Hi, I'm Aleksandar

I'm a coder, a musician, beyond the ordinary

There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning. - Jiddu Krishnamurti

Who am I professionally?

I'm building software using Javascript on all platforms. I use modern web technologies, with pragmatism in mind, to deliver high-quality software.

My process of solving problems and delivering software is based on understanding and researching the problem based on the criteria, requirements, and specifications, after which appropriate technology and approach are applied.

My experience has thought me to focus on one task at a time and I believe that quality comes from focus and understanding of the problem. I'm not a big supporter of multitasking (unless under pressure) because it simply can't deliver the results of a focused mind.

I'm driven by building software that people love to use and nothing drives me more than the feel of thousands or millions of people using something I've helped building. I find great pride in this and even greater responsibility.

To share how I feel about software and the process of its creation, I'll share two of my favorite quotes:

"Programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute." - Harold Abelson, Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs


"I like my code to be elegant and efficient. The logic should be straightforward and make it hard for bugs to hide, the dependencies minimal to ease maintenance, error handling complete according to an articulated strategy, and performance close to optimal so as not to tempt people to make the code messy with unprincipled optimizations. Clean code does one thing well." - Bjarne Stroustrup, Clean Code

Who am I as a person?

I'm easy to get along person. I live under the belief that no matter what we do, speaking of a product, event, band, family, all greatness comes from synergy and mutual commitment. In very rare occasions, any of the examples I listed work out on the individual level. A group with the same interest has to exist as a single living organism. While this is an ultimate challenge, optimism, positive energy, empathy and/or any other feelings that make us human, contribute to this idea.

I'm a very positive person and since I was gifted with such internal mechanism, I try to share it with others. I believe that the biggest killer of motivation and productivity is negativity and bad vibes. To do good work, to produce good music, to be a good team, good energy is required.

Aleksandar's specs (metaphorical)

  • Quantum CPU
  • 180 pebibytes of RAM
  • SSD Unlimited Storage
  • Highly durable battery up to 36 hours - super-fast recharging
  • Supports all operating systems
  • Works better in LAN / WAN
  • Uptime 99.9%
  • 100% up-to-date
  • Friendly user interface
  • Affordable
  • Integratable into any environment

Aleksandar Grbic

What did I work on?

Keep in mind that I'm always trying to keep my CV more or less relevant, therefore, I often modify it in a sense that if some technologies or experiences become irrelevant, I will simply remove them from here. I will keep those that I find relevant for the positions that I might be interested in.

Airtame May 2017 — Present

Senior Software Engineer
Airtame is a device for streaming content wirelessly. Plug it into the HDMI port on your TV or projector and share your screen from any device.
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Javascript, HTML5 API's, NodeJS, React, Electron, C++, AWS S3, Cloudfront
  • Built the Javascript library for the official company website
  • Working in the application team, responsible for building a desktop application for ChromeOS, macOS, Windows, and Linux. Application is running on more than 500 000 computers worldwide
  • Supporting and contributing to internal UI library built with web components (Stencil)
  • Working with several different teams when necessary, design, support, content writers, sales

Thinkful Feb 2016 — Present

Technical Expert & Career Path Mentor
1-on-1 learning to accelerate your way to a new high-growth tech career.
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HTML5 Semantics, CSS3, Javascript and Native API's, React, Angular, Node, CS
  • Teaching modern web development stack
  • Preparing students from very basics of HTML and CSS, all the way to building full stack Javascript applications
  • Preparing students for interviews and Computer Science related subjects
  • Assisted curriculum team with providing better teaching materials

SOFIA Ltd Nov 2015 — Feb 2017

Senior Software Engineer
An Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven app that helps STEM students and professionals enhance their understanding and confidence.
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mongoDB, Node, Angular, React, Redis, Neo4j
  • Worked with Eduard Siregar, NASA scientist, and Math / Physics professor. Had an amazing journey and a chance to learn from one of the most impressive intellectuals I've ever met.
  • Built the prototype of the AI agent along with several graph data models using neo4j and MongoDB (used neo4j doc manager to convert flat MongoDB documents into graphs)
  • Built the proxy-like API which "mapped" the SOFIA engine to the web and exposed it to the Frontend Angular application
  • Built restful API which "mapped" the SOFIA engine to the web and exposed it to the Frontend Angular application
  • Built the entire Frontend application in Angular 1.4 along with several libraries to complement specific use-cases we couldn't find in the community. The application was mainly feeding on the Node API and was completely decoupled. Authentication was done using JSON Web Tokens and security using some community built modules
  • Participated in business decisions, market research and investor relations

Cirons Nov 2015 — Jan 2016

Senior Software Engineer - Consultant
Cirons offers your company complete control when it comes to running your business operations - All day to day details of your business will be found in one place. You will have a complete overview of all aspects of your company, including accounting, invoicing, expenses and many more features as and when you need it.
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Angular, PHP, Laravel, Node
  • Part time assistance and guidance during technical accelerator in Helsingborg, Sweden
  • Refactored the entire frontend application from jQuery to Angular
  • Application profiling and security audit
  • SCRUM planning

UPBIS Oct 2013 — Oct 2015

Senior Software Engineer
Upbis is the commercial platform built around the needs of the modern enterprise to do business online. Where companies network with their market, discover new customers and automate businesses opportunities and sales with our innovative matchmaking engine.
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mongoDB, Node, Angular, Redis, Elastic Search
  • Developed next-gen B2B marketplace that disrupts how companies do trading and communication online
  • The application was built using MEAN stack with some additions like ElasticSearch and Redis
  • Helped with the market research, market validation and applied all the knowledge from Lean Startup and the knowledge we gained through 6 months of a technical accelerator
  • Participated in startup demo days and pitched directly in front of investors

Hyper Studio (sole-trader) Feb 2012 — Sep 2013

PHP Freelancer
  • Worked as a web freelancer on freelance.com and freelancer.com
  • Built several WordPress and Javascript plugins
  • Built a massive PHP website for the company in Australia which is no longer operating
  • Built some services using C# and started personal game project

SweaSAT Jan 2009 — Nov 2011

Mid-level web developer & Network Administrator
SweaSAT is a Wireless ISP company providing professional ICT services to small and medium size businesses.

  • After a short internship in Belgrade (Beotel), I got hired as the main Mikrotik network administrator and web developer
  • With my team, I successfully configured and routed 16 wirelessly connected access point stations in a radius of 55km. Access point stations were stationed on the highest solitaries and water towers in town, being directly linked to each other, distributing internet either using Omni or Pacific antennas
  • Configured radius and log server
  • Directly worked with customers and companies, making sure we provide enterprise safe and stable internet
  • Built static and dynamic websites for local enterprises
  • Optimized SEO and Google adwords

Education

Computer Science and Business Communications 2012 — 2015

University of Technical Sciences Empirica
  • C++, C#, .NET
  • Four modules of Cisco CCNA
  • SCRUM and Agile Development
  • Server administration with Windows Server and Debian
  • UML
  • Business communications

Besides my university, I have successfully finished all the free MIT courses on computer science along with CS50 from Harvard. I did this mainly to refresh my memory on CS related subjects and also to utilize free resources and learn from top universities and curriculum in the world.

Think Accelerate Sep 2015 — Nov 2015

Think
Growing Promising Startups in Southern Sweden
  • Lean Startup
  • Scrum
  • Business operations and negotiation workshops
  • Various business workshops
  • Project management