au, IUCN Climate Change Specialist Group
James Cook University 2010-01-01 — 2011-05-01
Application development and deployment of tools to support students, staff and researchers in for day-to-day operations, data storage and collaboration. Rapid development & deployment of platforms to meet stakeholder requirements from external organisations such as the Gold Coast City Council and RMIT. Platforms primarily built using Python, HTML, CSS and associated tooling.
Creation of Gold Coast City Council beach health portal, online hub for RMIT University Design Research Institute
DevOps for e-Graduate Research School platform, eGRS
Developer of JCU Spaces – mini collaborative workspaces for data sharing
Supervision of development staff and casual support staff
RHEL virtual machine operations
James Cook University 2008-12-03 — 2009-12-31
Part of the School's IT support team, the role involved the creation and maintenance of software platforms to support day-to-day operations as well as research projects.
Created Plone CMS-based portals for JCU schools and faculty staff
Developed portals for University of Queensland researchers (SCORe, QFAB)
DevOps for stand-alone, web-based interactive research tools
Website development and migration (research projects, conferences)
ARCHER Project 2007-09-17 — 2008-12-02
The Australian Researcher Enabling Environment (ARCHER) project produced dedicated software tools for researchers to collect, store and securely share data with collaborators. The project supported generalised research software tools such as those for communication, search, replication and backup and electronic publication, providing access on a national scale.
Delivered nationally-utilised Australian research platforms
IT developer using Plone-based collaborative workspace technology (Python, JavaScript, HTML, CSS)
System operations within RedHat Linux and CentOS environments
User support and requirements gathering
Operator of room-based AccessGrid and video conferencing tools
Projects
LiXiA Living Infrastructure 2019-07-24 — 2020-09-30
Creation of rapidly-prototyped React-based tablet interface for interacting with proprietary sensor platform; a modern, responsive website for the company; design and implementation of secure, physical networking infrastructure and technology required to support a startup business.
React & JavaScript programming
Startup bootstrapping (domain, website, email)
Cloud migration and configuration
Network installation and training
WordPress development
Network deployment and configuration
Lead developer
IT & security consultant
Security Reports (CVEs) 2018 — Present
2021: MFA Vulnerability, Private Company
2020: Login Vulnerabilities, Private Company
CVE-2019-8063: Adobe Creative Cloud
CVE-2018-4105: Apple APFS password input
2018: Application Vulnerabilities, Private Company
Media appearances 2016 — Present
ABC National News & Radio (2018-07-18): My Health Record
ABC Local Radio (2016): Townsville Startup Weekend
QUT (2016-05-12): Pop-up 'maker space' launched to inspire Townsville
WIN local news (2016-05-16): MixHaus
Food Rescue Initiative 2016-06-13 — 2016-07-12
Open source software review & testing
Presentation preparation & delivery
Focus group leader
Code reviewer
Workshop facilitator
Volunteering
DevNQ 2016-05-12 — Present
Software development community connecting people events, mentoring, workshops and more in Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
Member of organising committee since 2018
Regular event presenter
Open governance author & contributor
Gateway to Industry Schools Program 2020-07-01 — Present
Queensland Government program linking secondary school students, parents and educators to the ICT industry.
Providing professional development to secondary teachers
Reviewing educational content with industry input
Young ICT Explorers 2015-09-01 — 2019-12-31
Non-profit competition for school students to create and present their best ICT-related projects. Groups of students present to panels of industry judges to receive mentoring and assessment.
Interviewing & mentoring school students
Judging of ICT project entries
MixHaus 2015-12-16 — 2016-12-31
Community-operated makerspace for the Townsville community. A team of locals collaborated to create a mobile, ‘pop-up’ makerspace in a shipping container for community workshops.
Design contribution and physical construction
Workshop participant and community champion
Startup Townsville 2015-09-01 — 2019-01-01
Local community organisation dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship in North Queensland.
Meetup organiser and treasurer (2016-2019)
Organiser of Townsville Startup Weekend 2015 & 2016
STEM Professionals in Schools 2015-10-01 — 2017-01-01
CSIRO-run program for connecting volunteer STEM professionals to local schools and teachers.
Volunteer IT professional in school
Technical advisor to teachers
Course planning and assistance
Education
James Cook University 2008-01-01 — 2008-12-31
James Cook University 2005-01-01 — 2007-12-31
Awards
TropEco Sustainable Campuses Award
For creating an e-waste recovery process after recovering over $12,000 worth of equipment for staff, student and community group usage. Received Highly Commended TropEco Excellence Award – Staff for the same project.
Green Impact – Highest Scoring Team
For achieving all targets in the Green Impact project: successfully re-purposing e-waste, obtaining a team bicycle to get around on campus, sharing home-grown produce, improving recycling and producing a highly motivational video on correct bin usage.
Friends of Student Life Award
For the creation of the JCU Credit Calculator, allowing students to request credit for studies completed elsewhere. The previous system was unfriendly, required weeks of data entry annually & was cost-prohibitive. eResearch Centre built a modern React-based, fit-for-purpose tool that automatically integrates with other databases, with a simple, engaging user experience that cost a fraction of previous annual fees.
Community Digital Champion
Chosen as a Digital Champion for work in the digital and entrepreneurship spaces to share knowledge and experiences with the local community
Staff Excellence Award
Awarded for lead development of the JCU Research Portfolio, an interactive web profile for all researchers at the University
University Medal (Bachelor Honours)
Hunter Medal in Computer Science
University Medal (Bachelor Coursework)
Skills
Web Development
JavaScript (such as Node.js, React)
Python frameworks (such as Django, Pyramid)
HTML/CSS/SCSS
UI and UX Design
Websites and CMS (WordPress/Plone/Squiz Matrix)
Applications & Deployment
Configuration management (SaltStack, Vagrant)
Web application hosting
Cloud & on-premise hosting (Amazon AWS, OpenStack, Docker)
Project management
Hardware-centric systems & environmental sensor platforms
Programming
Python/JavaScript/Node.js
Open source development
Documentation writing & code review
Version control & management (Git, Mercurial, SVN)
System Administration
Linux/UNIX (RedHat, Debian, Ubuntu, FreeBSD)
Web servers (Nginx, Apache) & app hosting
Server configuration
Automated systems management & monitoring
End-user communication & support
Embedded devices
Security
Server configuration, testing & hardening
Software risk and vulnerability analysis
Web security (HTTPS, TLS, JWT)
Authentication (Shibboleth, OIDC, SSO)
Other
Class C Driver's Licence
First Aid Certificate
Languages
Interests
Technology
- Open source & community
- Node.js, Python, all languages
- Home automation
- Security
- UX/UI
- Web development
- Innovation & startups
Personal
- Rose gardening
- Home DIY
- Fruiting trees & plants
- Cooking