Nicholas Shepard

About

Originally from a humanities background, I found my calling as an engineer because I wanted to amplify my impact and make a positive change in the world. Years later, software engineering has become both my profession and my passion. I love solving challenging technical problems, creating technology that centers users in the design process, and using my years of multidisciplinary experience to communicate and teach computer science in a way that's accessible to everyone. In my free time I enjoy building games and educational mobile apps in Unity and competing across North America as a West Coast Swing dancer.

  • Bachelors: Dartmouth College, B.A (2018)
  • Masters: Northeastern University, M.S Computer Science (May 2022)
  • City: Boston, MA

As a professional and independent developer I've had the opportunity to develop specialized skills in all aspects of the Software Engineering life cycle. This includes software design, development, testing, and support. I also have varied experience with database management, clinical data migration, and building and using APIs. In particular, please feel free to ask me about my experience in clinical data management, web development, game design, technical consulting, and teaching.

Facts

With a wide background in technical, customer facing, and teaching roles. I leverage soft skills and multidisciplinary experience to work better and faster. I am comfortable in leadership roles and enjoy the process managing teams as well as training and mentoring new colleagues.

Years of professional technical experience

Years of interdisciplinary teaching experience

Happy consulting clients

Employees on the largest team I've managed

Skills

I have used the following languages in a professional or project based setting. While it is not exhaustive, I hope it provides a picture of the work and spaces I am most experienced in.

Java
Python
TypeScript
JavaScript (React, Express, Angular)
SQL (Postgres, MySQL)
C# (Unity)
HTML and CSS
C++

Resume

After finishing my journey in the humanities at Dartmouth College, I began my career in tech while working and studying full time at Northeastern University for the early stages of my Master's program. After getting more skills, I've had the opportunity to continuously apply my schoolwork to my professional life as an Application Support Engineer, Software Engineer, Data Engineer, and Technical Consultant. In addition to work and school, I also love to work on my own side projects, an educational mobile app, game development in Unity, and working with small business on short and long term consulting projects.

Professional Experience

Adjunct Professor of Computer Science

Southern New Hampshire University

Fall 2024
  • Part-time professor approved to teach (one of) the following courses this Fall:
    • CS-210 Programming Languages C++
    • CS-320 Software Testing, Automation, and Quality Assurance
    • CS-360 Mobile Architecture and Programming
    • IT-315 Object-oriented Analysis and Design

Full Stack Software Engineer - Detect

Immuta

August 2022 - July 2024
  • Serve as a full stack engineer and feature lead for implementing near-real time monitoring of access to cloud data storage services across several different platforms.

Tutor

Bunker Hill Community College

July 2023 - Present
  • Tutor Computer Science and Information Technology students in beginner to advanced Java, C++, Software Engineering, Operating Systems, and Web Development.

Data Engineer

OpenClinica

May 2022 - August 2022
  • Migrate clinical data from other vendors' Electronic Data Capture (EDC) systems to OpenClinica's while creating data pipelines in Python that can be used for future studies
  • Gather requirements with clients, architect, build, and deploy custom software solutions, automation, and web applications using Spring Boot (Java), Flask (Python), Selenium (Java), and Bash Scripting (Linux)
  • Serve as the tech lead for a high profile project while working closely with solutions consultants, project managers, and product team members
  • Communicating difficult technical concepts clearly to clients on live calls, reports, and architectural diagrams to help them make the best decisions about their data

Application Support Engineer / Software Engineer

OpenClinica

July 2021 - May 2022
  • Support a web micro-service based SaaS application by working directly with clients to diagnose bugs, document new feature requests, leverage our product functionality, and provide general training on case report form (CRF) design and API use
  • Coordinate and manage mass communications between internal teams and clients for holidays, stack releases, and disruptions of service
  • Create, write, and maintain a code base of software, automations, and custom scripts to streamline module installations, provide custom services outside of our product, and expand our product offerings
  • Train, coach, and supervise new hires on all technical and customer service aspects of the job

Associate Application Support Engineer

OpenClinica

July 2020 - July 2021
  • Work with internal and external stakeholders to provide detail on product bugs and requirements and coordinate upgrades
  • Write, document, and deploy custom SQL scripts to fix issues with customer data
  • Maintain and build relationships with at-risk clients to create custom plans and solutions for any issues with the product

Passion Projects

EquitySeen

2020 - Present

    Born out of the pandemic, EquitySeen is an educational application that seeks to diversify the field of consulting by providing automated academic advising for students interested in careers in consulting who would otherwise not have access to resources

  • UI built in Unity (C#) to facilitate cross-platform distribution
  • Backend built using ExpressJS (Javascript) and Postgres (SQL) and hosted in the cloud through AWS

Sleepover Studios

Fall 2021 - Present

    Sleepover Studios is the catch-all for all of my indie game development projects

  • Games written in C# using Unity with additional networked elements build in Angular or React
  • Backend built using ExpressJS (Javascript) and MongoDB (NoSQL) and hosted in the cloud through AWS

Tell Me More Gifts

February 2021 - Present

    Tell Me More Gifts is a small start up that provides a bespoke gifting service in partnership with local artists. I have been involved in all technical aspects of scaling the business including client intake, analytics, automating internal workflows, digital sales strategies, and API integration.

Education

Master of Science in Computer Science

Northeastern University

2019 - 2022

GPA: 3.879

Bachelor of Arts

Dartmouth College

2015 - 2018

GPA: 3.86