John Brooks
Vice President of Engineering at Sandstorm Design- Claim this Profile
Click to upgrade to our gold package
for the full feature experience.
Topline Score
Bio
Sean Smyth
John took on the enormous tasks of building both an engineering team and a new technology stack from the ground up. He could tackle any technical challenge, and mentor our software engineers to meet those challenges themselves. As part of the executive team, I could always rely on John to provide technical expertise, strong leadership, and valuable business insight. He was a great partner, thinking holistically about the business to bring about growth. I am honored to say that I worked with John Brooks, and would unhesitatingly do so again - as well as recommend him to any organization that needs his talents.
Ryan Duritsa
John is amazing and I highly recommend him for any opportunity that comes his way. I had the pleasure of working with John at PechaKucha for over a year, where he served as the Head of Technology and I was the Head of Design. We worked together closely, partnering every day on multiple projects. John is an exceptional professional who knows how to get a lot done in a short amount of time. He is incredibly hardworking and puts in long hours to ensure that everything is done on time and to the best of his ability. He is also very good at balancing quality and efficiency and always good about communicating his thinking and approach with his team. John has a great personality, which makes him a pleasure to work with. He is a genuinely likable colleague, and it is always a pleasure interacting with him. One of the things that impresses me the most about John is his vast knowledge of back-end systems and architecture. He has experience on all kinds of back end systems including Web3 and NFTs. I am sure it is built on his love of learning new things. It was impressive to watch him jump in and learn to develop for Web3 and blockchain technologies, then integrate our site (with hundreds of thousands of users) with Ethereum and Polygon's blockchain. He is an expert in his field, and his expertise has been invaluable to our team. Moreover, John is incredibly reliable and forward-thinking. He is someone you can count on to follow through on commitments and deliver exceptional results and new ideas. He always goes the extra mile and I would often find myself thanking him for coming through on challenging deliverables. Lastly, John is also very good at seeing things at a high level. He can assess a situation and provide valuable insights that are crucial for making informed decisions. His interpersonal communication skills are exceptional, and he knows how to work collaboratively with others to achieve common goals. He is an outstanding professional who is committed to excellence, and he has all the qualities needed to excel in any role.
Sean Smyth
John took on the enormous tasks of building both an engineering team and a new technology stack from the ground up. He could tackle any technical challenge, and mentor our software engineers to meet those challenges themselves. As part of the executive team, I could always rely on John to provide technical expertise, strong leadership, and valuable business insight. He was a great partner, thinking holistically about the business to bring about growth. I am honored to say that I worked with John Brooks, and would unhesitatingly do so again - as well as recommend him to any organization that needs his talents.
Ryan Duritsa
John is amazing and I highly recommend him for any opportunity that comes his way. I had the pleasure of working with John at PechaKucha for over a year, where he served as the Head of Technology and I was the Head of Design. We worked together closely, partnering every day on multiple projects. John is an exceptional professional who knows how to get a lot done in a short amount of time. He is incredibly hardworking and puts in long hours to ensure that everything is done on time and to the best of his ability. He is also very good at balancing quality and efficiency and always good about communicating his thinking and approach with his team. John has a great personality, which makes him a pleasure to work with. He is a genuinely likable colleague, and it is always a pleasure interacting with him. One of the things that impresses me the most about John is his vast knowledge of back-end systems and architecture. He has experience on all kinds of back end systems including Web3 and NFTs. I am sure it is built on his love of learning new things. It was impressive to watch him jump in and learn to develop for Web3 and blockchain technologies, then integrate our site (with hundreds of thousands of users) with Ethereum and Polygon's blockchain. He is an expert in his field, and his expertise has been invaluable to our team. Moreover, John is incredibly reliable and forward-thinking. He is someone you can count on to follow through on commitments and deliver exceptional results and new ideas. He always goes the extra mile and I would often find myself thanking him for coming through on challenging deliverables. Lastly, John is also very good at seeing things at a high level. He can assess a situation and provide valuable insights that are crucial for making informed decisions. His interpersonal communication skills are exceptional, and he knows how to work collaboratively with others to achieve common goals. He is an outstanding professional who is committed to excellence, and he has all the qualities needed to excel in any role.
Sean Smyth
John took on the enormous tasks of building both an engineering team and a new technology stack from the ground up. He could tackle any technical challenge, and mentor our software engineers to meet those challenges themselves. As part of the executive team, I could always rely on John to provide technical expertise, strong leadership, and valuable business insight. He was a great partner, thinking holistically about the business to bring about growth. I am honored to say that I worked with John Brooks, and would unhesitatingly do so again - as well as recommend him to any organization that needs his talents.
Ryan Duritsa
John is amazing and I highly recommend him for any opportunity that comes his way. I had the pleasure of working with John at PechaKucha for over a year, where he served as the Head of Technology and I was the Head of Design. We worked together closely, partnering every day on multiple projects. John is an exceptional professional who knows how to get a lot done in a short amount of time. He is incredibly hardworking and puts in long hours to ensure that everything is done on time and to the best of his ability. He is also very good at balancing quality and efficiency and always good about communicating his thinking and approach with his team. John has a great personality, which makes him a pleasure to work with. He is a genuinely likable colleague, and it is always a pleasure interacting with him. One of the things that impresses me the most about John is his vast knowledge of back-end systems and architecture. He has experience on all kinds of back end systems including Web3 and NFTs. I am sure it is built on his love of learning new things. It was impressive to watch him jump in and learn to develop for Web3 and blockchain technologies, then integrate our site (with hundreds of thousands of users) with Ethereum and Polygon's blockchain. He is an expert in his field, and his expertise has been invaluable to our team. Moreover, John is incredibly reliable and forward-thinking. He is someone you can count on to follow through on commitments and deliver exceptional results and new ideas. He always goes the extra mile and I would often find myself thanking him for coming through on challenging deliverables. Lastly, John is also very good at seeing things at a high level. He can assess a situation and provide valuable insights that are crucial for making informed decisions. His interpersonal communication skills are exceptional, and he knows how to work collaboratively with others to achieve common goals. He is an outstanding professional who is committed to excellence, and he has all the qualities needed to excel in any role.
Sean Smyth
John took on the enormous tasks of building both an engineering team and a new technology stack from the ground up. He could tackle any technical challenge, and mentor our software engineers to meet those challenges themselves. As part of the executive team, I could always rely on John to provide technical expertise, strong leadership, and valuable business insight. He was a great partner, thinking holistically about the business to bring about growth. I am honored to say that I worked with John Brooks, and would unhesitatingly do so again - as well as recommend him to any organization that needs his talents.
Ryan Duritsa
John is amazing and I highly recommend him for any opportunity that comes his way. I had the pleasure of working with John at PechaKucha for over a year, where he served as the Head of Technology and I was the Head of Design. We worked together closely, partnering every day on multiple projects. John is an exceptional professional who knows how to get a lot done in a short amount of time. He is incredibly hardworking and puts in long hours to ensure that everything is done on time and to the best of his ability. He is also very good at balancing quality and efficiency and always good about communicating his thinking and approach with his team. John has a great personality, which makes him a pleasure to work with. He is a genuinely likable colleague, and it is always a pleasure interacting with him. One of the things that impresses me the most about John is his vast knowledge of back-end systems and architecture. He has experience on all kinds of back end systems including Web3 and NFTs. I am sure it is built on his love of learning new things. It was impressive to watch him jump in and learn to develop for Web3 and blockchain technologies, then integrate our site (with hundreds of thousands of users) with Ethereum and Polygon's blockchain. He is an expert in his field, and his expertise has been invaluable to our team. Moreover, John is incredibly reliable and forward-thinking. He is someone you can count on to follow through on commitments and deliver exceptional results and new ideas. He always goes the extra mile and I would often find myself thanking him for coming through on challenging deliverables. Lastly, John is also very good at seeing things at a high level. He can assess a situation and provide valuable insights that are crucial for making informed decisions. His interpersonal communication skills are exceptional, and he knows how to work collaboratively with others to achieve common goals. He is an outstanding professional who is committed to excellence, and he has all the qualities needed to excel in any role.
Experience
-
Sandstorm Design
-
United States
-
Marketing Services
-
1 - 100 Employee
-
Vice President of Engineering
-
Jul 2023 - Present
-
-
-
PechaKucha
-
United States
-
Online Audio and Video Media
-
1 - 100 Employee
-
Chief Technology Officer
-
Dec 2019 - Jul 2023
Created and oversaw a team of in-house engineers while also managing a team of off-shore developers. Our team designed, built, and implemented a brand new technical architecture and front-end for PechaKucha.com. - 100% serverless, scalable, and API-driven (REST). PechaKucha.com is used all over the world to: - Build presentation videos with images and recorded/uploaded audio - Host communities of creative people sharing ideas and stories - Plan and run events… Show more Created and oversaw a team of in-house engineers while also managing a team of off-shore developers. Our team designed, built, and implemented a brand new technical architecture and front-end for PechaKucha.com. - 100% serverless, scalable, and API-driven (REST). PechaKucha.com is used all over the world to: - Build presentation videos with images and recorded/uploaded audio - Host communities of creative people sharing ideas and stories - Plan and run events showcasing the PechaKucha style of presentations - Run live events (similar to Zoom/Twitter Spaces) seamlessly on PechaKucha.com Integrated with third party systems and APIs including Stripe, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Zendesk, Zoom, Youtube, Google, Agora, etc. Implemented and integrated Web3 / blockchain technologies such as NFTs, crypto wallets, DAOs, IPFS, dApps, etc. Migrated legacy Ruby/MongoDB system to a brand new ReactJS / REST API / NoSQL architecture. Languages and frameworks used include: - ReactJS - ChakraUI - NodeJS - Javascript - Typescript - ReactNative Other tools leveraged for the PechaKucha technology stack: - AWS Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB, Transcribe, Cloudfront, S3, EC2, and more - Elasticsearch - FFMPEG - Agora.io - Git/github - Cypress
-
-
Vice President of Engineering
-
Apr 2019 - Nov 2019
-
-
-
-
Vice President Of Engineering
-
Feb 2018 - Apr 2019
Integrated Qples technology stack with acquired Grocery Coupon Network technology stack. Developed digital coupon API to transition from paper coupons to digital coupons. Languages and technologies used include PHP/PHP CodeIgniter, MySQL, DynamoDB, NodeJS, Angular, Linux. Integrated Qples technology stack with acquired Grocery Coupon Network technology stack. Developed digital coupon API to transition from paper coupons to digital coupons. Languages and technologies used include PHP/PHP CodeIgniter, MySQL, DynamoDB, NodeJS, Angular, Linux.
-
-
-
Grocery Coupon Network
-
United States
-
Advertising Services
-
Partner | Chief Technology Officer
-
Dec 2009 - Feb 2018
Built and managed a team of engineers to build a leading high-volume consumer coupon website. Technologies and languages used include PHP, PHP CodeIgniter, javascript, linux, and MySQL. Transitioned architecture from self-hosted (data center) to cloud (AWS). Developed internet marketing strategies utilizing our unique technology to drive excellent ROI year after year. Built and managed a team of engineers to build a leading high-volume consumer coupon website. Technologies and languages used include PHP, PHP CodeIgniter, javascript, linux, and MySQL. Transitioned architecture from self-hosted (data center) to cloud (AWS). Developed internet marketing strategies utilizing our unique technology to drive excellent ROI year after year.
-
-
-
Big City Technology, Inc.
-
Chicago, Illinois, United States
-
Owner | President
-
Dec 2001 - Dec 2009
Built a profitable technology marketing/consulting company from the ground up. Developed and licensed our own proprietary email service provider software (ESP), Big City Email. Designed and built a proprietary large-scale data engine to connect offline postal data with online data. Managed multiple data centers to host clients and hundreds of servers running our own proprietary software. Built and mentored a high achieving team of engineers. Languages and technologies used… Show more Built a profitable technology marketing/consulting company from the ground up. Developed and licensed our own proprietary email service provider software (ESP), Big City Email. Designed and built a proprietary large-scale data engine to connect offline postal data with online data. Managed multiple data centers to host clients and hundreds of servers running our own proprietary software. Built and mentored a high achieving team of engineers. Languages and technologies used include java, PHP, MySQL, perl, and linux. Show less Built a profitable technology marketing/consulting company from the ground up. Developed and licensed our own proprietary email service provider software (ESP), Big City Email. Designed and built a proprietary large-scale data engine to connect offline postal data with online data. Managed multiple data centers to host clients and hundreds of servers running our own proprietary software. Built and mentored a high achieving team of engineers. Languages and technologies used… Show more Built a profitable technology marketing/consulting company from the ground up. Developed and licensed our own proprietary email service provider software (ESP), Big City Email. Designed and built a proprietary large-scale data engine to connect offline postal data with online data. Managed multiple data centers to host clients and hundreds of servers running our own proprietary software. Built and mentored a high achieving team of engineers. Languages and technologies used include java, PHP, MySQL, perl, and linux. Show less
-
-
-
L90
-
Chicago, Illinois, United States
-
Engineering Director
-
Feb 1998 - Dec 2001
Managed a team of engineers to build critical backend infrastructure, including our proprietary banner ad software to serve millions of ads per hour. Technologies included MySQL, Oracle, perl, php, javascript, linux, etc. Developed internal and client-facing front-end control systems for our internet marketing/banner ad software. Implemented high-volume load balancing across multiple data centers across hundreds of servers. Managed a team of engineers to build critical backend infrastructure, including our proprietary banner ad software to serve millions of ads per hour. Technologies included MySQL, Oracle, perl, php, javascript, linux, etc. Developed internal and client-facing front-end control systems for our internet marketing/banner ad software. Implemented high-volume load balancing across multiple data centers across hundreds of servers.
-
-
-
Software Architect
-
United States
-
IT Services and IT Consulting
-
1 - 100 Employee
-
Senior Consultant
-
May 1996 - Feb 1998
Worked as a Unix systems administrator for a large development effort at Ameritech. Developed internal and client software with perl and javascript for a telecom company.. Developed a desktop telephony application for Walgreens using C++. Taught junior consultants internet/web fundamentals, including the TCP/IP, HTTP, and SMTP protocols. Worked as a Unix systems administrator for a large development effort at Ameritech. Developed internal and client software with perl and javascript for a telecom company.. Developed a desktop telephony application for Walgreens using C++. Taught junior consultants internet/web fundamentals, including the TCP/IP, HTTP, and SMTP protocols.
-
-
Education
-
1992 - 1996
Michigan State University
Bachelor of Science, Computer Science
Community
