Kevin Sar
Software Engineer at McGraw-Hill Education
About Me: I am a Software Engineer living in Orange County. I love the LAMP stack, but in my current role I am writing server and client side javascript for an ed-tech company that specializes in adaptive learning software which is able to curate custom lessons for students. In my free time I play basketball and golf. I am a big fan of personal finance and I help coach people how to get their finances in order following Dave Ramsey's baby steps to building personal wealth. I love reading about politics, history and science. Check out the menu/right side bar for some awesome articles that are currently saved to my Pocket account!
Connect with me on LinkedIn!
Relevant Work Experience
Software Engineer - McGraw-Hill Education
Irvine, California
July 2014 - Present
- Worked on an Agile development environment, interacting with UX, QA and TPM's to meet sprint goals that were on time and on budget.
- Instrumental in working on the redesign of McGraw-Hill's adaptive learning software - ALEKS.
- Design and implement robust client and server side libraries using Object Oriented JavaScript.
Front-End Developer - JNR Incorporated
Newport Beach, California
October 2013 - August 2014
- Collaborated with developers and designers to create functional websites from concept to completion.
- Develop websites and modules for debit card and travel departments for our client's incentive programs; clients ranged from major healthcare companies to leading car manufacturers.
- Drafted best practice guides for developers and designers to use in order to ensure that front facing programs would look consistent and work correctly in all relevant platforms and browsers.
Web Developer - Trinet Internet Solutions
Irvine, California
June 2012 - October 2013
- Planned and executed client websites from start to finish using a variety of different languages and tools, including but not limited to Drupal, PHP, JavaScript, CSS, jQuery, ASP.NET, C#, NetCommunity and Convio.
- Created master templates for several client email campaigns in order to streamline the development and to get consistent results across all relevant email platforms.
- Documented development procedures and important client specific information in order to allow future developers to better understand how websites were created in order to reduce development time.
Web Developer - Blink Development
Tustin, California
July 2014 - Present
- Developed websites and business applications for clients using PHP, JavaScript and Drupal to increase client's online presence; clients included Fletcher Jones Motorcars, Mckenna Cars and many more.
- Built mobile applications for the Android and iOS Platforms in order to allow clients to manage their business solutions on their mobile devices.
- Optimized website databases in order to increase site efficiency and load speeds using MySQL and OracleDB.
Current Projects
- Working on a startup that has to do with recycling, which will in turn help under-priviledge school districts
- Working on a project to encourage Cambodian-American and African-Americans to become more successful in STEM careers.
- Working on an advice blog to help Millenials understand important milestones, why they are important and how to achieve them.
- Trying to figure out what entrepeneuring endeavor I want to invest my time and money in...
College Career
University of California, Irvine
I am a graduate of the University of California, Irvine (Go Eaters! Zot! Zot! Zot!). I graduated in the Fall of 2012 with a degree in Informatics with a specialization in Software Engineering. While at UC-Irvine I participated in many intramural sports and clubs/organizations. I was a member of Chinese Association and Cambodian Awareness Association. I am a proud card carrying brother of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and was a founder of the INSA Dance Team at UC Irvine. My first official job, other than helping out at my family's donut shop, was working as a maintenance worker for UC Irvine Athletics and then eventually getting promoted to being the Associate Athletic Director's Student Assistant. I was a Residential Advisor for 2 years. I loved my time at UC Irvine and still attend UCI baseball games on occassion!
My Hobbies
Personal Finance Planner
I am very big on personal finance and helping people create budgets to get themselves out of debt. One day I stumbled upon a radio show called The Dave Ramsey Show and it led me to my journey into becoming debt free. My goal is to inspire other people to become debt free as well and I try to help them in whichever way I can, which usually involves me helping them set a budget, create lifestyle changes and nagging/encouraging them to stay on track!
Sports - Basketball and Golf
In my free time I love to play basketball. I try to play basketball at least 3-4 times a week. Currently, I am playing basketball in the Irvine City Men's Basketball league with some friends from college. My favorite player of all time would have to be Quentin Richardson, back when he was in the Clippers.
I occassionally like to get out on the golf course or at least hit the range. I used to golf a lot in high school and I try to golf more as I get older, I'm still pretty terrible but always a lot of fun.
Favorite Languages and Tools
