/CV

resume

ANNA SOBOLEWSKA

Projects | Skills | Education | Experience | Hobbies and Interests | Website

I became a developer because I love solving problems, making things work and automating the hard parts of life. Hi!

My professional adventures in tech started with a QA Tester job at an e-commerce product company. I then made my way to a busy digital agency, switching from desktop products to applications designed for mobile devices of all kinds.

While working within an Agile team of developers, designers and product owners, I caught the UX bug and moved on to the 3rd sector to spend more time researching users and ways to reach them. My desire to make things happen is what subsequently led me to coding.

💥 Tech skills:

 ∧＿∧
（｡･ω･｡)つ━☆・*。
⊂   ノ    ・゜+.
 しーＪ   °。+ *´¨)
  • JavaScript, React, Gatsby, Node.js, Express
  • Ruby, Rails, Sinatra
  • Python
  • SQL, PostGres, GraphQL
  • CSS, semantic HTML
  • RSpec, Capybara, Jasmine, Selenium, Pry and more
  • CI/CD tools, Heroku, Now

Projects

🌲 Forest - an esoteric programming language - Makers final project

Tech and methodologies used:

  • vanilla Python
  • Python's unittest framework
  • bash scripting
  • TDD
  • Agile, kanban
  • mob coding
  • meta programming

👤 Acebook - a Facebook clone - Makers team engineering project

Tech and methodologies used:

  • Ruby on Rails
  • Rails-associated gems:
  • CSS, HTML
  • JQuery
  • CI/CD tools: Rake, Travis, Heroku
  • BDD, TDD
  • Agile, teamwork
  • Continous integration, continuous deployment

🐻 Bear - CSS animation, with a little database (in progress)

Tech and methodologies used:

  • CSS
  • HTML
  • Sinatra
  • Postgres
  • Heroku deployment
  • database design
  • MVC pattern

🦈 Bank app - a tiny command line piggy bank

Tech and methodologies used:

  • Ruby
  • RSpec
  • OOP design
  • encapsulation
  • dependency injection
  • TDD

📠 News summary - a very biased, tiny news summary web app

Tech and methodologies used:

  • vanilla JavaScript
  • CSS
  • API integration
  • testing with own framework (in progress)
  • API stubbing (in progress)

Skills

Cross-team Agile experience

My professional background includes a variety of roles within Agile teams.

  • 5+ years of hands-on Quality Assurance experience.
  • 5 years of UX/user research and web content experience.
  • Familiarity with all stages of product development, from discovery and user research, through design and development to test strategy and implementation.
  • Good business sense, acquired in close proximity to Clients, Product Owners and IT Directors.

Fast, self-directed learner

I love being a Jane of many trades and finding unexpected connections between unrelated things.

  • For my final Makers project, I picked up Python - a programming language previously unknown to me - and started TDDing in it within 2 days.
  • Known for spearheading constant process improvement in all my previous jobs.
  • Early adopter, techno-optimist, hardware tinkerer.

Product company, digital agency and NGO experience

I worked in organisations of vastly different types, structures and dynamics, and thrived in all of them.

  • Product company: I was the sole QA at an e-commerce website, responsible for the long-term testing strategy and automation.
  • Agency: I worked on a portfolio of mobile applications at a busy digital agency, in close proximity with both the team and external stakeholders.
  • Third sector: my NGO experience taught me to work within tight budgets, make good cases for the use of certain tools and most of all - to listen to users and to be their advocate.
  • Freelance work: occassional but steady freelance work has taught me the discipline necessary for being effective while being remote, and sharpened my time-management skills.

Additional skills

Methodologies:

  • Object-oriented programming, Functional programming
  • MVC, PWA, serverless patterns
  • REST, CRUD
  • ORM, database modelling, CRC
  • TDD, BDD
  • Agile, SCRUM, kanban
  • Continuous Integration, Continuous Deployment
  • User-centered design
  • XP values

Languages:

  • English: full professional fluency
  • Polish: native fluency
  • Swedish: working knowledge

Education

Makers Academy (graduated August 2019)

International Software Testing Qualifications Board (awarded February 2010)

  • ISTQB Certified Tester - Foundational level

University of Gdańsk (graduated May 2008)

  • BA Scandinavian Studies, Swedish major
  • 2:1

Experience

Terrence Higgins Trust, London, UK Digital Content & Quality Officer, (December 2014 - May 2019)

My pivot to UX and web content writing. I own and maintain the health-related copy of the website, conduct user research, work with subject matter experts, perform CMS work, and analyse website metrics.

Future Workshops, London, UK Quality Assurance Specialist, (April 2012 - December 2013)

Testing, test strategy and test automation of the company's portfolio of mobile apps, plus ad hoc UX support. I become closely familiar with bug tracking and ticketing tools such as JIRA and Basecamp. I discover I'm a natural at communicating the nuances of business logic and project documentation to technical and non-technical team members.

Nokaut.pl, Gdynia, Poland Quality Assurance Specialist, (February 2009 - March 2012)

My first foray into the tech world - I start off as a functional tester, then move on to Selenium IDE and other test automation tools. I learn SQL, XML and JSON. I also become familiar with debugging tools, version control and continuous integration tools. Agile becomes second nature.

Self-employed, remote Freelance copywriter & translator, (July 2005 - May 2019)

An occassional side gig that I'd started as a student. I maintained several trusted clients through the years while honing my copywriting and copyediting skills.

Hobbies and interests

Birding, horse husbandry, reading books and comics, writing, linguistics, picking up impractical skills, taking long walks.