Hello, my name is
Brian Kemper
Greetings from Austin, Texas! I’m a software engineer and web developer specializing in PHP and WordPress, with a passion for crafting customer-focused web experiences. My professional journey includes over a decade in Japan, developing research, business, and marketing solutions. When I’m not coding, photography and outdoor adventures are my favorite pastimes.
Experience
ThriveCart – Austin, TX
Software Development Engineer
- Developed enhanced features and functionality as a full-stack PHP developer for a leading SaaS sales cart solution, which processes over $1 billion in annual sales
- Created and optimized custom APIs for the integration of third-party services, including Marketing Automation, Customer Relationship Management, and payment systems such as Stripe and PayPal
- Designed proofs of concept and prototypes to explore new features and improve user experience
- Proactively monitored AWS infrastructure, including EC2, RDS, and CloudWatch, to optimize performance and promptly address any potential service disruptions
Whole Foods Market – Austin, TX
Software Development Engineer
- Delivered business-critical applications, themes, and plugins as a full-stack WordPress developer on the Internal Web Team, serving over 50,000 users
- Created custom WordPress websites with tailored themes and custom post types to streamline product and documentation management
- Managed AWS systems for over a dozen applications, including EC2, S3, RDS, SES, and Route 53
- Led site migration, feature development, and security compliance projects serving in the role of Technical Program Manager
Jungle Scout – Austin, TX
Software Development Engineer
- Full stack developer of responsive, mobile friendly, high volume WordPress content for a leading SaaS product used by over one million Amazon sellers
- Coded application components and features using PHP, WordPress, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- Scaled, maintained, and improved existing website infrastructure and site performance
Encompass K.K. – Austin, TX
Software Development Engineer
- Lead developer and project manager for over 40 small business products, including websites, book publishing, smartphone apps, and marketing campaigns in multiple languages
The University of Tokyo – Tokyo, Japan
Software Development Engineer
- Lead developer and project manager for research projects integrating text mining, systems biology, and semantic search applications using PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, MySQL, and Java
Education
Master of Science, Information Communication Sciences
Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana
Bachelor of Science, Telecommunications
Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana
Publications
PathText: a text mining integrator for biological pathway visualizations
by Brian Kemper et al. (Bioinformatics [ISMB], 01/2010; 26:374-381)
Community Platform for Pathway Model Building
by Yukiko Matsuoka, Brian Kemper et al. (10th International Conference on Systems Biology; 09/2009)
Semantic Searching Based on Ontologies and Agent Systems for Knowledge Discovery
by Steven Kraines, Brian Kemper et al. (Journal of Industrial Ecology; 02/2008)
Connecting Text Mining and Pathways using the PathText Resource
by Rune Sætre, Brian Kemper et al. (International Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation LREC 2008; 01/2008)
PathText: Text Mining Tools Integrated with Biological Pathway
by Rune Sætre, Brian Kemper et al. (Genomes to Systems Conference 2008 Handbook; 01/2008)
EKOSS: A Knowledge-User Centered Approach to Knowledge Sharing, Discovery, and Integration on the Semantic Web
by Steven Kraines, Brian Kemper et al. (5th International Semantic Web Conference; 01/2006)
Photography
It is difficult not to fall in love with photography while living in Tokyo. Here is a small sample of some photos I took while living there. I’m planning to share more soon and would love to put together a coffee table book some day.
