Colin Caine
Freelance Research Software Engineer
Stevenage, England, United Kingdom
Summary
🤩
Rockstar🎓
Top SchoolColin Caine is a Freelance Research Software Engineer with 11 years of experience building pragmatic, well-documented code for transport research, public-sector clients and academic partners like the World Bank, Integrated Transport Planning Ltd and the University of Leeds. He blends deep computer-science foundations—taught as a university instructor across programming, distributed systems and networks—with hands-on contributions to high-profile open-source projects, including core improvements to the Julia language and full-stack work on the Tridactyl Firefox extension. Colin prioritises uncomplicated, proceduralised code and testing, and has mentored hundreds of students, translating pedagogical clarity into maintainable engineering. He seeks engagements that deliver social good or pose interesting technical challenges, and his volunteer teaching for charity demonstrates a commitment to widening digital inclusion. An unusual strength is his ability to move between language-core optimizations and user-facing UX features, making him equally comfortable shaping algorithms or the end-user experience.
11 years of coding experience
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Computer Science, Did not graduate, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Computer Science, Did not graduate at The University of Manchester
English
Stackoverflow
1,062reputation
527kreached
15answers
3questions
Github Skills (33)
algorithm10
algorithms10
programming-language10
javascript10
browser-extension10
chrome-extension10
data-structure10
vim10
firefox10
language-design10
data-structures10
opera-extension10
webextension10
iterator10
julia10
Programming languages (37)
Github contributions (5)
tridactyl/tridactyl
Feb 2017 - Mar 2022
A Vim-like interface for Firefox, inspired by Vimperator/Pentadactyl.
Role in this project:
Full-stack Developer
Full-stack DeveloperContributions:2 reviews, 447 commits, 58 PRs in 5 years 1 month
Contributions summary:Colin contributed significantly to the Tridactyl project, which is a Vim-like interface for Firefox. Their work included implementing core features such as a skeleton web extension and various functions for tab management (e.g., changing tabs, closing tabs, and moving tabs). The user also worked on improving the commandline interface and fixing bugs in the code, demonstrating a strong understanding of the project's architecture and functionality. They appear to be involved in developing the core user experience.
firefoxvim-likevimvimperatorwebextension
JuliaLang/julia
Aug 2019 - Dec 2022
The Julia Programming Language
Role in this project:Back-end Developer / Software Architect
Back-end Developer / Software ArchitectContributions:46 reviews, 25 commits, 40 PRs in 3 years 4 months
Contributions summary:Colin contributed significantly to the Julia programming language core, implementing features and optimizing existing functionalities. Their work included supporting non-numeric step ranges, speeding up the `isleapyear` function, and adding 2-argument versions of `findmax/min` and `argmax/argmin`. The user also improved iterator handling, updated documentation, and refined set operations, demonstrating a focus on language core improvements.
sciencejulia-languagemachine-learningjulialangpetsc
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