Ben Morsillo

San Diego, CA • benmorsillo@gmail.com • 718.483.0155 • github.com/pksebben

Software Engineer with three years of professional experience and 10 years as a hobbyist building personal projects. Life experience includes founding a Brooklyn craft brewery and a term in the Army Reserve. Member of the Recurse Center (Recurse.com). Technical skills and interests include projects and self-study spanning Python, Rust, Lisp, Linux, and a mix of database and DevOps tools. Always seeking to get closer to the metal; looking for a team with a focus on first principles where I can soak up experience from senior developers that know their systems inside and out.

EXPERIENCE

Software Development

Junior Software Engineer, Fextoolkit.com - Remote 2020 - 2021

Fextoolkit.com is a SaaS business that creates tools for life insurance and final expense agents to aggregate underwriting data and automate the quoting process.

  • Built systems for automated parsing of actuarial pdfs as part of a core data pipeline
  • Maintenance and development of backed systems for Django-over-postgres app
  • Development of deployment tooling with Ansible

Junior Software Engineer, Paws Your Game, LLC - Salt Lake City 2019 - 2020

Paws Your Game was an initiative to build revenue for no-kill animal shelters through Twitch video streaming. Joined a small tech team and made significant contributions to product development across the codebase.

  • Built a website that tracks user engagement, connects streamers with viewers, manages campaigns, and presents a leaderboard for individual streamers, teams, and campaigns.
    • Created backend database and API using Python / Flask / SQL and developed site map.
    • Coordinated with frontend designer on UI implementation.

Personal Projects

Python Nanny

A Python package for novice programmers, when installed as part of a user site intercepts all uncaught exceptions, logging them with contextual information and reraising them. It provides users with personalized statistics on the most common classes of errors and the related third-party modules and packages to highlight knowledge gaps.

Interp

Rust-based application that interpolates video using cv2 bindings and sends pixel data over websockets to microcontrollers that run LEDs.

Link Library

An app that scrapes Zulip conversations for links in Rust and organizes and presents them in a searchable, taggable context with comment system and user account management built on Flask. Purpose-built for the Recurse Center with a focus on presenting a store of information of interest to a programming community.

Previous Job Experience

  • Restaurant/Bar Manager, Bartender - Multiple locations 2014 - 2017
  • Real Estate Agent, Brown Harris Stevens - Brooklyn, NY 2013 - 2014

Founder/CEO, Jackal Brewing Co. LLC - Brooklyn, NY 2010 - 2012

Jackal Brewing was a startup brewery focused on the craft beer market.

  • Performed industry and competitive analysis on the craft beer market, developed financial projections, and authored and iterated business plans used to acquire $200K in funding from multiple sources.
  • Hired and structured a management team, wrote bylaws, secured equipment vendors, and developed beer recipes.
  • Developed marketing strategy that included social media and partnerships with local businesses to supply test batches of product to gain exposure. Branded and named products including the flagship “718” pale ale.

Officer Trainee, 301st Information Operations Battalion - Queens, NY 2008 - 2011

  • Received extensive training in Information Operations and coordination of on- and off-battlefield data between commands with a focus on planning and strategic support.
  • Completed basic combat training at Fort Jackson, SC.

Skills

Languages/Frameworks

Python, Rust, C++, Lisp, bash, Java, React, Redux, Flask, Go, JavaScript

DevOps

Ansible, Vagrant, git, PantsBuild, Docker, Terraform

Tools

SQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, MySQL, Twisted Server, Marshmallow, Passlib, SQLAlchemy, Django

References

Frankie Primerano

Principal Software Engineer at Fextoolkit.com

Joe Wahl

CEO at Fextoolkit.com

Ian Schenck

CTO / Cofounder at Paws Your Game