# Spencer Bell > Full-stack Engineer specializing in Ruby on Rails Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/spencer - Skilled in: Ruby, Rails, C#, MySQL, Git - Working knowledge of: Javascript, C++, Java, HTML, CSS - Basic knowledge of: Node.js, React, Cache stores ## Work Experience ### Full Stack Engineer @ Couchsurfing International Jan 2016 – Jan 2018 | San Francisco Bay Area - Designed and wrote Couchsurfing’s Hangouts feature from the ground up, including the back-end and API implementations - Improved Couchsurfing’s localization capabilities, making it accessible to users around the world regardless of language -Implemented a system for the automated welcoming of new members, connecting them with a Couchsurfing Ambassador to guide them through the best ways of using the application - Worked with a team of developers to redesign and rework the sign-up flow, using React to provide a more engaging experience to the user - Used an external service to add identity verification, making the application safer for users everywhere - Added many admin and customer safety features, streamlining the work done every day to keep Couchsurfing a safe and fun community ### Full-stack Engineer @ Teespring Jan 2013 – Jan 2015 I joined Teespring when it was still relatively small, and was their sixth engineer in the San Francisco office. I handled the implementation of a number of features, most important of which at the time was the seller-to-buyer messaging. The next significant task involved taking charge of Teespring's localization initiative, adding the initial framework, then support for seven foreign languages. This evolved into working on the full globalization effort, allowing Teespring to function in non-US currencies. I think this work set the stage for Teespring to move into the true global market that they've been aiming at from the start. ### Systems Development Intern @ OverDrive, Inc. Jan 2013 – Jan 2013 - Programmed an application to search the company’s database for e-book metadata to help system programmers more easily access and reference library information - Upgraded the system for sending email notifications to library patrons from .NET 2.0 to .NET 4, resulting in improved performance on the company’s servers ### Programmer and Researcher @ University Hospitals of Cleveland MRI Research Center Jan 2012 – Jan 2012 | Cleveland, Ohio - Developed an application, using Microsoft Kinect’s headtracking functionality, allowing doctors and researchers to view medical models in 3D ### Product Development Intern @ BrandMuscle Jan 2011 – Jan 2011 | Beachwood, Ohio - Programmed and debugged sections of BrandMuscle's C#-based BrandBuilder proprietary software used by more than 30 national companies to support local customization and personalization of marketing campaigns - Assisted in enhancing the company's landing page project as a member of the development team through the improvement of their back-end C# codebase ### Programmer and Researcher @ University Hospitals of Cleveland MRI Research Center Jan 2010 – Jan 2010 | Cleveland, Ohio - Designed a program, using CUDA and MATLAB, to de-noise MRI outputs, allowing hospital radiologists to view the images more effectively - Documented the above for the main research team on how to properly implement CUDA and MATLAB together ### Associate @ University Hospitals Management Center Jan 2009 – Jan 2009 - Developed a C#-based SQL database administration interface to the hospital’s medical records - Worked with a group of five to test the University Hospitals internal website for bugs in response to user enquiries ### Associate @ LogicJunction Inc Jan 2008 – Jan 2008 - Assisted in database building and research to enhance 3D avatars' characters for the company, which specializes in artificial intelligence, 3D graphics, and other human-machine interaction technologies - Tested various interactive sequences for trade shows ### Tae Kwon Do Instructor @ Insight Learning and Wellness Center, LLC Jan 2005 – Jan 2007 - Assisted the teacher in instructing behaviorally challenged students in the art of Tae-Kwon-Do ## Education ### BS in Game Design & Development/Computer Science Rochester Institute of Technology Jan 2008 – Jan 2013 ### High School Diploma with Honors Hawken School Jan 2004 – Jan 2008 ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/spencerabell --- Source: https://flows.cv/spencer JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/spencer/resume.json Last updated: 2026-03-20