Cover Letters
Stormpulse
I have been working as a GIS analyst for the City of Denton for the past 3 years, but my passion is software development. This summer I've been working on a Python program (https://github.com/dogtato/dbfutil) I created to replace a two-day process that has to be done each month. I made a small program that could do the same task in a few hours and only required about 15 minutes of set up before clicking Run. The current version of the program does the entire task in around 10 minutes, including setup.
I rebooted the project to refresh my skills and to create a great program that could supplement my resume. Creating a program mostly from scratch, I have to constantly learn new things, and being the sole developer, it doesn't matter how daunting or baffling the problem is because there's no one else to do it. One of my favorite parts was transitioning from a Tkinter GUI to pygtk, which let me create a much more attractive, powerful, and usable interface.
I also enjoy creating documentation, because I like having documentation when I use a program. Frustrated with the bare-bones documentation ESRI has built in to its software, I made a MediaWiki install on my website (http://dogtato.net/giswiki) and started using that to document different data and projects. I've always made it a point to document code well, whether it's a personal project, a homework assignment, or something meant for broader consumption.
My non-professional passion is Capoeira, the Brazilian art that's a blend of martial arts, dance, and gymnastics. I can't claim to be a master, or even an expert, but I teach anyone I can find who's willing to learn. The Denton area has very few people to practice with though, which is part of why I want to move to Austin where there's a large community.
The word "Senior" in the job title makes me worry I don't have the quantity of experience you're looking for, and for that I hope my code speaks well for me. But in my opinion, everything about the position (a love of developing, Python, GIS, Linux, smaller company, Austin) matches my skills and interests. As I mentioned, I've worked for the City of Denton for three years and counting, and that has been as an independent contractor.
