Karl Golka

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About

Past Projects, Employers, & Clients

I've worked with:

Overview

Track Record

With over 15 years of experience designing & developing web applications, I have worked on some interesting projects, including:

a Platform-as-a-Service project for MS System Center
hi-volume telephony apps for a Chicago startup
an executive dashboard for LG
a fundraising platform for Chicago Public Radio
an asset management tool for AT&T and Hilton where my work was critical in their securing a multi-million dollar annual services agreement
even a Ruby on Rails project for New York Magazine

I have been designing databases with clear and well-normalized relational schemas since as early as 2003 (MCP in MS SQL Server) — and have frequently worked on DBs with hundreds of tables and millions of records since.

Full Stack

Professional Background

I bring over a dozen years expertise working with such architecture patterns as: n-tier and distributed projects, Software-as-a-service (SaaS), Service-oriented Architecture (SOA), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and event-based communication (socket.io, SignalR Hub, and now GraphQL).

Best described as an “army of one”, in addition to Full Stack roles, I have also held both Front-End React/Angular/JavaScript as well as Back-End Node developer positions.

The La Jolla Institute for Immunology

Most Recently

I have spent the last 3.5 years developing an eProcurement application for The La Jolla Institute for Immunology, a 56 million dollar biomedical research institute, using Angular, Node.js, Typescript, and MS SQL Server.

End-to-End Development

Full Software Development Lifecycle

I am capable of fully taking ownership of and developing a product from “napkin sketch” to production release, and supporting it with solid documentation and rigorous tests. I also pride myself on a strong skill set of mentoring, pair-programming, code reviews, and embrace an always-be-refactoring mindset.

As a generalist and a full-stack technology expert, I am versed in every stage of the web software development and maintenance life-cycle.

An Eye for Design

Agency-Level Deliverables

My passion is building clean, communicative, and modern applications with hand-crafted and hi-quality design combined with expert information architecture.

Having worked for multiple design and digital agencies — One Design Company , Remedy Chicago (acquired by Motion), and Fathom Communications in Chicago, and Seamgen in San Diego — I have produced agency-level deliverables for such clients as NY Magazine, Chicago Magazine, and LG.

In 2008, I had the privilege of contributing a few hours of development to the homepage of BarackObama.com — from the Chicago campaign headquarters!

Certification:

May 18, 2021

HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate

Earners of this certification know Terraform concepts, skills, and how enterprises use it to solve business critical objectives.

Feb 10, 2016

ITIL® Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management

Candidates understand Service Management, Agile, DevOps, and continual improvement of tech-enabled products and services.

2004

Designing & Implementing MS SQL Server™ Databases

Microsoft Certified Professional in 'Designing and Implementing Databases with Microsoft SQL Server' (#70229).

“Working with Karl was a pleasure. LG was a complex integration with a software team in Malaysia as well as on-site partners in multiple locations throughout the United States. Karl delivered on-spec and by integrating Google Charts, we saved time and money!”

— Sam Rosen, One Design Company, Founder

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Karl Golka

Home

Work

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Contact

About

I've worked with:

Track Record

Professional Background

Most Recently

Full Software Development Lifecycle

Agency-Level Deliverables

In 2008, I had the privilege of contributing a few hours of development to the homepage of BarackObama.com — from the Chicago campaign headquarters!

May 18, 2021

HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate

Feb 10, 2016

ITIL® Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management

2004

Designing & Implementing MS SQL Server™ Databases

“Working with Karl was a pleasure. LG was a complex integration with a software team in Malaysia as well as on-site partners in multiple locations throughout the United States. Karl delivered on-spec and by integrating Google Charts, we saved time and money!”