Frequently Asked Questions

Apologies to everyone. Interviews and code challenges take time.
Am working thru my messages. Will get back to you as soon as I can.
29 April - Chris
I want to thank you very much for taking the time to look at this FAQ.
Quite understandably, all recruiters need to know this information. I wrote this in an effort to save time for all of us.
If there is anything else you need to know that is not covered here, please don't hesitate to ask.
Thank you again for reading! :-) Plesae feel free to contact me at your convenience.
The most frequently asked questions are in bold underline.
Several Skill Matrix(es) and Resume Download Links are included here. Scroll down a bit.
Back to the Career Page

1. Name. Christopher T. Hull

2. Is this your legal name? Yes.

2.1 MOST RECENT RESUME is HERE ---> You can download my latest resume from here.
Click to download my latest resume in Word format -> my latest resume in word format
Click to view my latest resume in PDF format -> my latest resume in pdf format

2.2 Where can I find more detailed information about your career, interests and hobbies. I have been maintaining a personal website since 1998.
More recently, I have added a Career Page to it.
To learn more about me, see http://chrishull.com/career or http://chrishull.com .
You are currently viewing http://chrishull.com/career/faq.html

3. What positions are you seeking? Software research and development. Areas of interest, cloud virtualization with Openstack / VMware. Also like embedded systems. Like developing full stack code, mostly server side, REST Java Python Hibernate SQL JDBC.

3.1. Where do you live? Sunnyvale California
Sunnyvale is near San Jose, in the heart of Silicon Valley.

4. How soon can you start? Two weeks after an offer is accepted.

5. What is your availability for phone screens and interviews? 48 hour notice for phone screens.
1 week notice for interviews.

6. Are you willing to relocate? No.
I am married, own a home here, and Silicon Valley is the center of the technological universe.

7. How far are you willing to commute? I live near San Jose.
I am willing to commute as far as San Francisco, which is a one hour drive, but would prefer the South Bay, Silicon Valley area.

8. Skill Matrix - Programming Languages
List your programming languages and years of experience. Overall IT experience 35 years
Java/J2EE 18, Python 3, C/C++ 15, BASH 15, PHP 2, Node.js 1, Javascript 1, various machine languages.
I know several other languages as well. I prefer Python and Java.

9. Skill Matrix - Development Environments
List the tools and environments used and years of experience. Eclipse 12, Git 3, Jenkins 2, Gradle 1, Mercurial 1, CVS 20, SVN 6, Linux 20, Macintosh 6, JUnit 10, GCC 5, CDT 2, SQL 5, Tomcat 10, Spring 2, Hibernate 2, SQL 5, Gnu Debugger 2, Ant 10, OpenStack 2, VMWare (ESX, all tools) 10, NoSQL (MongoDB) 1
Many others - ask or see resume.

9.1. Skill Matrix - Misc
List miscellaneous and years of experience. Agile / SCRUM 10, RESTful API server/client development 6, Multi-threaded programming techniques 20, Java development using open source ecosystem 18, Virtualization environments (VMware, Vsphere, etc.) 10, Open Source Tools (Git, MySQL, JUnit) 18
Many others - ask or see resume.

9.2. Skill Matrix Learning
List technologies you are working with for the first time. Scala, Angular.js, Raspberry Pi, 3D Printing, ROS (Open Source Robotics OS)

9.3. What are your ideal roles? Backend Java or Embedded Java on Linux. C/C++ is fine. I also love Python. I love devices and code for them in my spare time. Would love to learn iOS / Android and am working on an app. Also love the cloud and maintain a virtual server farm based on Openstack.
On the other side of the spectrum I love the cloud and have done my most recent work with OpenStack / VMWare on a highly scaleable platform at Cisco. This involved Python, Java and Node.js. I recently built a great Hypervisor (i7quadCore 4ghz 32gb rackmount) for myself that runs OpenStack.

9.4. What types of companies do you like, small?... large? I'll work anywhere if the project and people are interesting. But I tend to like startups. Work/life balance is also important. I will take my work home with me, but I won't kill myself over a job.

10. Contact e mail chrishull42@gmail.com

11. Contact phone number 415 385 4865 cell (preferred) 408 735 0164 home

12. Work Authorization
What is your VISA status? Can you work legally in United States?
Do you require H1-B sponsorship? Yes, I am a US citizen.
No H1-B sponsorship is necessary.
My father's side of the family has been here since before the revolution. My Great Great Grandfather Isaac Hull served as Captain of the USS Constitution during the War of 1812.

13. Hourly rate 85+ per hour on w2.
Full time perminant or contract to hire preferred.
Equity can also be a part of my compensation. I am more motivated by interesting projects than money.
I made 68 at my last position at Cisco, but the market has greatly improved since then.
I have seen offers as hight as 118/hr.

14. Annual Salary 140k + per year.
I can be flexible. My preference is for full time work. This is what I usually do. In startup situations, equity can also be a part of my compensation. I am more motivated by interesting projects than money.

15. Will you be taking any vacation soon? I will be going to Hawaii in November.

16. May we do a background check? Yes. I have no criminal record.

16.1. May we do a financial background check? (this position involves writing code to handle money, eBay / PayPal for instance.) Yes. BTW, my credit score is 750 when last checked two years ago. No bankruptcies, divorces or dependents.

16.2. Do you have a security clearance (government position)? No.

17. Month and Day of your birthday July 20

42. What is your shoe size and type? 9 1/2 E / cowboy boots.

42.1 Do you own your own space suit?
(Position requires coding in a vacuum.) Yes.
Click here.

19. Are you currently working? No
My project at Cisco ended March 15 2016

20. Do you have a website? http://chrishull.com/career (you're looking at it now!!)
See LinkedIn, projects and code samples pages too.

21. Do you have a LinkedIn Profile? http://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishull

22. Can you provide references from both managers and coworkers? Yes, see LinkedIn. I have many written recommendations from coworkers and managers alike, including my most recent work at Cisco. You may contact them either via LinkedIn, or I can provide e mail addresses.

23. Do you have any certificates or citations
... decoder rings, or other objects one can acquire from a CrackerJack Box? No, and... are you kidding?
I've been writing code as long as the desktop computer has existed. I have worked on high profile projects such as the Macintosh Operating System and the Kindle. I don't need no stinking certificates?

23.1 Do you have a college degree? No, but I did attend Cal State University Northridge where I studied Computer Science.
I dropped out to go to work for Apple Computer.

24. Do you hold any patents? Yes,
I am a Kindle patent holder and have other software patents as well.
See LinkedIn and my site.

FAQ updated Thursday April 7 2016
Return to Career page

1. Name.	Christopher T. Hull
2. Is this your legal name?	Yes.
2.1 MOST RECENT RESUME is HERE --->	You can download my latest resume from here. Click to download my latest resume in Word format -> my latest resume in word format Click to view my latest resume in PDF format -> my latest resume in pdf format
2.2 Where can I find more detailed information about your career, interests and hobbies.	I have been maintaining a personal website since 1998. More recently, I have added a Career Page to it. To learn more about me, see http://chrishull.com/career or http://chrishull.com . You are currently viewing http://chrishull.com/career/faq.html
3. What positions are you seeking?	Software research and development. Areas of interest, cloud virtualization with Openstack / VMware. Also like embedded systems. Like developing full stack code, mostly server side, REST Java Python Hibernate SQL JDBC.
3.1. Where do you live?	Sunnyvale California Sunnyvale is near San Jose, in the heart of Silicon Valley.
4. How soon can you start?	Two weeks after an offer is accepted.
5. What is your availability for phone screens and interviews?	48 hour notice for phone screens. 1 week notice for interviews.
6. Are you willing to relocate?	No. I am married, own a home here, and Silicon Valley is the center of the technological universe.
7. How far are you willing to commute?	I live near San Jose. I am willing to commute as far as San Francisco, which is a one hour drive, but would prefer the South Bay, Silicon Valley area.
8. Skill Matrix - Programming Languages List your programming languages and years of experience.	Overall IT experience 35 years Java/J2EE 18, Python 3, C/C++ 15, BASH 15, PHP 2, Node.js 1, Javascript 1, various machine languages. I know several other languages as well. I prefer Python and Java.
9. Skill Matrix - Development Environments List the tools and environments used and years of experience.	Eclipse 12, Git 3, Jenkins 2, Gradle 1, Mercurial 1, CVS 20, SVN 6, Linux 20, Macintosh 6, JUnit 10, GCC 5, CDT 2, SQL 5, Tomcat 10, Spring 2, Hibernate 2, SQL 5, Gnu Debugger 2, Ant 10, OpenStack 2, VMWare (ESX, all tools) 10, NoSQL (MongoDB) 1 Many others - ask or see resume.
9.1. Skill Matrix - Misc List miscellaneous and years of experience.	Agile / SCRUM 10, RESTful API server/client development 6, Multi-threaded programming techniques 20, Java development using open source ecosystem 18, Virtualization environments (VMware, Vsphere, etc.) 10, Open Source Tools (Git, MySQL, JUnit) 18 Many others - ask or see resume.
9.2. Skill Matrix Learning List technologies you are working with for the first time.	Scala, Angular.js, Raspberry Pi, 3D Printing, ROS (Open Source Robotics OS)
9.3. What are your ideal roles?	Backend Java or Embedded Java on Linux. C/C++ is fine. I also love Python. I love devices and code for them in my spare time. Would love to learn iOS / Android and am working on an app. Also love the cloud and maintain a virtual server farm based on Openstack. On the other side of the spectrum I love the cloud and have done my most recent work with OpenStack / VMWare on a highly scaleable platform at Cisco. This involved Python, Java and Node.js. I recently built a great Hypervisor (i7quadCore 4ghz 32gb rackmount) for myself that runs OpenStack.
9.4. What types of companies do you like, small?... large?	I'll work anywhere if the project and people are interesting. But I tend to like startups. Work/life balance is also important. I will take my work home with me, but I won't kill myself over a job.
10. Contact e mail	chrishull42@gmail.com
11. Contact phone number	415 385 4865 cell (preferred) 408 735 0164 home
12. Work Authorization What is your VISA status? Can you work legally in United States? Do you require H1-B sponsorship?	Yes, I am a US citizen. No H1-B sponsorship is necessary. My father's side of the family has been here since before the revolution. My Great Great Grandfather Isaac Hull served as Captain of the USS Constitution during the War of 1812.
13. Hourly rate	85+ per hour on w2. Full time perminant or contract to hire preferred. Equity can also be a part of my compensation. I am more motivated by interesting projects than money. I made 68 at my last position at Cisco, but the market has greatly improved since then. I have seen offers as hight as 118/hr.
14. Annual Salary	140k + per year. I can be flexible. My preference is for full time work. This is what I usually do. In startup situations, equity can also be a part of my compensation. I am more motivated by interesting projects than money.
15. Will you be taking any vacation soon?	I will be going to Hawaii in November.
16. May we do a background check?	Yes. I have no criminal record.
16.1. May we do a financial background check? (this position involves writing code to handle money, eBay / PayPal for instance.)	Yes. BTW, my credit score is 750 when last checked two years ago. No bankruptcies, divorces or dependents.
16.2. Do you have a security clearance (government position)?	No.
17. Month and Day of your birthday	July 20
42. What is your shoe size and type?	9 1/2 E / cowboy boots.
*42.1 Do you own your own space suit?* (Position requires coding in a vacuum.)	Yes. Click here.
19. Are you currently working?	No My project at Cisco ended March 15 2016
20. Do you have a website?	http://chrishull.com/career (you're looking at it now!!) See LinkedIn, projects and code samples pages too.
21. Do you have a LinkedIn Profile?	http://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishull
22. Can you provide references from both managers and coworkers?	Yes, see LinkedIn. I have many written recommendations from coworkers and managers alike, including my most recent work at Cisco. You may contact them either via LinkedIn, or I can provide e mail addresses.
23. Do you have any certificates or citations ... decoder rings, or other objects one can acquire from a CrackerJack Box?	No, and... are you kidding? I've been writing code as long as the desktop computer has existed. I have worked on high profile projects such as the Macintosh Operating System and the Kindle. I don't need no stinking certificates?
23.1 Do you have a college degree?	No, but I did attend Cal State University Northridge where I studied Computer Science. I dropped out to go to work for Apple Computer.
24. Do you hold any patents?	Yes, I am a Kindle patent holder and have other software patents as well. See LinkedIn and my site.