Phill Duffy

phillduffy@gmail.com | linkedin.com/in/phillduffy/ | phillduffy.com | github.com/phillduffy

Summary/Profile

As a highly motivated, results-driven, C# Tech Lead, I have a proven track record of delivering solutions, implementing processes, tooling and growing teams.

My passion for technology, particularly finding succinct, maintainable solutions, drives my work. My enthusiasm and dedication to technology are noticeable in my work and approach, and I enjoy solving complex problems and building innovative products.

Having thrived in diverse environments, from a multinational law firm to my own company and SaaS startups, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for the unique challenges and opportunities each setting presents.

I’m particularly proud to have led the development of a new online platform for Simmons & Simmons and authored two books on SharePoint development.

I’m eager to leverage my skills and experience to help shape the future of technology for my next employer.

Experience

Technical Co-Founder (non-director), SEOTesting (June 2022 – Present)

Working in a small team and from the early stages of a startup has given me a fantastic opportunity to learn and apply my skills pragmatically. The tool, designed to help SEO Marketers understand the impact of their Web Page changes, has allowed me to work through challenges of scaling, creating and consuming APIs, introducing ‘just enough processes’, and making incremental improvements.

  • Built reports using ASP.Net MVC, Entity Framework and data from the Google Search Console and Google Analytics APIs to provide SEO insight for our customers.
  • Implemented AI recommendation functionality to help users find alternative content ideas
  • Created functionality to search Google Search Console data using natural language processing by using the ChatGPT Function calling
  • Architected a solution for monitoring changes to a customer’s Web Pages using Hangfire. Scaled to 10k pages per hour and managed the content storage for later comparison.
  • Developed tools to monitor changes in Sitemaps and Robots.txt files. Over 3,000 robots.txt files and 500 Sitemaps are processed daily.
  • Introduced using GitHub Issues to track, manage, and prioritise our workload.
  • Introduced Automated Testing with Unit, Integration, and UI Tests, with mocking where appropriate. Using XUnit, NSubstitute, Effort and Playwright.
  • Mentored two junior developers to onboard and upskill to support our pragmatic approach to delivery.
  • Implemented a ‘Magic Link’ functionality to provide a shareable, secure link to key pages for our users’ stakeholders.
  • Built the SEOTesting Chrome Extension and Web API to allow users to view SEO Test Data in context - currently with over 4,000 users.
  • Created a Looker Studio Connector using Apps Script and Template to allow users to share Test Data externally.
  • Built a Proof of Concept tool to recommend next actions for users based on their current SEO data, using Semantic Kernel to build AI Agents.

Director, Storism (Jan 2019 – Present)

After realising an opportunity for a SaaS Product during data migration at my previous role, I wanted to experience building a product by myself. I moved away from my initial data product idea after gaining more traction with a tool I had built to help market the original product.

The tool, postmaker.io, has 3,000 users, with about 20 active daily.

I relished the challenge of using completely different technologies and approaches and learned much about myself on this journey.

  • Provided Consultancy for Simmons & Simmons.
  • Created a Data Mapping and Migration oversight tool using Vue and Firebase to support platform migrations.
  • Created a Social Media Content Generator using Spintax to scale post ideas. Built using Vue 3, Node.js, TypeScript and Firebase.

IT Development Manager, Simmons & Simmons (Apr 2013 – Apr 2019)

I originally joined Simmons & Simmons as a SharePoint Architect but applied to become the IT Development Manager when the opportunity arose.

I played a pivotal role in architecting and developing a new Online Services platform. This project involved migrating legacy systems to a modern, cloud-based platform using Azure. By adopting a headless CMS approach, we empowered content editors with greater flexibility and control over content delivery, allowed more innovative Legal Products, while also improving the overall user experience. This platform significantly improved our online services, leading to a Webby award and multiple awards for new innovative legal products.

  • Architected Online Services platform using Vue, Prisma, Auth0, Azure, and GraphQL.
  • Gained wider IT experience as a valued member of the senior leadership team whilst providing my experience and insight.
  • Led the original team of 8 developers in transitioning from ad-hoc requirements via email to Scrum and then on to Kanban. The changes involved facilitating workshops and training sessions with stakeholders, and fostering a collaborative environment that encouraged continuous improvement.
  • Upskilled the original development team with best practices, patterns and testing, helping ensure the maintainability of our software.
  • Hired new members with the skills needed to support the firm’s strategic direction.
  • Implemented CI/CD using Octopus Deploy to streamline deployments.
  • Using AppDynamics, I diagnosed a daily slowdown of the Sitecore CMS due to 12 billion (with a b) unnecessary database lookups.

Product Manager / SharePoint Solutions Architect, Lightning Tools (Sept 2011 – March 2013)

I continued to be a hands-on developer but took on additional responsibility for helping align our efforts with our strategic goals and customers’ desires. I’ve always enjoyed talking to users to understand how they use software, their pain points and the most helpful functionality.

  • Collaborated with customers to gather requirements, led beta programs, and translated insights into actionable product roadmaps.
  • I managed a team of SharePoint developers, QA, and Support.
  • Assisted Marketing with new releases through evangelism and presenting at conferences.

SharePoint Developer, Lightning Tools (Apr 2008 – Sept 2011)

  • Develop SharePoint solutions for SharePoint 2010 and 2007.

Skills

  • Languages: C#, JavaScript, SQL, CSS, HTML, TypeScript
  • Frameworks: .Net Framework, ASP.NET MVC, Entity Framework, .NET Core, XUnit, Node.js, Vue, Astro
  • Technologies: SQL Server, Git

Publications

Working at Lightning Tools gave me opportunities to speak at numerous SharePoint conferences. A publisher listening to one of my talks offered me the chance to turn it into a book.

  • Pro SharePoint with jQuery – Phill Duffy (Feb 2012)
  • Microsoft SharePoint 2010: Business Connectivity Services – Brett Lonsdale, Penelope Coventry & Phill Duffy (June 2012)

Hobbies and Interests

Outside work, I love spending time with my family, especially introducing our boys to new places and foods. I enjoy a weekly game of 5-a-side trying to humble much younger and fitter teams. When the weather is nice, I like to ride my motorbike.

I also love learning about the technologies I use to help me understand and apply better working methods. If something interests me, I genuinely enjoy digging for more information.

I’ve recently become interested in the Rust programming language. Learning a very different language from C# has made me appreciate different software-building approaches.

References

References are available on request.