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Kristin O. Merbach

Ruby on Rails Developer at IdeaCrew. I spend my days in lovely southern Vermont writing Ruby and Javascript.

“A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” English Proverb

Designer + Developer

Print/graphic design → Front-end design → Front-end development → Back-end development

I've been a web professional for well over 10 years, spending 9 years at Sonnax Transmission Company before joing IdeaCrew in 2021. Over the years, I've gone from print design — creating ads, catalogs, brochures and more — to back end development writing and testing code. My wide range of experience helps me work on sites from the database to the stylesheet. I also excel on projects where code and design intersect, such as a visual interactive part finder or generating data formatted for print catalogs.

Looking for more specifics on the kind of things I've worked on over the past few years? See project examples below.

Accomplishments

Lead project to work on transfer of user data between state based health care marketplaces and state Medicare office.
Ruby, XML
Created and built interactive part finder diagrams using multiple technologies including SolidWorks Composer, SVG, Ruby and Javascript.
SolidWorks Composer, Illustrator, SVG, Ruby, Javascript, Stimulus
Sped up print catalog production by building XML files tied to the website database that can be directly imported into intricate layouts in Adobe InDesign. Created custom InDesign scripts for final visual tweaks.
Ruby, Postgres, XML, Javascript, InDesign, Photoshop
Designed and built an industry-lauded website that raised traffic by more than 50% and engagement by more than 25% over my tenure. Developed in Ruby on Rails with a Postgres database using test driven development including a custom CMS and administrative section.
Ruby, Postgres, Javascript, Stimulus, Elasticsearch, RSpec, Git, Usability, Project Management, HTML, CSS, SASS, SQL
Implemented a custom responsive front-end design using SASS - without a boilerplate framework.
CSS, SASS, Stimulus, HTML, Usability
Designed and refined the new part development data collection and review system used to capture product information accurately and easily by internal users.
Ruby, Postgres, Project Management, Usability
Developed a custom Ruby on Rails API powered React app for prioritizing and keeping track of upcoming projects.
Ruby, Javascript, React, Git, Project Management
Maintained product and tech resource database including pulling and building custom reports based on user requests.
Postgres, SQL
Continually improved the Sonnax website experience through feature requests, bug fixes and day-to-day maintenance.
Ruby, Javascript, Stimulus, RSpec, Git, SEO

Ruby Git Postgres XML RSpec Elasticsearch SQL HTML CSS Javascript SASS Stimulus SVG InDesign Photoshop Illustrator SolidWorks Composer SEO Project Management Usability