Tim MacKay¶
Notable Experiences¶
2024 — Successfully created and launched 
this website!
2023 — Conference Speaker 
at DSTL AI Fest 5, lauded as a "confident, clear communicator" delivering to hundreds of people attending on premise and remotely
2022 — Deployed on UK Specialist Military Operations 
to develop novel software
2021 — Presented to 10 Downing Street Data Science team 
as an exemplar in code quality and QA
Summary¶
Highly skilled Full Stack Developer from an aeronautical background with 14 years of experience in technical roles within UK Defence.
Specialised in Software Development since 2018. Dedicated to the craftsmanship of clean and maintainable code. Excellent communication skills 
with experience briefing senior executives. Experience working in teams using Scrum. Experience keeping legacy systems operational as well as implementing cutting-edge technologies. Proven track record of success in improving processes and implementing innovative solutions.
Skills & Expertise¶
-
Backend
- Python
- FastAPI
- Pydantic
- SQLAlchemy
- SQL
- Python
-
Frontend
- JavaScript
- Vue
- Cypress
- CSS
- HTML
- JavaScript
-
Tools
- Git
- CI Pipelines
- Docker
- Azure Devops
- VS Code
-
Misc
- OWASP Top 10
- Agile
- Scrum
- Mac | Linux | Windows
Work Experience¶
Specialist Military Unit Software and AI Team, MoD (Founding Member)¶
Feb 2022 Oct 2023
- Main Tech Stack: Python, FastAPI, Vue, Docker, Azure DevOps
- Led code QA by advocating and implementing automated code analysis, unit testing, code linters, technical documentation, and other quality assurance measures
- Developed a robust data pipeline to ingest and visualise telemetry data for enhanced insights and data-driven decision-making
- Implemented Computer Vision to enhance reconnaissance missions in deployed space
- Worked on various systems, including Frontends, REST APIs, Databases, Raspberry Pi and Sat Comms
- Gained fundamental knowledge of Machine Learning technologies
such as facial recognition, object detection, motion detection, sentiment analysis and word embeddings
No1 Aeronautical Information Documents Unit, Royal Air Force¶
Aug 2018 Feb 2022
- Main Tech Stack: PHP, MySQL, Vanilla JavaScript, jQuery, Foundation, CSS, HTML, Git
- Maintained and improved the MilFLIP website consisting of 70,000 lines of bespoke code
that enables RAF Squadrons to access flight-critical Aeronautical Information - Sole developer of MilFLIP for two and a half years: I validated requirements, designed and implemented new features, tested and deployed each release
- Mitigated critical security vulnerabilities
in alignment with OWASP Top 10 guidelines, ensuring robust security measures - Introduced dependency management, standardised API endpoints, and created a comprehensive README
- Implemented end-to-end automated testing
with Cypress - Progressively refactored key areas of the website to use Object-Oriented Programming
- Implemented project and knowledge management with Jira and Confluence
- Trained
three junior developers and up-skilled two line managers
Before 2018¶
In 2009, I embarked on my journey with the Royal Air Force as an Aeronautical Cartographer, immersing myself deeply in the realm of Aeronautical Data 
. While this document is dedicated to showcasing my career in Software Development, which commenced in earnest in 2018 (see above ), I'd like to provide a brief outline of the skills and experiences acquired in this trade that I believe have significantly enhanced my capabilities as a Developer:
- Maintained a database of flight procedures for autopilot systems
- Implemented over two hundred QA data checks using SQL that led to the improvement of tens of thousands of data records
- Spearheaded a pivot to focus heavily on satellite-based flight procedures , enabling RAF squadrons to embrace modern aviation practices
- Conducted QA checks on aeronautical charts generated from data
- Created technical documentation
to aid colleagues and improve data quality