"Focus on being productive instead of busy."
"For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them."
Damian is passionate about technology, a tinkerer and problem-solver at heart, always learning something new to creatively solve challenging problems. A self-starter that requires minimal guidance, with a can-do attitude, and willingness to advance others through training and mentoring.
In the office, Damian has a proven track record delivering data solutions. Whether it is creating interactive dashboards that tell a story and drive business decisions, developing ETL pipelines that combine data from multiple sources, designing data warehouses to efficiently store information, or architecting and administering the servers that host these data platforms.
At home, Damian is usually busy with his 4 young kids. Taking the family on trips, hikes, bike rides, and enjoying life to the fullest. But after putting the kids to bed, Damian is usually tinkering with his headless linux server, websites, home networking, automation, AWS applications, or tweaking the software configurations on his home-made racing drones.
"I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail."
"Those people who develop the ability to continuously acquire new and better forms of knowledge that they can apply to their work and to their lives will be the movers and shakers in our society for the indefinite future."
Skills
Data Engineering
Developing data ecosystems through a decade of hands-on expertise, I excel in architecting robust ETL/ELT workflows with Python and SQL. Advocate for cutting-edge practices, I champion Infrastructure as Code (IaC), CI/CD pipelines, and embrace test-driven development to ensure seamless data delivery. My portfolio boasts the design of intricate multi-stage data warehouses, coupled with adept administration and fortification of cloud-based databases. I've spearheaded initiatives in data lineage establishment, fostering observability, and executing seamless data modeling projects and migrations.
Data Analytics
Navigating the intersection of data and insight, I lead the charge in crafting comprehensive analytics and business intelligence solutions. With a hands-on approach, I spearhead the development of end-to-end reporting solutions. I translate business requirements to technical specifications by taking the time to uncover the real needs of my stakeholders, then create interactive dashboards that simplify the consumption of millions of data points to drive business results. I have a track record of successfully executing modernization projects, migrating of reports to cutting-edge platforms, ensuring continuous evolution and optimization of data-driven strategies.
Architecture / System Administration
As a Snowflake account administrator, I drove a 36% cost reduction by optimizing warehouse utilization and rearchitecting role-based access controls (RBAC). Embracing cutting-edge practices, I utilized Infrastructure as Code (IaC) through Terraform, empowering seamless configuration changes and repaves. I oversaw every aspect of my team's Qlikview, Qlik Sense, and NPrinting servers. I designed a multi-tenant architecture that enabled developers from external teams to use the platform. Passionate about streamlining operations, I leverage automation to improve reliability across administrative tasks.
Leadership and Coaching
As a lead developer, I champion a collaborative leadership style that drives excellence and empowers individuals to reach their full potential. In my capacity as a certified instructor, I've demonstrated a knack for conveying complex concepts with clarity and enthusiasm, traveling on-site to deliver comprehensive courses spanning data model design, UI/UX, SQL, SSIS, and SSRS. As a speaker at the Central Ohio Tableau Think Tank, I was able to share interesting workarounds for complex design challenges to a regional audience of data professionals.
Project Management
Having worked with some of the best scrum masters in an enterprise setting, I have learned the value of using agile SDLC methodoology to produce iterative products and keep the stakeholders engaged. I am a champion for using tools like JIRA and Confluence to delegate work, which gives the team a sense of accountability and connectedness as well as a universal platform to maintain proper documentation.
Experience
JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Lead Software Developer
Oct 2016 - Present
Administer Snowflake account, design RBAC strategy, and optimize warehouse usage. Migrate on-premise pipelines to cloud, updating legacy SQL ETL to object-oriented Python and dbt ELT. Implement data lineage, observability and alerting. Utilize CI/CD and Terraform to ensure repaving capability. Architect multi-tiered Qlik Sense, Qlikview, and NPrinting server platforms
Digital Management, Inc.
Senior SQL Developer
Aug 2016 - Sep 2016
Consulting project focused on consolidating 6 legacy applications into a unified monolithic version. Responsible for designing and scripting the new consolidated OLTP database to support this architecture. Maintain cross-functional communication with application development team on constant changes needed to the data model to support new features.
Innosource - Result Data
BI Engineer / Consultant
Mar 2014 - Jul 2016
Managed my own projects directly with clients to deliver data warehousing and reporting solutions. Develop training materials and teach courses on SQL, SSIS, SSRS, and Qlik Tech products
Meeder Investment Management
Transfer Agency Specialist
Jun 2012 - Mar 2014
Responsible for the daily cost basis and markets reporting for the seven mutual funds under company management. In this role, I first taught myself to code and automate manual reporting, I reduced the time spent on daily tasks by 70% while eliminating user error
Nationwide Financial Services
Senior Financial Analyst
Apr 2009 - Jun 2012
As an analyst I evaluated customer retirement accounts (401k, 457b, 403b, 509C, mutual funds, and life insurance), developed reports, initiated mutual fund transactions, and helped train junior associates
Salem Media Group
Account Executive
Oct 2007 - Feb 2009
Sold and wrote copy for ad space for small to large businesses seeking to reach customers in our market
Certifications
- Qlikview & Qlik Sense Certified Trainer
- Qlik Sense Server Administrator
- Qlik Sense Business Analyst
- Qlik Sense Data Architect
- Qlikview Designer
- Qlikview Developer
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect
- AWS Certified Developer
- Tableau Qualified Associate
Projects
AWS Powered Home Video Recognition Transcoder
I record a lot of 4k video. This is one of my favorite ways to remember memories with family and friends. Unfortunately, creating a proper edit takes quite some time. But thankfully, services such as google and amazon photos run recognition software on the videos uploaded, which adds a lot of metadata, making it easy to search your library for the video you need. However, while this "recognition" metadata is added to all uploads, the price of storage is directly related to the size of the files.
That is why I created an app that watches my hard drive for new 4k raw video uploads, integrates with AWS to use cloud computing for fast, high-quality video compression, and finally returns these smaller files ready for uploads to my preferred recognition storage service. This will allow me to use the search feature to find people, places, even pets. All while maintaining the higher quality videos in my home server.
Product Finder SMS Notification Application
One day, I noticed my wife repeatedly refreshing a website. I asked, and she told me that she had been checking all day to make sure she didn't miss out when an item came back in stock. It turns out, even in 2022, some retailers still do not have these kinds of alerts set up for consumers.
What an excellent opportunity to solve this problem with a little programing! Thie application lives inside a docker container, it runs continually checking for an item to come back in stock. When a change is detected, an SMS notification is sent to the configured recepients
Headless Linux / Docker Home Server
Building a PC is something I have done many times. But having never used linux before, the idea of getting into it without the assistance of any GUI seemed like the sort of challenge that would force me to learn and imprint the basics of the Unix shell. Ultimately, I was able to get up and running without any real issues. The experience I gained with the command line is a springboard I have used for other projects.
Docker (and specfically docker-compose) was absolutely mind-blowing. After many years of dealing with applications having different dependencies or causing problems working in the same environment, the realization that containerization has solved 99% of those problems was very refreshing. I now run multiple applications for our home out of this simple server (network controls, automation, media, backups, file shares, websites, etc.) all behind a reverse-proxy to keep all these components hidden from would-be attackers while using Google's Oauth 2.0 API.
Qlik Sense and Qlikview Enterprise Platform
When I first joined JP Morgan, I was asked to build a handful of enterprise level dashboard applications while also maintaining a small group of legacy dashboards. But when my team was absorbed by a group that prioritized modernization, I took the opportunity to convince leadership to allow me to stand up my own Qlikview and Qlik Sense platforms.
I designed every aspect of a multi-server architecture using Qlikview, Qlik Sense, and NPrinting. I also created the application lifecycle and deployment methods for these multi-tennant environments. Including all of the security rules, as well as modernizing the section access and entitlements used by all developers and end users.
After a successful year managing these platforms, becoming familiar with the responsabilities of a system administrator, I initiated a plan to decommission the Qlikview servers. This 4 month project included converting all remaining Qlikview enterprise dashboards to Qlik Sense. I worked directly with multiple sets of stakeholders and end users to redesign the applications in the new platform. Ultimately, I was able to decommission the Qlikview servers and all of the associated licensing fees.
This Website!
I wanted to create this website from scratch as a learning experience to get a grasp of basic web development. I could have focused entirely on design and used one of the popular user friendly tools (squarespace, wix, etc.), but instead opted to code everything by hand.
This first version doesn't use any framework such as bootstrap, no libraries like jQuery, velocity, etc. But I plan to include these in future iterations as time allows
Class of 2007