Isaac Halvorson

isaac@isaachalvorson.com | github.com/hisaac

Skills

Open Source Projects | github.com/hisaac

Plain Pasta
GitHub | Mac App Store

Plain Pasta is a macOS app that automatically strips any styling from text on your Mac's clipboard

Tiime
GitHub | iOS App Store

Time is a clock that displays time in non-standard ways, and allows for user customization of the app’s icon, colors, and fonts.

  • No third party dependencies
  • Used the Coordinator pattern for the app’s architecture
  • Added theme customization using UIAppearance and other UIKit methods
  • Implemented timers and date math to calculate the different clocks
  • Beta tested through TestFlight, and released to the iOS App Store

Work Experience

Target

Senior iOS Platform Engineer (April 2021 – present)

While at Jamf, I developed an interest in development tooling and automation. Joining Target's iOS Platform team gave me an opportunity to learn more about "platform" development — the intersection of app development and devops. Target already had a mature and well-developed process, so joining their team meant I could learn existing best-practices and build from that foundation.

  • Quickly learned how to use and modify Target's multiple in-house and third party build and development tools.
  • During my first month at Target, I delivered an important update to Target's complex and custom Bazel integration to support Xcode 12.5, keeping the developers on the most recent development tools available.

Jamf Software

iOS and macOS Developer (March 2019 – April 2021)

I joined Jamf because I wanted to develop iOS and macOS software that would impact people, and it did not disappoint. Jamf’s software is running on millions of devices across the globe. I’ve worn a few hats at Jamf, first working on a user-facing iOS and macOS app, then moving to work on a low level macOS application with a command line interface — the backbone of Jamf’s Mac management platform.

  • Greatly improved the VoiceOver compatibility of Self Service, Jamf’s primary user-facing macOS app
  • Helped maintain and improve my team’s multiple testing suites and CI/CD workflows, using Jenkins and Anka infrastructure
  • Took ownership of an internal server-side Swift project
  • Investigated, advocated for, and implemented multiple large and small features and improvements to the codebase
  • Worked across countries and time zones with coworkers on my team, and outside my team

Q3 Contracting

iOS Developer (July 2018 – March 2019)

As Q3’s sole iOS developer, I maintained multiple existing iOS apps and libraries written in both Swift and Objective-C, wrote new apps based on the business’s needs, and help decide the direction of mobile development for the company.

  • Created a brand new iOS app that displays contact information for all employees in the company
  • Updated multiple apps to more modern development practices, and retired apps no longer being used
    • Migrated analytics, crash reporting, and beta deployment to Firebase (from Mixpanel, Fabric/Crashlytics, and DeployGate respectively)
    • Added Carthage support to the company's iOS libraries
    • Removed unnecessary external dependencies, and replaced them using native UIKit / Foundation APIs where possible
    • Improved the build and deploy process for apps that rely on multiple environments (dev, test, prod, etc.)
  • Volunteered to manage the company’s Jenkins server, and improved the build processes for both web and mobile applications
  • Worked with web developers to build a new Node.js microservice in TypeScript
  • Assisted in technical interviews and onboarding for new developers joining the team

C.H. Robinson

iOS Developer (July 2017 – July 2018)

After a three month stint as a web developer, I moved onto the mobile team and took over all development of the company’s two iOS apps. Having not done any iOS development prior to this, I needed to learn quickly to keep the apps functioning, and deliver new features.

  • Learned Swift and iOS development quickly, and was pushing code to production in less than a month
  • Tested and implemented a complex system for monitoring and reporting a device’s location while the app was in the background
  • Internationalized one of our apps for use in Europe, adding 7 new language translations, updating the UI to handle variable-length strings, and making significant updates to the app’s networking logic to address latency issues

Full-Stack Web Developer (April 2017 – July 2017)

I was hired for C.H. Robinson’s HatCHRy program — a three month, intensive on-boarding program for new developers — where I learned all about the company’s business and technology. It was here that I learned C#/.NET, and used it to develop an internal back end service that sent email notifications upon successful upload of accounting documents.

Pixelsmith

Contract Front End Web Developer (February 2017 – April 2017)

Pixelsmith is a small development shop specializing in web app and Wordpress app design. While here, I helped build and design a banking rewards web app.

BBDO Minneapolis

IT Support Technician (August 2014 – April 2016)

I managed the IT department and handled all the tech support for BBDO’s Minneapolis office, winning an award for my efforts helping the company. Upon starting at BBDO, I streamlined processes and systems to make life easier for everyone.

  • Support: macOS, Windows, iOS, A/V gear
  • Manage: projects, inventory, servers, Active Directory
  • Execute: Sarbanes-Oxley compliance testing, documentation, budget planning
  • Technologies Used: macOS, macOS Server, Windows 7/10, Windows Server, iOS, Active Directory, VMWare, Parallels, FileMaker Pro, Shell scripting, Jamf's Casper Device Management

Apple Inc.

Genius (August 2012 – August 2014)
Apple Store Southdale - Edina, MN

My Genius team won Apple’s Ovation award two quarters in a row, demonstrating our excellence in customer satisfaction and repair efficiency. As a Genius, I performed Mac and iOS hardware and software support, troubleshooting, and training.

Quality Assurance Engineer (August 2013 – November 2013)
Apple Corporate - Cupertino, CA

Only a few Apple employees are chosen for this special program. I got to spend three months at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, learning what it takes to secure web applications. I worked directly with the web development team, giving UX and workflow feedback, testing apps using web automated tools, and testing security using tools like OWASP ZAP.

Education

Prime Digital Academy

Full Stack Software Engineering Certificate (September 2016 – January 2017)

Prime is an intensive, 18-week web development school, focused on both technical skills and business skills. Here, I learned HTML, CSS, and full-stack JavaScript development, and also honed my public speaking, project management, and group work skills.

Institute of Production and Recording

AAS Degree in Audio Production and Engineering (2008–2010)

  • Graduated valedictorian
  • On the Dean’s list throughout my attendance
  • Elected to student advisory board

University of North Dakota

Fulfilled General Education Requirements (2005–2008)

  • Accepted into the Honors program
  • Elected Honors Program Student Senator

References

For the privacy of my references, I don't include their contact information here. Please email me at isaac@isaachalvorson.com to request references.