John A Fotheringham
35 Nursery Road
Heaton Norris
Stockport,
Cheshire SK4 2ND	Tel: 	0161 718 0211
Mobile: 	07791 250817
Email: 	jaf@jafsoft.com
Linked In: 	www.linkedin.com/?id=46991829	

Profile
Intelligent and highly skilled software engineer with strong analytical skills.  Has 28 years experience of software development at all levels using a wide range of platforms and technologies.  Produces robust, high-performance solutions with an eye to future maintainability.  Experienced in working with large and complex systems, and across many different application and business areas.  Takes a lead in producing innovative productivity tools that are well received and used by other members of the team.

Skills and Abilities
•	Achieves uniformly high quality results at all stages of the software development life cycle including requirements gathering, specification and design, implementation and integration, testing and commissioning.
•	Has worked for the last 3-4 years in an Agile development environment, using Microsoft Visual Studio, Team Foundation Server, NAnt scripts, Jenkins continuous builds and Perforce source control.
•	Has strong experience of a wide variety of programming languages and systems
•	(in recent years) C#, C++, C++/CLI, SQL Server, .NET framework, Unicode, Windows
•	(at previous jobs) Fortran, HTML. OpenVMS
•	Has experience of working with various .NET methodologies and technologies 
•	ASP.NET, MVC, WCF, Linq, Entity Framework
•	Quickly gets to grip with different technologies and has also done projects using a wide variety of other languages and systems
•	VB8, XML, Java, Pascal, Algol, RTL/2, Basic, JavaScript, CSS, Flash/ActionScript, Perl, WML/Wap, Sage Data Objects, Crystal Reports
•	Mac OS X, Windows CE
•	Confident working with large and complex software systems.  Has worked in most application areas within such systems
•	GUI Design, Web interfaces
•	Back-end server processes, Client/server systems
•	Communications, real time multithreaded systems
•	Document conversion, intelligent file parsing, automatic report generation
•	SQL database, system backup regimes, timesheet systems
•	Development tool creation, mathematical modelling, scripting tools
•	Has worked in a variety business areas
•	Access Control and Security
•	Call Centres (international automotive recovery)
•	Industrial Process Control (Petrochemicals, Brewing, Utilities)
•	Airport Baggage Handling
•	Scientific Research
•	A very effective problem solver, experienced at resolving customer issues
•	Excellent communication skills.  Friendly and personable.  Contributes to team spirit and forms good working relationships both within the team and with others outside the team.
•	Created a company to market and sell own software online.
Employment History
July 2006 – Present 	Stanley Security Solutions (PAC)	Stockport
Senior Software Engineer
Key member of the team responsible for developing and maintaining PAC’s GenX access control package, a complex PC based system that manages and monitors many types of door controllers.  Involved in all application areas within the GenX family of products.  Also worked on several standalone projects, resolving problem reports, and implementing customer-requested product modifications.
The product used an n-Tier architecture based on .NET technologies (C# .NET, WCF, WPF and the Entity Framework) and was developed using Agile methods.  It also had a large legacy code base (C++, VB6 and T-SQL stored procedures) which was migrated to the newer architecture as the opportunities arose.
Achievements
•	Main developer responsible for bringing the iPAC door controller project to completion.  This was a standalone door controller that offered both a GUI and a web interface that won an industry award for innovation.  (WinCE, C#, C++)
•	Created a number of innovative tools that improved workflow and were well received by the rest of the team.  Did this primarily on my own initiative. (C#)
•	In charge of the maintenance and development of the GenX communications Engine, and its associated protocol drivers.  Refactored the internal architecture to accommodate wireless controllers whose updates would sometimes take minutes to complete (C#, C++, C++/CLI, TCP/IP).
•	Refactored whole application areas to migrate functionality away from legacy technologies to the .NET-based architecture we’d adopted.  The process required changes from top to bottom within the product, i.e. GUI, server processes and database access.  (C#, WCF, Entity Framework).
•	Assigned sole responsible for the ongoing maintenance of a complex controller application.  Later trained new staff to take on some of this role. (WinCE, C++, TCP/IP)
•	Tasked with creating a simple web-based Timesheet system.  The resulting package was eventually deployed to a number of offices around the world (C#, ASP.NET, SQL)
•	Volunteered as Fire Warden for the site for 9 years (trained and certified) 

May 2005 – July 2006	Starmount Limited	Nelson, Lancs
Independent contractor
Wrote back office automation systems to integrate a Sage Line 50 accounting system with their bespoke despatch and customer facing software.  Worked with them to extract Sage data into the SQL database to allow for faster data processing.  Produced a reconciler to match single credit card company payments against multiple outstanding invoices.

1993 – May 2005	Yezerski Roper Limited 	Stockport
Software Engineer
Worked on the team that developed the high-reliably CARS breakdown assistance system used by the RAC.   Heavily involved in the design and creation of a new European system. Provided 24/7 telephone support to the RAC in the UK and Europe.
The products were “green screen” OpenVMS terminal based systems (Fortran, C++).  They integrated 24/7 call centre functionality with a system distributed across 5 geographical locations and map-based systems that optimised the allocation of patrols to jobs.
Achievements
•	One of the key architects of the EuroCARS product.  Designed and implemented a scripting system that allowed the services offered by an agent to be tailored to match the entitlements a given caller had on their insurance policy.
•	Won the company a yearlong contract based around my own (JafSoft) software to create SEC filings in HTML format for a financial printing house in the USA.

1999-present	JafSoft Limited	Stockport
Managing Director
Created JafSoft Limited to sell my own text conversion utilities online.  Apart from winning my employer at the time (YRL) a large contract, JafSoft has always been a part time activity that has never impacted on my full time employment. The company is largely dormant, with no new software releases made in the past 5 years.
Achievements
•	PC Magazine compared AscToHTM favourably to the AutoFormat feature in Microsoft Word, and PC Pro magazine urged Macromedia to consider the adoption of Detagger as part of their Dreamweaver product.
•	In their API form the software was used in a wide variety of unexpected products (e.g. medical instruments) and OS’s (Solaris, Linux, Windows, OpenVMS and others)
•	You can read user testimonials at http://www.jafsoft.co.uk/asctohtm/testimonials.html

1987-1993 	System Designers plc (became part of EDS)	Cheadle
Programmer
Joined after finishing my PhD, and initially employed solely on coding activities.  Over the years I was promoted several times, gaining exposure to most aspects of software design, specification, and production along the way.  Customers included Shell, BP, Gatwick and Ind Coope Brewery.  Nominated by the company as the technical point of contact for Shell’s head office in The Hague

Jan 1979 – Sept 1979 	MOD PERME Westcott	Aylesbury, Bucks
(Summer 1980 and 1981)	
Assistant Scientific Officer
Employed during my "gap" year before going to Cambridge, and in successive summer vacations.  The site is responsible for rocket motor design.  I was tasked with reproducing the geometry-based algorithms used by an undocumented program written in the 60s, replicating its results and then deploying a totally new finite element approach to extend its capabilities.

Education
1987 (January)	Manchester University	PhD in Theoretical Particle Physics	
1983	Cambridge University	Post-graduate Certificate of Advanced Maths Studies (“Part III maths”)
(Now recognised as a Masters of Mathematics)	
1982	Cambridge University	MA (Hons) in Natural Sciences (Physics)
(Graduated with a 2.1)	
1978-79	Aylesbury Grammar School	A Levels: 	Maths (A), Physics (A), 
	Chemistry (A), Applied Maths (A) and Pure Maths (A)
S Levels: 	Physics (1) and Applied Maths (2)