I am Finley

I am James Finley

I am James Finley. Yeah, Finley as in a descendant of MacBeth, King of Scotland. I am a software engineer with over 20 years of experience in JavaScript, CSS, PHP, mySQL, and even Swift on iOS.

My passion lies in crafting accessible, user-friendly, and lightning-fast experiences. Throughout my career, I’ve woven a rich tapestry of successful projects, each contributing to a legacy of excellence.

Contact me today! Download Résumé PDF

james@finleyho.me

Experience

KnowInk - Senior Software Engineer II
From modern React and Angular projects to Blazor and C#, I worked on implementing standards- and test-driven solutions. I helped build the foundations of a Stencil-based web component library to standardize our UX across many applications in multiple frameworks and languages. This component library was built test-driven with Testing Library, the same library used in countless React projects, and had 100% coverage. I also was charged with spearheading a Cypress test library to cover the TotalVote voter registration software to reduce the time required by QAs to manually test the application and catch potential bugs earlier in the development cycle.
Skills used
  • React
  • Angular
  • TypeScript
  • JavaScript
  • Stencil Web Components
  • UX
  • Cypress
  • Testing Library
  • test-driven development
  • Git
  • NPM
March 2024 — April 2025
WWT/Asynchrony - Lead UX Frontend Engineer
Over the span of five years, I led dynamic teams in delivering innovative solutions for clients across diverse sectors, including banking, communications, utilities, education, and medical technologies. My expertise lies in leveraging modern frontend frameworks such as React and Angular, along with CMS software like Craft CMS. My unwavering focus on user experience ensures lightning-fast interfaces, highly accessible applications, and delightful interactions with every tap.
Asynchrony practiced two distinct things with fervor: pair programming and test-driven development. At Asynchrony, I learned and honed my understanding of unit test-driven development and end-to-end testing with Selenium and Cypress. Write a test, write the passing code, refactor the code. This lead to all but one of my projects having 100% test coverage, including over everything from APIs, React API fetching, application logic, and UI components. You can call me a true believer.
Skills used
  • React
  • Angular
  • TypeScript
  • JavaScript
  • PHP
  • mySQL
  • Craft CMS
  • UX
  • interface design
  • Selenium
  • Cypress
  • unit tests
  • Jest
  • Testing Library
  • test-driven development
  • Git
  • NPM
August 2018 — February 2024
Intercard - iOS Engineer
I joined the team to create cross-platform mobile apps that handle card balances for arcades and gaming businesses. Along the way, I also got involved in the building of a web app for making reservations for parties and events, while mentoring a young developer that was on the project.
Skills used
  • Swift
  • C#
  • Xamarin
  • Angular 4
  • JavaScript
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • Git
  • NPM
August 2017 — August 2018
Emerson Climate Technologies - Front-End Web Developer
At Emerson, I spearheaded the development of polished user experiences across various products, including ComfortGuard and Sensi. I also designed mobile-friendly email notifications. Additionally, I crafted a visually appealing marketing website for Sensi using Craft CMS. This website streamlined access to answers for common questions, highlighted new and upcoming features, and facilitated the purchase and installation of the Sensi thermostat.
Skills used
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • PHP
  • Salesforce
  • JavaScript
  • Node.js
  • Craft CMS
  • Git
  • NPM
March 2016 — June 2017
HLK - Front-End Web Developer
I built and maintained WordPress sites for clients, including Monsanto.
Skills used
  • WordPress
  • Responsive Web Design
  • PHP
  • mySQL
  • HTML
  • Sass/CSS
  • JavaScript
  • Objective-C
  • Git
July 2015 — January 2016
eTecc / Interactive - Software Engineer
While at eTecc, I built large-scale PHP/mySQL applications for car dealership industry and white-label iOS apps for dealership customers, deploying over a dozen apps for Ford, Mazda, Nissan, and more. These apps allowed for insurance claims to be filed by customers and managed by employees.
Skills used
  • Responsive Web Design
  • PHP
  • mySQL
  • HTML
  • Sass/CSS
  • design
  • Objective-C
  • Git
July 2013 — July 2015
higi - Front-End Developer
I helped the redevelopment of higi’s marketing site to support mobile devices with responsive web development techniques and worked with the team to conceive, plan, and build new features for their web app using PHP, mySQL, and modern web standards.
Skills used
  • Responsive Web Design
  • PHP
  • mySQL
  • HTML
  • Sass/CSS
  • jQuery
  • design
  • Git
September 2012 — June 2013
Echo Design Group - Senior Web Developer
Joining the team right as the whole Responsive Web Design movement kicked off, I built a dozen sites from start to launch, working with the design team to implement strong, mobile-friendly experiences. I also helped them improve their organizational workflow, including utilizing Github for deployment and version control and built a custom CMS for managing web sites.
Skills used
  • Responsive Web Design
  • PHP
  • mySQL
  • HTML
  • Sass/CSS
  • jQuery
  • design
  • Git
July 2011 — August 2012
Abt - Developer
Managed multiple projects and worked with the team to better organize projects and communication.
Skills used
  • PHP
  • mySQL
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • jQuery
  • design
January 2011 — June 2011
Community Christian Church - Web Development Director
I built a new web application that brought a brand new view of social interactivity to church websites and also brought a full online church system for running both live and prerecorded services. I honed my skills in asynchronous JavaScript, Flash, PHP and relational databases.
Skills used
  • PHP
  • Code Igniter
  • mySQL
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • jQuery
  • ActionScript 3.0
  • design and layout
December 2009 — January 2011
Clear Channel Radio - Senior Online Content Manager
I led the development of an application for managing the office paperwork that covered everything from the sale of an ad to a client to the production and airing of the ad on the radio. Not only this, but I was also largely in charge of the websites for two radio stations in Chicago.
Skills used
  • PHP
  • Code Igniter
  • mySQL
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • jQuery
  • ActionScript 3.0
  • design and layout
September 2008 — May 2009

Education

The Illinois Institute of Art - Schaumburg
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Web Design & Interactive Media
December 2008