Nathaniel Kraft

I have worked in Web development and multimedia since 2002, specifically as a front-end developer. I have been interested in video games since around 1986, the year Super Mario Brothers was released for the NES in North America. My love affair with the medium has risen and fallen in cycles throughout the years, mirroring the different stages in my life. During the last five years, my appreciation and enjoyment of this art form has been nurtured in large part due to the work of Waypoint and its mission. I would find it incredibly meaningful and rewarding to contribute to that body of work going forward.

I would bring to Waypoint my enthusiasm, my empathy, and my love for working as part of a creative and passionate team. I would bring very strong writing and communication skills, born from a life-long enjoyment of both writing and reading, fortified by a multidisciplinary education in Communication Technologies, and practiced through professional communication and documentation. As someone who is inquisitive in nature, I come with a willingness to gain new skills, through teaching myself and through learning from others. I would bring my years of experience in working on websites meant to inform and educate others to the Waypoint team’s mission.

We’d be able to make something amazing together, and have fun doing it. I hope you’ll give me a chance to prove it through a first interview.

Education

Bachelor of Science in Communication Technologies
Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI
Graduated Summa Cum Laude, 2002

Experience

Front-End Team Lead / Technical Lead / Sr. Web Developer 
IQ Solutions, Rockville, MD (iqsolutions.com)  

During my 11 year tenure with IQ Solutions, I've been promoted from Jr. Web Developer up to Front-End Team Lead and Technical Lead.

As the Front-End Team Lead, my responsibilities include:

• Managing 6 direct reports, consisting of mid-level and junior-level Web developers that focus on site-building and front-end development. I meet with them on a regular basis to perform one-on-one check-ins, during which we discuss goals, work load, and any challenges that I might be able to provide mentorship or assistance in resolving.
• Conducting twice a week developer "scrums," during which I act as the meeting lead and host for the entire development team, consisting of about 14 staff members. These meetings are held virtually, over MS Teams, as our entire staff is full-time remote.

As a Technical Lead, my duties are:

• Attending client-facing virtual meetings alongside my project managers, and acting as a subject matter expert in regards to the development, enhancement, and management of the clients' websites.
• Providing direction and technical review on new tasks.
• Writing emails and technical communications to clients and internal staff.
• Triaging tasks out to junior staff members and freelancers.
• Assisting in the writing and editing of project outlines and proposals that are shared with clients.
• Building out site themes in front-end and back-end code.
• Debugging and troubleshooting problems reported by the client or by project managers.
• Assisting in content creation and content editing.
• Updating modules and the core codebase behind the websites as necessary; and occasionally selecting, editing, or creating photos and graphics for use in websites and email marketing.

Web Production Specialist | October 2009 – October 2010  
Westat, Rockville, MD (westat.com)  

During my time at Westat, my primary responsibilities were to build, develop and manage websites and related projects for federal government agencies in the health and human services sector.

Web Designer | October 2007 – October 2009  
The Humane Society of the United States, Washington, DC (humanesociety.org)  

As a Web Designer at The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), I was hired to:

• Build and strengthen the nonprofit's online brand, by designing and coding microsites and email campaigns used for fundraising and advocacy. 
• Design banners and online advertisements at the request of internal clients. These assets were distributed to advocates, corporate partners, and were shared on MySpace, Blogspot, and early Facebook. 
• Extend the brand of a major public policy initiative for use in letterhead, t-shirts and other marketing and community outreach materials.

Marketing Technologist | April 2006 – October 2007 
Arent Fox LLP, Washington, DC (arentfox.com)  

While at the law firm of Arent Fox in the role of "marketing technologist," I was expected to be a jack of all trades, applying my communication technologies background while: 

• Launching a new public-facing website.
• Helping draft and send marketing emails at the request of the Chief Marketing Officer.
• Creating and formatting graphics for Web and marketing purposes. 
• Encoding mp3 and video files for embedding on the website. 
• Developing a registration tool for firm events using PHP and MySQL.
• Updating and maintaining biographical information for more than 300 attorneys.

Web Content Development/Electronic Product Specialist | July 2003 – April 2006 
Government Printing Office, Washington, DC (gpo.gov, bookstore.gpo.gov)  

During my time at the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), I was tasked with:

• Managing content updates and code maintenance for several agency websites
• Creating and designing marketing collateral for the online bookstore.
• Traveling around the country to conduct in-person training of federal depository librarians on the use of the GPOAccess.gov website (now defunct). 
• Representing GPO at various trade shows relating to libraries and the publishing industry, where I would work with a colleague to promote the services of the GPO and the use of its websites.