Jon Calder

“No man should escape our universities without knowing how little he knows.” – J. Robert Oppenheimer

Experience

February 2018 - Present

Automation Engineer; Libryo

• Research and development on how to best automate & augment processes on the Libryo Platform
• Database management, maintenance and support
• Data analysis, dashboarding and reporting
• Software development and maintenance of development, staging and production environments
• Strategic support and consultation around technology decisions
• Assist with the management and implementation of strategic objectives

September 2017 - Present

Guest Lecturer; University of Cape Town

• Data Science for Industry is a 24-lecture, 12 credit module in the MSc in Data Science program at the University of Cape Town
• Teaching material for the development of (1) R packages and (2) Shiny apps which comprise the communication section of the course

September 2016 - January 2018

Data Scientist; Derivco - Cape Town

• work with product and design teams to inform and assist with product and feature design
• assist with both functional and technical product documentation
• conduct ongoing industry and competitor research to inform the design of product features
• determine product data requirements and support delivery of data, monitoring and analysis to operators
• expand on underling game maths and service maths requirements for product features as they are designed, developed & iterated upon
• develop tools to model and simulate the impact of changes to product configuration

October 2011 - August 2016

Data Analyst; RightShift

• design, build and maintain ETL process to update database environments as well as deploy and manage SSAS cubes, and optimizing these processes in order to allow for rapid scaling}
• create, manage and maintain reports to service the daily, weekly and monthly requirements of the business in various respects; as well as reporting directly to high level management
• measure application data in order to identify trends in player behaviour, virality, revenue and associated key metrics
• track and monitor general application performance across multiple platforms and identify potential bugs and problems
• assist marketing and customer support teams with additional tailored reporting and analysis to provide specific insight into various interventions and offers
• perform ongoing analysis in order to inform decision making on game and meta-game development and configuration utilizing A-B testing
  

2008 - 2011

Student Tutor; University of Cape Town, Department of Statistics

• Tutored undergraduate statistics courses from 1st year through to 3rd year
• Responsibilities involved:
  • facilitating weekly class tutorials
  • invigilating & marking of tests and exams
  • ad-hoc one-on-one hot-seat tutoring

2008 - 2011

Senior Tutor; Axiom Tutoring

• Tutoring of mathematics and statistics from high school through to undergraduate university level
• e-mail administration & allocation of tutors to students
• one-on-one & small group tutoring
• preparation & typesetting of notes and worksheets
  

2007 Summer

Student Internship; Momentum Collective Benefits

• worked as part of a group recording, capturing and compiling historical data for later use by the actuarial team to re-evaluate exposure to risk
• gained insight into the insurance/group life industry, and experience in the commercial use of Microsoft Excel and VBA macros to automate data compilation and processing tasks

Publications

Modelling uncertainty in stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis

Ian N. Durbach, Jon M. Calder
Omega (October 2015)
Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.omega.2015.10.015

Decision Support for Evaluating Player Performance in Rugby Union

Jon M Calder, Ian N. Durbach
International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching (February 2015)
Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.¹²⁶⁰⁄₁₇₄₇-9541.10.1.21

Technical Experience

Software & Programming Languages

R, C++, Java & Python

Proficient with R, some experience with C++, Java, Scala & Python

Databases & Scripting

MySQL, T-SQL, Excel, VBA, SSAS, SSMS, SSRS + limited experience with MDX

Document Preparation

Word, Powerpoint, Markdown, LaTeX

Statistical Packages

Some experience with Statistica, SPSS, EViews & Genstat

Web Development

Some experience with HTML & CSS, PHP, Javascript, Wordpress

Education

2009 - 2013

MSc in Operations Research (with distinction); University of Cape Town, Department of Statistics

• Decision modeling, decision support, logical fallacies & reasoning, performance analysis in sport.

Player performance evaluation in rugby using Stochastic Multi-Criteria Acceptability Analysis with simplified uncertainty formats

Masters dissertation

Supervisor: Dr Ian Durbach

Description: This study investigates the use of SMAA as a decision support tool for rugby coaches by making use of game data to inform possible rankings of players within positional profiles based on preference criteria.

2008

BSc (Honours) in Statistics; University of Cape Town, Department of Statistics

• Operations Research, Decision Modelling, Theory of Statistics, Multivariate Analysis, Econometrics, Portfolio Management.

Application of Rasch Analysis to the Assessment of Grade 6 Literacy and Numeracy In The Western Cape

Honours dissertation

Supervisors: Prof Tim Dunne, Kutlwano Ramaboa

Description: Rasch analysis is utilized to assess the validity of a numeracy and literacy test administered to grade six learners from over 1000 schools in the Western Cape in 2007. Rasch analysis is introduced in the context of a background to modern test theory, and the data are then examined with respect to invariance across the latent trait, targeting and reliability, item characteristics and differential item function.

2005 - 2007

BSc in Statistics; University of Cape Town, Department of Statistics

• Undergraduate courses included Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Economics, Accounting, Finance and Actuarial Science

2000 - 2004

Carter High School; Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

• Finished fourth in the Vulindlela/Pietermaritzburg district and third in the Midlands Area (awarded by the Kwa-Zulu Natal Department of Education)
• Awarded the dux prize for top scholar in Grade 12, with distinctions for English, Afrikaans, Mathematics, Biology, Physical Science and Geography
• Awarded Academic Colours in Grade 10 and Academic Honours in Grades 11 and 12.
• Awarded Effort Certificates from Grade 8-12

Human Languages

• English (home language)
• Afrikaans (2nd language)
• French (beginner)
  

Achievements and Extra Murals

Music

• Studied classical piano - theory and practical - at the Music School in Pietermaritzburg (1998-2003)
• Was graded at various Eistedfords during this period and performed at additional concerts
• Achieved a grade 6 performance level

Sport

• 1st Team Outdoor hockey (Captain) and 1st Team Indoor hockey at Carter High School
• Awarded half colours
• Other sports played (mostly club/social) while at school and university include: soccer (indoor and outdoor), action cricket, cricket, squash, touch rugby and ultimate frisbee

Community Service

• Since 2017: Member of RWeekly
• Since 2017: Co-organiser of satRdays in South Africa (e.g. see satRday CT 2018)
• Since 2017: Mentor and maintainer of the R track on exercism.io
• 2007: 1st Year mentor, Smuts Hall (UCT Residence)
• 2004: Grade 8 mentor, Carter High School
• 2003: Member of Matric Dance Committee, Carter High School

Interests & Hobbies

• Piano/Keyboard
• Sound engineering
• Running