Gareth Baars

Gareth Baars

Junior Hardware Technician (Part Time)

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location of Gareth BaarsAmsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

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  • Timeline

  • About me

    Cofounder & CEO, Intent Architect | Helping software development teams build >2x faster while improving quality and consistency in their codebases. In a pragmatic way. At a fraction of the cost.

  • Education

    • St. Johns College, Johannesburg

      2000 - 2003
      IEB Matric

      Received Full Colours for Art (2003)Distinction received in Mathematics (2003)Distinction received in Science (2003)Passed with A Aggregate

    • GIBS Business School (Gordon Institute of Business Science)

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    • GIBS Business School (Gordon Institute of Business Science)

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    • University of Cape Town

      2004 - 2008
      BSc Computer & Eletrical Engineering (Honours)

      Activities and Societies: Golden Key International Honour Society Dean's Merit List (2004, 2006)14 Distinctions, including a distinction for the Thesis ProjectClass Medal (2007)Top Thesis Presenter, presented at the Engineering Open Day (2008)

  • Experience

    • CafeVIVA

      Jan 2007 - Jan 2007
      Junior Hardware Technician (Part Time)

      Responsibilities included building PCs, troubleshooting hardware problems, installing software and drivers, and upgrading hardware components.Additional responsibilities included operated as a till clerk, transacting sales and giving advice to customers.

    • Open Box Software

      Jan 2008 - Jan 2008
      Junior Developer

      Worked with a team of three on the Issue Management System in extending functionality, debugging and maintenance.Restructured and upgraded the official Openbox website (www.openboxsoftware.com).Achieved competence in the various layers of the web development model from client-side presentation to server-side logic.Developed lasting friendships with several other employees.

    • Educos Payroll & Human Capital Software Solutions

      Mar 2009 - Apr 2010
      Database Developer

      Chosen as a junior member of a specialized team of database developers. This team managed the Educos Vision product and was given the technically challenging and mission critical projects.Achieved a high level of competence with the T-SQL language.Developed various configuration tools which allowed rapid creation and deployment of database configurations.Implemented a Script Management application which revolutionized the management of the company’s large-scale DB scripting. Show less

    • Syngenuity Software

      Apr 2010 - Jan 2011
      Founder, System Architect & Developer

      Designed and developed a Java based Enterprise Management application framework.Acquired a deep understanding of the inner workings of Java Swing (architecture, performance, Java2D, customized components, etc).Gained experience in numerous state-of-the-art Java frameworks and APIs.Successfully delivered several websites for small businesses and individuals.Gained a firsthand understanding of the realities of business and the software industry.

    • Dariel

      Jan 2011 - Nov 2015
      Software Solutions Architect

      I joined Dariel because of their reputation for excellence in software architecture, consulting and exceptional people.During my time at Dariel, I was given the privileged of working with some of the best solution architects and developers in South Africa. It was here that I gained a deep understanding and appreciation for the challenges in building large enterprise software systems.Over the 5 years, I worked on several projects and software audits, though the most significant was in leading the development of a large enterprise software system:Dariel was selected to build a hotel management solution for a popular hotel chain in South Africa. It was a large and complex system (encompassing hotel management, reservations, stays, availability, account management, invoicing, reporting & analytics, etc.) and had stringent non-functional requirements (performance, high concurrency, security, long-term maintainability & extendibility, guaranteed transactional consistency, etc.). I lead the technical delivery of the system and over the course of two and half years designed, developed, and ran the team that built this system. We followed a DDD (Domain Driven Design) philosophy, using principles and patterns of SOA, CQRS, Event-based Architecture and Microservices. We ultimately delivered the project within the timelines, with a smooth and issue-free rollout, and the project was (and probably still is) considered one of Dariel's greatest technical successes.My primary responsibilities included: • Team leading & delivery management • System architecture • Establishing design patterns • Business analysis & system design • Implementation of complex system components Show less

    • Inoxico

      Nov 2015 - May 2018
      CTO (Chief Technical Officer)

      Lead the team that developed the Inoxico software products from the ground up, taking the business from a struggling startup to a profitable, sustainable scale-up.Software is at the heart of Inoxico's business, and the domain is full of challenges, particularly in data management. We successfully utilized Intent Architect as a code-automation tool, which drastically boosted developer productivity, allowed us to run a predominantly junior team, and ensured both functional & architectural flexibility as business needs evolved.As the CTO of Inoxico, my responsibilities included: • Setting up an agile SDLC (Processes, CI, Automated-deployments, etc.) • Recruitment of software developers, QA specialists, and Business Analysts • Architecture of the software systems (we followed a Microservices, DDD, and Message-oriented architectural style, using AngularJS (and later Angular) for a rich & responsive SPA user experience) • Seamlessly replacing the problematic & poorly architected legacy systems • Project and team management • Analysis & design of the systems (ensuring that functionality met business needs, and avoiding unnecessary costs and waste) • Contributing to business and product strategy • Overseeing the hardware infrastructure, backups, fail-over and DR (Disaster Recovery) strategies. • Software and network security • Managing the business' technical risk Show less

    • Intent Architect

      Feb 2016 - now
      Founder & CEO

      A next-generation software development platform that puts software developers and architects coding in high-level languages in full control of their software's design & architecture. Ensuring standardization, consistency & quality of their codebases and allowing them and their teams to deliver in a fraction of the time.Developers & architects that use Intent Architect:► Develop much faster (at least 2x) with more accuracy and quality► Save time by automating their predictable and repetitive work► Control their coding standards and architecture automatically► Self-document their systems to align business and developers► Ramp up new developers in less than half the time► Avoid legacy systems by making technology and architecture upgrades retroactivelyPlus:► It's configurable to work with your architecture & coding standards► Doesn't create any vendor lock-in or runtime dependencies► Is perfect for new projects, rewrites and building microservicesIntent Architect is currently being used by 100s of developers from fast-paced SMBs like Teljoy & Rain, software development houses like DVT, Agile Bridge, The Delta & Happen Software, as well as corporates like WTW, Sasfin Bank & The Foschini Group - across Europe, South Africa, Australasia, India and the UK.Intent Architect currently offers advanced language support for C#/.NET, Java, and Typescript (e.g. Node.js, React, Angular).For more information contact us at [email protected] or visit www.intentarchitect.com. Show less

  • Licenses & Certifications

    • Sun Certified Java Developer SE6 (2010)

      Jan 2010
    • Sun Certified Java Programmer SE6 (2010 - passed with distinction)

      Jan 2010
    • Certified A+ Technician

      CompTIA
      Jan 2001