Nick Pateman
Senior Software Engineer at Avalara
Seaford, England, United Kingdom
I’m a software engineer who has been building software professionally since 2000. Along the way I’ve worked on touch panel control systems, document protection and DRM, cryptographic identity and single sign-on, manufacturing software and, for the last few years, tax compliance automation at Avalara.
Experience
Avalara
Senior Software Engineer
When the product I’d been working on was sunset, I moved with the rest of the engineers in the team onto Avalara’s newer products, built to handle higher demand and to be easier to update.
Since then I’ve worked on all aspects of the Managed VAT Platform, including the return generation services that produce e-filings and PDFs for most return types (VAT, ECSL, SAF-T and Intrastat). That covers the whole SDLC, from maintaining and optimising existing services to rewriting them where needed.
Avalara is now an AI first company, utilsing cutting edged AI assisted SDLC systems. I’ve easily transitioned into AI-assisted development, keeping myself in the loop on everything I ship while still taking the productivity gains.
- C#
- ASP.NET Web API
- Microservices
- Kubernetes
- Docker
- AI
- node
- .NET ≤ 10
Software Engineer
Initial responsibilities were to assist in the major refactoring and re-development work of Avalara’s EMEA based automated filing solution for one of their largest clients. This involved working in a small team to assist in the refactoring of a megalithic API into smaller microservices, along with the development of new microservices. The intention was to improve performance and reliability of the product so that it could be further developed, as the current design was not capable of being pushed any further. The result was massively decreased support costs and reported issues during filing cycles, enabling the product to fulfil its purpose and also undergo many feature improvements.
Other duties included filing cycle support and assisting with DE VAT tasks, for which I developed several small utilities to speed up the process and dramatically cut down the effort required.
- C#
- ASP.NET Web API
- CQRS
- Docker
Seiki Systems Ltd
Software Developer
Worked as part of a small team, supporting and maintaining the (then) current generation of Seiki’s bespoke manufacturing software.
Duties included responding to live support requests by helping to diagnose and fix potential issues with the software, and maintaining the software until it was superseded by the next major version.
The software consisted of a collection of managed C++ libraries and a WPF front end. Source control was managed via TFS and involved bespoke branches for specific clients with special requirements.
- C#
- Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)
- XAML
- TFS
MIRACL
Solutions Architect
Whilst in the role of Solutions Architect at MIRACL, my responsibilities involved working with sales and potential clients to assist in the implementation of the company’s cryptographic solutions. This included working closely with Okta to assist in the implementation of M-Pin within the Okta SSO solution via OAuth 2 and a custom identity server.
I also worked on R&D for the use of M-Pin in a number of areas, such as Windows authentication.
This was also the first time I had exposure to .NET Core, which was in early beta at the time, when I attempted to port the M-Pin backend services with the intention of running them on Linux. Unfortunately this project hit a wall because SSL had not been implemented at that stage.
- Identity Server
- C#
- Okta Single Sign-On
- GitHub
- M-PIN Strong Authentication Server
CertiVox
Lead Architect
Whilst in the role of Lead Architect at CertiVox I worked on a number of projects. Because CertiVox was a startup without an established product, requirements would change at short notice and sometimes require large changes in direction and focus. Projects I worked on, to varying degrees:
- A Microsoft Office document protection and DRM system, with an ASP.NET based front end and Windows desktop client.
- PrivateSky, a Silverlight based encrypted messaging system with a .NET backend API and Outlook add-on.
- An Internet Explorer add-on for encrypting messages within any web page. I worked on the .NET backend API and the C based key server.
- C#
- Microsoft Outlook
- ASP.NET
- Silverlight
altaVENTE
Lead Developer
Lead developer for a small team of engineers, consisting of (at peak) 2 developers and a single dedicated QA, creating a suite of Windows applications designed to protect the content of Microsoft Office documents. This included a full desktop application for protecting PowerPoint presentations with synchronised media and advanced DRM options, as well as a collection of smaller wizard based applications for the protection of Word and Excel documents.
We also went to TechEd to promote Rhapzode.
- Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET)
- C++
- DirectShow
npSoftware
Software Engineer
Freelance software engineer providing complete bespoke solutions.
I worked on a single contract for a bespoke green-screen application used by American Express at Wimbledon, called “Pose with the Pros”. Visitors to the event could have their photograph taken next to an American Express sponsored star, then optionally have it printed. The application ran on a single computer and delivered hundreds of photographs.
The application was written in VB.NET, with a custom C++ DirectShow transform filter that performed chroma keying in real time.
- Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET)
- C++
- Chromakey
Conference Communications
Software Engineer
Control systems software engineer and touch panel GUI designer, designing software to control automation systems for large corporates around the UK. The role included development of AMX access control systems software, along with high resolution touch panel design, working with enterprise level controllable equipment in a variety of locations, from corporate boardrooms to auditoriums.
One highlight was the roll-out of one of my touch panel designs to boardrooms worldwide for a well known British car manufacturer, as well as the complete software and touch panel design for the CEO’s head office.
- AMX
- Graphic Design
- Control Systems
Skills
Languages and frameworks
- C#
- C++
- Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET)
- ASP.NET
- ASP.NET Web API
- Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)
- XAML
- Silverlight
- DirectShow
Architecture and platforms
- Microservices
- CQRS
- Docker
- Kubernetes
Identity and security
- Identity Server
- Okta Single Sign-On
- M-PIN Strong Authentication Server
Tools
- GitHub
- TFS
- Microsoft Outlook
Other
- AMX
- Control Systems
- Chromakey
- Graphic Design