Simon Italia

About

A passionate Technologist and native iOS and Android Mobile Software Engineer with a strong focus on producing high quality products with intuitive and elegant user interfaces. Committed to following industry UI best practices such as Apple's and Google's Human Interface Design principles as well as reusable, idiomatic, maintainable and testable coding principles and patterns. Forever learning, whether it be the latest mobile development technologies and frameworks like SwiftUI or well established languages such as Python and JavaScript or emergent Web 3.0 / Blockchain languages such as Solidity.

iOS Developer,
Android Developer,
B2B & B2C Product Specialist

Open to all kinds of iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and / or Android Development opportunities, at Businesses of all shapes and sizes.

  • Contact: simonitaliabusiness@gmail.com
  • Education Level: Master of Engineering

Portfolio

  • All Apps
  • App Store
  • GitHub

Services

Specializing in every aspect of iOS Development & Web Applications Product Development.

MOBILE DEVELOPMENT

Native Mobile App Development with Swift & Kotlin. Game Apps. Tradtional Apps. Design. Development. Testing. App Store Launch.

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

Strategic Roadmap Definition, Features identfication, prioritization and scoping.

BUSINESS & SYSTEMS ANALYSIS

Translating Business needs into simple, real world user scenarios and sensical software design requirements.

USER INTERFACE RESEARCH & DESIGN

Great user interface design is not just beautiful looks, but evoking positive emotion.

ITERATIVE, AGILE SDLC W/ SCRUM

A modern, people oriented approach for managing all the delicate and intricate pieces of software development.

PROJECT GOVERNANCE

The fine art of keeping Project Stakeholders and the Executive Team smiling & happy.

Key Skills

Swift, Xcode, Android, Kotlin, VersioningGreat
OOP, MVC, MVVM, Data StructuresGreat
Web Services / API Integration (URLSession, Retrofit, AF)Really Great
Database (CoreData, Room, Realm), Firebase (Auth, Persistence)Good
Web Dev (Python, CSS, HTML, JS), Blockchain (Solidity)Developing
Project Management, Agile (Scrum)Expert
UI Design, UX Testing, User Stories Awesome
Bus. Tools (Jira, Confluence) Awesome
Stakeholder & Executive Comm.Awesome
Team Leadership, Project GovernanceAwesome

Resume

Summary

Simon Italia

A highly self-driven and passionate Technology professional with experience managing developing iOS and Android apps, plus extesnive experience leading software development teams to deliver large scale Enterprise Web Platform Features, from concept to final Production Deployment.

Education & Certifications

Master of Engineering (Management)

Aug 2021 - Jun 2023

RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

Master's Engineering and Technology program.

View Award

Graduate Certificate in Engineering Management

Jul 2020 - Jul 2021

RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

Postgraduate Engineering & Technology program.

View Award

Bachelor of Business (Management)

Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

Bachelor of Business.

Apple Platforms Development

Sep 2021 - Jun 2022

Apple Developer Academy,
@University of Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy

The Apple Developer Academy is a partnership between the University of Napoli Federico II and Apple. This is an EU sponsored scholarship program.

Android Kotlin Developer Nanodegree

Sep 2021 - Feb 2022

Udacity, Online

Designed and developed in collaboration with Google, this is a professional Android Development Certification program with a focus on developing applications using Kotlin on Android, the world's most-used mobile platform. The program requires submission and grading of multiple Android projects covering a wide range of advanced topics, frameworks and technologies including Google Maps, Geofences, Notifications, Restful Web Services, Asynchronous programming, MVVM, observable pattern, Local Data Persistence and hardware Gestures.

View Credential

iOS Developer Nanodegree

Jun 2020 - Jul 2020

Udacity, Online

Co-designed and co-created with AT&T, Lyft and Google this is an intensive iOS Development Certification program requiring submission and grading of multiple iOS App projects independently developed, covering advanced topics and frameworks across Apple's Swift API library, such as UIKit, MapKit, Core Data, Generics, GDC / Thread Management, Networking, Closures, Codable and Protocols.

View Credential

Blockchain Specialization Program

Jan 2021

University at Buffalo, Online (via Coursera)

An in depth 4 course Blockchain speclialization program.

View Credential

Blockchain Platforms

Jan 2021

University at Buffalo, Online (via Coursera)

Course 4 of a 4 part Blockchain Specialization Program. This course focused on exploring real-world Dapp Platforms (Augur, Grid+) and other Decentralized Technologies such as Interplanetary File System (IPFS) & Hashgraph.

View Credential

Decentralized Applications (Dapps)

Dec 2020

University at Buffalo, Online (via Coursera)

Course 3 of a 4 part Blockchain Specialization Program. This course focused on the end-to-end development of Blockchain DApps. Final course assessment required grading of Solidity Dapp along with tests written in JavaScipt.

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Smart Contracts

Dec 2020

University at Buffalo, Online (via Coursera)

Course 2 of a 4 part Blockchain Specialization Program. This course focused on designing, programming / coding with Solidity, deploying and execution of Smart Contracts with Remix IDE.

View Credential

Blockchain Basics

Dec 2020

University at Buffalo, Online (via Coursera)

Course 1 of a 4 part Blockchain Specialization Program. This course focused on the essential concepts of blockchain technology, with exploration of the Bitcoin and Ethereum protocols, to lay the foundation necessary for developing Blockchain applications.

View Credential

JavaScript & Data Structures Certification

Nov 2020

freeCodeCamp, Online

An intermediate level course covering JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures. Submission and grading of 5 complex projects independently solved applying detailed knowledge of JavaScript and Data Structure design.

View Credential

Responsive Web Design Certification

Oct 2020

freeCodeCamp, Online

An in depth (~300 hours) course covering responsive web design technologies (HTML, CSS, CSS Flexbox, CSS Grid), and web design fundamentals such as accessibility. Submission and grading of 5 web apps independently developed from scratch.

View Credential

Building Cultural Intelligence

Aug 2020

RMIT University, Online

Leadership Certification Program, strengthening intelligence & awarness of diversity and differences.

View Credential

Global Citizenship

Aug 2020

RMIT University, Online

Leadership Certification Program to develop a deep understanding of the 2015 17 Sustainable Development Goals, set by the UN member states.

View Credential

Elements of AI

Jun 2018

University of Helsinki, Online

Foundational Certification Program in the field of Artificial Intelligence.

View Credential

PRINCE2 Certification

2007

PRINCE2.com

Foundational and Practitioner PRINCE2 Certification Program.

Lookup Credential

Scrum Master Certification

2007

Scrum Alliance

Leadership Certification Program in Agile w/ Scrum Concepts, Methods & Practices.

Lookup Credential

Barista Certification

2019

Bali Barista Center

An in depth 3 day course and end of program assessment examination, covering the history and entire life cycle of coffee, from cherry tree to cup.

Professional Experience

iOS Developer

Jun 2023 - Present

Expedia Group, Rome, Italy
www.expediagroup.com

Responsible for evaluating, designing and implementing new features on Expedia's iOS Traveller Search and Booking Platform.

Key Frameworks, Tools and Processes:

  • Frameworks: SwiftUI, UIKit, GraphQL, Apollo-GraphQL,
  • Architecture and Design Patterns: MVVM, Protocols,
  • Test Frameworks: ViewInspector (UI), XCTest (Unit)
  • Package Managers: CocoaPods, Swift PM,
  • Continuous Integration (CI): GitHub actions,
  • Version Control: Git, GitHub,
  • Tools: GraphQL Playground, Jira, Confluence, Slack,
  • Processes: Scrum, Kanban.

Lead Mobile Applications Developer

Jul 2022 - May 2023

Associação Vegetariana Portuguesa, Remote
www.avp.org.pt

Core responsibilities include Project Managing, architecting, developing, unit / feature testing, beta testing and releasing to the App Stores new, greenfield iOS and Android mobile applications.

Key Features, Frameworks and Tools:

  • Features: Maps, Location, Search, User Profile, User Membership Management,
  • Frameworks: SwiftUI, UIKit, CoreLocation, MapKit, CryptoKit,
  • Architecture and Design Patterns: MVVM, Observables, DI, Protocols,
  • 3rd Party Frameworks: Google Maps, RealmSwift / RealmSwiftUI,
  • Package Managers: CocoaPods, Swift PM,
  • Networking: Web Services,
  • Multi language support (Portuguese, English),
  • Version Control: Git, GitHub,
  • Data Persistence: Realm, Secure Local Cache,
  • SDLC and Business Tools: Jira, Confluence, Slack, Postman.

Mobile Applications Developer

Feb 2021 - Aug 2021

PropTech Group (ASX:PTG), Remote
www.proptechgroup.io

Responsible for native development of new features and business support for the VaultRE Business Unit's iOS / iPadOS and Android applications using Swift and Kotlin respectively.

Key Features, Frameworks and Tools:

  • MVVM, MVC,
  • Delegate / Protocol pattern,
  • Data Serialization (Codeable),
  • Web Services / API Integrations (Retrofit, Alamofire, URLSession),
  • Realm db,
  • Firebase (Crashlytics),
  • CocoaPods,
  • Programmatic and Storyboard UI,
  • Version Control workflow (Git / GitHub).

Founder & Mobile Developer

Oct 2020 - Present

Magical Tomato Digital Consultancy, Remote
www.magicaltomato.com

Providing independent iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and android Mobile Applications Development Services using native SDKs and frameworks (Swift, Kotlin), for clients across Australia and USA (New York City, Los Angeles).

App Store Published apps:

  • Device Radar: Standalone Apple Watch App to display nearby devices on a Radar Screen,
  • Waiter's Friend: iPhone App designed to search and fetch any cocktail, and learn how to mix it,
  • 7 Marbles: iPad / iPhone Game App to place 7 marbles in specific positions.

Founder & Product Director

Jan 2013 - Jan 2019

Magical Tomato Digital Consultancy, New York City, NY, USA

Providing Product Management and Project Management Consultancy Services for large scale B2B & B2C Web Platform Product Development Projects in the USA (New York City), EMEA (London) and Australia (Melbourne).

Clients include:

  • Airstayz, Melbourne, Australia,
  • Estee Lauder Companies Online (EMEA), London, UK,
  • Estee Lauder Companies Online (Global), New York City, USA,
  • Standard & Poor's Global, New York City, USA,
  • xLabs, Melbourne, Australia.

Advisor, Mobile Augmented Reality

May 2018 - Jan 2019

Jemstack, Remote

Jemstack is a fashion industry forward B2C and B2B bootstrapped startup that is powered by its internally developed, cutting edge mobile Augmented Reality (AR) Technology, designed to significantly enhance the customer experience and brand engagement for browsing and purchasing fashion accessories on mobile devices.

Provide input and Guidance in:

  • Technological direction and POC milestones,
  • Commercial direction and opportunities,
  • Strategic Product Roadmap.

Project Manager, iOS Application

Jul 2018 - Dec 2018

Airstayz, Melbourne, Australia
www.airstayz.co

Airtstayz is a travel booking platform startup with a focus on digital, keyless hotel entry as well as rewarding loyal customers with digital currency / token, called STAY.

Responsible for leading the Product Development / Engineering Team to develop and deploy the company’s iOS (Beta) app:

  • Integrated app with a digital coin wallet for customer’s to store digital their currency/ies of choice,
  • Integrated app with the Airstayz booking platform, enabling customer account management and hotel, booking capabilities,
  • Development of the backend (node.js) wallet server and API endpoint service,
  • Hooked up the app to the private Ethereum blockchain network.

Director of Web Applications

Apr 2017 - Apr 2018

Estee Lauder Companies (Online), London, UK
www.elcompanies.co.uk

Estee Lauder Companies is a global leader in the Beauty Industry, with online / E-Commerce sales exceeding $1BN annually.

A European Markets focused position, with roles covering Product Management, Project Management and BA leadership and oversight of large scale IT projects and teams for Estee Lauder’s in house, cross continent E-Commerce platform.

  • Led the payment system upgrade from Global Collect to Ingenico for the EMEA market. The migration required major changes to the website’s front end/UI, API/Web services, backend logic, database and fulfillment/Warehouse systems,
  • Led the rollout of of the Loyalty program functionality from design, development to roll out in key markets in Europe,
  • Led the integration with Facebook Social Login for Account Management.

Director of Web Applications

Apr 2011 - Apr 2017

Estee Lauder Companies (Online), New York City, NY, USA
www.elcompanies.com

A US / Canada and Global markets focused position with leadership roles covering Product Management, Project Management and BA for large scale IT projects for Estee Lauder’s in-house, cross-continent E-Commerce platform.

  • Omni-channel Loyalty Program: Led the design, development, integration and deployment of the company’s first fully integrated multi-channel Loyalty Program (web, native mobile apps, POS / In-store) for the US and Canada markets,
  • E-Commerce Checkout Redesign: Led the research, design and deployment of the company's new 1-page checkout overhaul of the platform's entire cart and checkout user interface and user flows, along with significant front end and back end tech stack architecture upgrades to support the redesign overhaul,
  • E-Commerce Web and Mobile Checkout Optimizations: Building upon the checkout redesign project, led the research, design and deployment of further enhancements to the platform's cart / checkout interface and upgrades to the tech stack architecture,
  • Promotions Engine / Offer Manager enhancements: Led projects to significantly upgrade the platform's offer management engine to support the offers required to the power the Loyalty programs introduced with the omni channel Loyalty project.

Senior Agile (Scrum) Program Manager

Dec 2008 - Jan 2011

S&P Global Market Intelligence, New York City, NY, USA
www.spglobal.com

Dedicated to providing clients with timely, objective, and actionable investment intelligence, Standard & Poor’s Equity Research Services delivers a broad range of strategies and recommendations which enables clients to navigate and seek success in even the most complex global markets.

Project Management for the delivery of the new, v2.0 Equities Research platforms MSA & FMR, and subsequent features:

  • Led the project team to deliver the next generation equity research platform, Market Scope Adviser (MSA),
  • Led a secondary project team to deliver the next generation Fund Management Research (FMR) platform.