Andy Barrows

Olathe, KS 66062 • 913 548 6290 • me@andybarrows.com • linkedin.com/in/andybarrows • AndyBarrows.com

Software Engineering Manager

Accomplished Software Engineering Manager renowned for growing award-winning teams. 17 years of full-stack expertise with over 26,000 contributions while transforming the world’s largest syndicate. A servant leader with a proven track record guiding teams to excellence, winning a Webby Award for TheFarside.com within 3 years of leadership. Championed efforts that elevated ad revenue growth by 35% while bringing delight to 8.6 million users across 40 digital products. Offers a unique approach to “Product-First” culture, acclaimed for its shared efficiencies and record-setting team performance that force-multiplies company success.

Skills

Languages & Core Proficiencies: ASP.NET, Back-end Engineering, Front-end Engineering, Full-Stack Development, GO, HTML5, Java, JavaScript, Node.js, PHP, Prompt Engineering, Python, RESTful WebServices, Ruby on Rails, SASS, SCSS, TypeScript

Frameworks & Platforms: A/B Testing, AWS, CCPA, Drupal, GCP, GDPR, Google Analytics, GTM, Jest, Material UI, Microsoft Azure, Next.js, OpenAPI Specification (OAS), Playwright, React.js, Single Page Applications, Stripe, Structured Data (JSON-LD), Tailwind CSS, Wordpress (WP)

Tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Figma, Google Gemini, Illustrator, Microsoft & Github CoPilot, Photoshop, Sketch, VS Code, Warp

Specialized Skills: Agile Methodologies, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Automated Software Testing, Content Management Systems (CMS), Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD), CyberSecurity, Data Science, Developer Experience, DevOps, Engineering Management, Enterprise Architecture, High Performance Web Sites, Information Architecture, Leading Development Teams, Microservices, Online Advertising, Programmatic Advertising, Project Management, QA Automation, Release Management, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Technical Architecture, User Experience Design (UX/UXD), User Privacy Compliance, Web Accessibility, Web Application Security, Web Design, Web Performance

Work Experience

Andrews McMeel Universal | Kansas City, MO | 03/2010 - 04/2024

Software Engineering Manager | 08/2019 - 04/2024

Grew a team from the ground up over 7 years. Managing 11 engineers embedded within 3 product teams. Extensive experience in Ruby on Rails, Python, React.js/Next.js/.NET Core/Node.js CMS, C#, Kubernetes, and cloud providers Azure and AWS.

• Led application architecture and development across 40 high-performing websites increasing total users to 8.6 million monthly users; built with React, Next.js on Docker/Kubernetes in Azure.
• Increased monthly user impressions to 4.5 million through delivery architecture innovation still in operation. Built in Ruby on Rails, GO webservices, and PostgreSQL, the service quickly attracted contracts from 150+ sites, including US top 40 ranked sites like Yahoo & NY Times.
• Championed integration of AI across the AMU Enterprise, institutionalizing an AI committee and usage guidelines by showcasing enterprise models such as CoPilot, Gemini Pro, and ChatGPT; helped leadership understand the potential risks and capabilities on business objectives and creators.
• Pioneered a widely acclaimed front-end developer experience that reduced non-coding activities from 65 minutes to less than 5 minutes per ticket without engineers having to leave their development environment; built with AI, Github Actions, Docker, and continuous feedback from the team.
• Served as a vanguard for fast-paced professional growth among engineers; achieving 6 job promotions in 5 years as manager, 50% more than all other engineering teams combined.

Lead Front-End Engineer | 01/2017 - 07/2019

• Evangelized growth-minded, skills-based culture for engineering teams and across the company within 2 years by establishing a “progression bands” system that streamlined career growth and advanced skills for technical roles.
• Increased speed to market by 66% within 6 months by innovating a blueprint codebase system that stored all team-approved principle React components, Next.js tooling, and API patterns while automatically syncing emerging team changes with projects connected to the blueprint.
• Led our front-end engineering team through development on thefarside.com, which won a Webby Award in 2020; built in Ruby on Rails, Redux, Webpack with microservices and PostgreSQL.
• In 5 months, increased deployment speeds by 22% and vastly improved code quality in flagship products by orchestrating a 12-point checklist on CI/CD pipeline while coaching the DevOps team.
• Reduced enterprise hosting cost by 60% during a 5-year cloud migration plan to Azure. Transitioned 40 digital products and 80 services from Ruby on Rails, Python, GO to a modern architecture by migrating UIs to React.js, Next.js, and RESTful APIs while supporting the DevOps team.
• Increased security, efficiency, and broadened capabilities within 2 months by automating the migration of the organization’s 400 repositories from Bitbucket to GitHub while prototyping a Node.js utility with lead engineers.
• Spearheaded reduction in annual budget by nearly 50%. Adopted a zero-based strategy to eliminate unnecessary expenses and strategically shifted to more cost-effective platforms like Atlassian, Github, and Browserstack while negotiating with partners.
• Reduced maintenance effort by 70% across consumer brand products within 12 months by implementing refactor strategies and AI tools capable of automating maintenance upgrades while encouraging peer technical leads to research similar approaches for flagship products.

Web Developer | 03/2011 - 12/2017

• Increased monthly user impressions to 4.5 million through delivery architecture innovation still in operation. The service quickly attracted contracts from 150+ sites, including US top 40 ranked sites like Yahoo & NY Times.
• Increased paid user subscriptions by 19,000, over triple the projected goal. Researched, designed UX, and delivered in 5 months the most successful digital retention campaign in AMU’s history.
• Increased organic growth on GoComics.com by 456%, ranking on US’ Top 500 websites within 10 years by executing a long-term strategic roadmap improving site capabilities and user experience.
• Evangelized a data-driven culture by implementing Google Analytics across 70 digital applications while standardizing information architecture. Trained Finance, Digital Products, and Marketing departments, leading to the formation of a formal Data Analytics Team within 2 years.

Game Developer | 03/2010 - 03/2011

• Reduced maintenance by 90% by converting 80 games into scalable engines with client versions.

Adamson USA | Lee Summit, MO | 02/2009 - 02/2010

Web Integrator | 02/2009 - 02/2010

• Secured and retained major clients commitments by delivering digital marketing products to iconic brands like Kawasaki, ExxonMobil, Earth’s Best, some boasting six-figure budgets.

Volunteering & Leadership

United States Military

Army Reserves - 37F Psychological Operations Fort Bragg, NC Expert in Behavioral Analysis and target audience segmentation through rigorous special operations training in psychological campaigns and influence operations force-multiplying success for coalition.

Education

Centriq Foss IT Institution

A+ In IC3 Certifications, Certified Internet Web Developer

Johnson County Community College

Associates