Brendan McKenzie

Software Architect

Summary

First do it, then do it right, then do it better— Addy Osmani

Seasoned software developer with a knack for tackling complex technical challenges. Over the past two decades, I've enjoyed working across various industries, helping digital agencies deliver innovative solutions that meet their clients' needs. When I'm not heads-down coding, you can usually find me indulging in two of my other passions: exploring the world through travel and creating culinary delights in the kitchen.

Experience

Many years working in agencies delivering countless enterprise-level products for government, not-for-profit, new ventures and consumer brands.

See LinkedIn for a full history of experience

Howatson+CoEngineering Director
  • October 2022 – Present
  • Melbourne, Australia

Work in progress.

Take Off GoDirector
  • May 2012 – Present
  • Melbourne, Australia

Manage business finances and day to day operations for a small boutique travel agency. Built and maintained backend systems for distributing travel itineraries to clients, including managing methods of taking payment for upcoming travel plans.

Technologies – PostgreSQL, Typescript, React

PokkoFounder
  • July 2020 – Present
  • Melbourne, Australia

Contrived, planned, developed and deployed a new Australia-first SaaS platform for managing content and media. Compiled a team of passionate people from various backgrounds and disciplines to deliver the final product while planning and executing customer engagement strategies.

Technologies – PostgreSQL, Kubernetes, Typescript, React, Redis

AppscoreTechnical Director
  • September 2021 – September 2022
  • Melbourne, Australia

Technical director at digital consulting agency Appscore with responsibilities ranging from solution design, architecture and prototyping to team management.  Enabling developers across a range of technologies and industries to help meet clients goals.  Working with the sales team to provide high level technical guidance on potential opportunities.  Interfacing with various technical stakeholders to ensure alignment and seamless service delivery.

VERSAHead of Engineering
  • May 2013 – September 2021
  • Melbourne, Australia

Involved in all aspects of the digital agency business from pitching, strategy, design, development, management, resourcing, training, deployment, support and maintenance. Standardised and optimised internal development practises across a number of platforms. Successfully delivered a number of projects without exceeding budgets and/or timelines. Supported clients in their technology choices from software platforms to hosting environments. Architected and implemented cloud-based solutions for hosting client deliverables.

Technologies – Sitecore, Umbraco, AWS, Azure, Docker, Kubernetes, .NET Core, PostgreSQL, Entity Framework, Xamarin, React Native, TeamCity, Octopus Deploy, Bitbucket Pipelines

The Marketing StoreFreelance Developer
  • July 2013 – November 2013
  • Toronto, Canada

Fixed-term contract working on maintaining existing extensively integrated .NET systems, developing enhancements, debugging intricate issues and producing web applications running on the Microsoft stack.

Technologies – C#, ASP.NET MVC, Microsoft SQL, PHP, Linux, AWS

A.K.A. New MediaApplication Developer
  • April 2012 – July 2013
  • Toronto, Canada

A senior developer hired to research and implement advancements to the main product - A.K.A. raisin. Working with Visual Studio 2012, ASP.NET MVC 4, Entity Framework 5 and jQuery Mobile to develop a mobile-friendly interface to the legacy current system.

Technologies – C#, ASP.NET MVC, Microsoft SQL

Libertine LondonFreelance Developer
  • October 2011 – December 2013
  • London, United Kingdom

Contracted to maintain CMS based websites for a number of clients. Successfully optimised solutions to utilise fewer resources reducing their cloud hosting expenditure; primarily utilising a Microsoft development stack.

Technologies – .NET, Microsoft SQL Server, ASP.NET MVC, PHP, jQuery, YouTube, Facebook integrations

SapientNitroFreelance Developer
  • January 2011 – October 2011
  • London, United Kingdom

Initially brought on for a two-week contract to develop web applications for clients. Was offered an extension, and completed eight months later after creating websites for numerous clients and developing strong relationships with many great people from around the world across the entire design and development field.

Technologies – .NET, ASP.NET WebForms and MVC, Umbraco, Entity Framework, WCF and SOAP, Javascript, CSS3, HTML5