Introduction:
My name is Robbie Hatley. I am computer programmer and electronics engineer living in Orange County, California. I am open to job opportunities in the computer and electronics fields.
Education:
I hold the degrees of "Associate in Arts" and "Certificate of Achievement in Electronics Technology" from Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California, both degrees awarded on December 19, 1986.
Most of my knowledge, however, is through self-education and experience. I am an avid reader, and have explored many subjects, some closely related to my chosen careers (electronics and computers), some less so. Most of my computer programming knowledge and skills, especially, is self-taught. (That almost goes without saying. Programming is not really a thing one can be "taught"; it is learned, for the most part, through doing.)
Experience:
1978-1990: I started my first job in August of 1978 when I joined Unisen Inc, in Irvine, CA (they're now known as "Startrac", and have relocated to Tustin, CA). I worked for 10+ years as an electronics technician in their engineering department, where I helped design the Lifecycle exercycle, the Phoenix industrial paper-cutter controller, the Starcon industrial camera controller, the Startrac treadmill, and other products.
1992-1999: Throughout most of the 1990s I worked for Craig Athey at CSM Fitness Equipment in Huntington Beach, CA, where I performed electronic and mechanical repairs on commercial-grade fitness equipment, maintained the company's computers and LAN system, handled warranty issue resolution with customers, did all the UPS and FedEx shipping, and did much of the company's purchasing (including all of its electronics component purchasing).
2000-2006: In 2000, I joined Qcom Corporation, a mid-sized greenhouse-controls company, which later changed its name to Hortimax USA. I first joined the company as an electronics technician, but starting in 2002 I switched careers to computer programming for Hortimax USA. This mid-life career switch was prompted by the low wages and boring repetition which are part of working as an electronics repair technician. I knew that I had the ability to do more than just repair the same few circuit boards over and over. My best strengths are in troubleshooting problems and designing solutions, and software engineering proved to be a better match to my abilities. Unfortunately, Qcom/Hortimax was purchased first by Westland Energy in Holland, then later by Dave Johnson Environmental Technologies in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. The owners went on a series of cost-cutting binges, and laid off all but about 3 or 4 of the company's employees. I survived longer than most, but eventually, I too was told that my services were no longer needed.
2006-2008: From mid-2006 to mid-2008, I worked full time as a computer programmer for Link4 Corporation, which is a small greenhouse-controls company in Southern California. My primary work was expanding the company's primary software product, iControl (written in C for the National Instruments LabWindows/CVI platform) from "vapor-ware" to "fully-functional", then maintaining it and adding new features.
2009: I worked as an address enumerator for The United States Census Bureau, in preparation for the 2010 US Census.
2010-2021: From mid-2010 through late-2021, I worked as a self-employed computer programmer, electronics engineer, and electronics repairman. My customers have included Glide Fitness Products (Santa Ana, California), Cardiofurb (Costa Mesa, California), and Gearless (Costa Mesa, California). My work has included creating GUI software for Microsoft Windows using CVI, creating Arduino firmware, designing circuits and circuit boards for new products, and repairing inoperative circuit boards sent to my customers by their customers for repair.
Note that my work over the past 44 years has primarily been in in the fitness and horticulture industries, so I have a lot of specific experience in those industries. Why those two industries specifically? I think it's because I gravitate to industries which promote human thriving and Earth's biosphere, so that I can come home from work thinking "I helped people live longer, healthier lives today", instead of being ashamed of myself.
Abilities:
I'm logical-minded, detail-oriented, and open to new experiences; I am knowledgeable in mathematics, science, electronics, and computers; I have 40 years of experience in the fitness and horticulture industries; and I can perform a wide variety of tasks in multiple fields.
More specifically, I am a long-time electronics and computers aficionado (1970-to-present). I am well grounded in Microsoft operating systems, and I am starting to become fluent in Linux as well. I am fluent in the C, C++, Sed, Awk, BASH-shell, and Perl programming languages, and I am in the process of learning Python. I have experience in firmware, CLI, and GUI programming. I am also good at web-site design, HTML, CSS, and Javascript. Check out my main website, which I designed, wrote, and programmed myself:
I am also well versed in electronics. I can repair most types of electronic circuits, in some cases even when no schematic diagrams are available (I'm good at reverse engineering). I can also do electronics circuit design, circuit-board design (using EasyEDA or similar programs) and design debugging.
Goals:
Starting in 2022, I consider myself to be "mostly retired". I'm open to doing some work, either in the computer programming or electronics engineering or repair fields, or in other fields, but such would would have to be local (or telecommute) and part-time, and the rewards would have to be worth my time. My health precludes working 40+ hours per week on a rigid 8AM-5PM schedule, spending multiple hours every day commuting long distances on hot, crowded, germy buses, so please don't offer me such jobs. But if you offer me a part-time job at reasonable wages which is either local (western Orange County, California) or which I can do by telecommute, I will seriously consider your offer.
I am especially interested in opportunities in software development. My preferred programming languages are Perl, C, and C++, but I am a quick study on new languages. The target platforms I have experience programming for include microprocessor firmware (mostly in C for Arduino), CLI programming (in Perl, C, and C++, for Linux and Cygwin-on-Windows), and GUI programming for Microsoft Windows (in C or C++, using Win-32 API, CVI, AutoIt, and other IDEs), but I am open to work on other platforms.
Contact Information:
Please contact me via email:
Hatley.Software@gmail.com
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