Dirk Bergstrom

I am a professional computer geek and programmer, available for in-person gigs in Silicon Valley, the closer to Mountain View the better. I consider myself a software “craftsman” rather than an “engineer”, in that I strive to produce polished, simple, minimalist, effective and carefully built code rather than concentrating on explicitly technological solutions. I learned my trade on the job, by working with senior programmers and by reading and trying to emulate the code in successful open source projects.

Python is my current language of choice and my primary focus is web applications and data analysis & presentation; I’m also fluent in Javascript, SQL, and shell. I have skill and experience with the entire development process from server configuration to end user support. If you need an application built, fixed or improved, I can probably do it.

In 2009/2010 I developed a password safe app for Palm’s webOS platform. I put out roughly one release per month between September and February, and at its peak I had about 1500 users (and then Palm went under). The project is open source so you can see the quality of my work: I use version control and bug tracking, and I interact well with users.

Computers are my third career; previously I was a corporate librarian and before that a bench chemist. To get an overview of the whole story, read my resume.

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