Dan Hough

Full-stack Software Engineer

I’ve been a professional developer since 2010, with experience ranging from early-stage startups to established companies. In that time I’ve worked with great companies like Beam, Jungle Scout, Marvel, and Huddle, building impactful products and leading technical teams. I specialize in AI integration, web applications, and infrastructure, with a strong focus on product intuition and pragmatic solutions.

Developer for Hire

Currently, I’m settling into my life in Melbourne, Victoria. While I’m not actively seeking work right now, I’m always interested in hearing about interesting opportunities, particularly for contract or freelance roles. If you need an experienced engineer to help build your product or lead your team, I’m your person. With 15 years of experience in startups and product development, I particularly excel at:

I also have extensive experience with modern web technologies, databases, and development practices. Here’s a couple of things that people have said about me over the years:

First up, Dan is great fun to work with and he has masses of enthusiasm about pretty much anything. He is knowledgeable about a great deal of web software development, both client side and server side, and also had great input into user experience and usability design of the app he built for us.

I’m open to all sorts of offers. For me, being a developer is about working on lots of interesting projects, meeting great people and getting experience in many fields and technologies. Whatever your situation, budget or goals, get in touch and let’s see if we can work something out.

I worked with Dan for 18 months at Beam - we were the 2 colocated devs in a dev team of 3, so worked very closely together for a long period!

Dan is an exceptional full stack developer. He’s got a constant desire to learn and do things in the best way. He’s interested in the cutting edge, and also pragmatic. He writes clean code and follows best practices and cares deeply about readability, usability, performance, and scale. He also contributes heavily to product and design, takes feedback well, and gives generous and helpful code review.

Beyond this he’s a top human - kind, funny, gregarious and has the fortitude to go the distance. Highly recommended! ✅

Dan was a great addition to our team when we needed him most: in the run up to our iOS app launch. He settled in extremely quickly and got on well with the rest of the team. His work was exceptional and he required little management. We couldn't have been happier!

Convinced?

Please get in touch if you think I might be the right person for your project. I’m particularly interested in opportunities that involve:

Think we could work together?

Get in touch.

FAQ

What tools do you use?

I primarily use Cursor for development, along with Git for version control. For organization and documentation, I use Notion. I’m experienced with ChatGPT, OpenAI, and various AI tools for development enhancement. I also work with modern design tools like Figma and Sketch when needed.

What technologies do you use?

My core expertise is in Ruby on Rails and JavaScript, with extensive experience in:

I also have plenty of experience with other languages and technologies such as Python, Django, .NET, iOS Development.

Are there any kinds of projects you’d prefer?

I excel at both greenfield projects and improving existing systems. Recent experience includes:

Where are you based?

I’m based in Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Will you work remotely?

Yes, I’m experienced with remote work and am open to opportunities worldwide, depending on the project.

Will you work on-site?

I’m open to both on-site and hybrid arrangements in Melbourne, depending on the project and location.

Are you looking for permanent roles?

While I’m primarily interested in contract and part-time opportunities, I’m open to permanent roles for the right project. Feel free to get in touch to discuss possibilities.