Hello.

My name is Ryan Hellyer

Email: ryanhellyer@gmail.com
Phone: +49 1745390977
Portfolio site: https://geek.hellyer.kiwi
Personal site: https://ryan.hellyer.kiwi

With over 12 years of professional experience in PHP and JavaScript, I specialize in developing and managing WordPress powered websites. I'm proud to have created many successful open source projects, the most popular of which has over 70,000 active users. I was the first employee of my most recent employer Strattic, who were acquired by Elementor Ltd in 2022. My specialities include Jamstack, web search and web performance.

Professional Experience

2022 — 2023 Elementor | Jamstack Specialist. Utilized PHP and JavaScript for WordPress-to-static site migration. Specialized in Jamstack and Search Optimization.
2018 — 2022 Strattic | WordPress Specialist. Initial hire at the company, responsible for creating the framework to convert WordPress sites to static hosting. Utilized PHP and JavaScript for the migration process. Specialised in Jamstack and search implementations. Company was later acquired.
2017 Varnish Software | WordPress consultant. Offered specialized WordPress skills to overhaul Varnish Software's corporate website. Created performance evaluation instruments for their caching solution.
2016 — 2017 Crowd Favorite Europe | Senior WordPress engineer. Created WordPress plugins and themes for large scale corporate websites, implemented API connections between WordPress sites and external corporate services.
2015 — 2022 ComicJet | Founder. Operate own enterprise. Developed a language-learning tool through comic reading. Responsible for design and full execution. Website: https://comicjet.com
2014 — 2015 Forsite Media | WordPress Specialist. Developed security tools for the banking sector, commercial plugins for WordPress, and built large scale corporate websites.
2013 — 2014 10up | WordPress Engineer. Conducted security auditing for various Fortune 500 companies and implemented high-performance versions of corporate sites with high traffic volume.
2012 — 2013 Metronet | Senior Developer. Developed open-source WordPress plugins, Facebook apps/pages, created corporate websites, and presented at industry conferences.
2012 WP Paintbrush | Co-owner Collaborated with Instinct Entertainment to develop WP Paintbrush, an enhanced version of my earlier theme generator for WordPress.
2011 Automattic Provided various security reports and recoded the WordPress.com Z-Bench theme.
2011 PixoPoint | Owner operator Created the first full-scale page/theme design editor for WordPress which later became the base for WP Paintbrush.
2003 — 2011 University of Otago / University of Calgary | Research scientist. Applied computer modeling (Density Functional Theory) to predict novel coordination complex structures and analyze plant material extraction methods.

Open Source Work

Open source project contributions I've contributed code to the following open source projects:
  • WordPress core — Security fixes and general code improvements
  • WordPress SEO — Security and UI fixes
  • AISEO — Security fixes
  • JetPack — Added extra functionality to the Most Popular Posts widget
  • Minit plugin — Implemented extra hooks and extension functionality
  • Gravity Forms — Security fixes
  • WooCommerce — Security fixes
  • Dibs for WooCommerce — General code fixes
WordPress plugin creation I've created 41 publicly released WordPress plugins, with sixteen actively maintained on wordpress.org. Most popular ones include Disable Emoji's (70,000+ active sites), Unique Headers (20,000+ active sites), and Spam Destroyer (9000+ active sites).
WordPress theme creation I've developed eight publicly released WordPress themes.
Code snippets and services I actively maintain 11 code snippets/code libraries used for software development, mostly for WordPress.

Community Work

2013 — 2019 Conferences | organiser.
I have helped organise to conferences, WordCamp Europe 2019 and WordCamp Norway 2013.
2013 — 2022 Berlin Hikers | Community Leader.
Took over leadership of a hiking community with approximately 2,000 members, and successfully grew it to over 10,000 members. Administered all community aspects, including logistics and member management. Coordinated with and supervised a team of over 40 event organizers to ensure successful and engaging hiking activities.
2017 — 2022 Undiecar Championship | Founder and Organizer.
Conceived and established the Undiecar Championship, a competitive sim racing league. Responsible for event planning, rules development, and community engagement. Managed all staff members, along with handling administrative and operational tasks, including participant registration, scheduling, and promotion. Grew the championship into a recognized platform for over 2000 amateur and semi-professional sim racers.
2007 — present Content Contributor for WordPress Publications.
Produced blog posts for key WordPress-focused media outlets, including WP Tavern, WP Garage, and WP Realm.
2002 — 2009 Sports Management and Team Building.
Co-founded the Dunedin Aces Inline Hockey Club, which competed in the New Zealand South Island Regional Inline Hockey Championship. Founded the Dunedin Bears Ice Hockey Team, leading them to a Southern Ice Hockey League B-pool Championship. Revitalized the struggling Dunedin Ice Hockey League, growing it from three to 12 fully-staffed teams. Managed team managers, oversaw finances, coordinated referees and timekeepers, and handled administrative duties including ice booking and event promotion. My comprehensive management role significantly contributed to the success and expansion of these sports initiatives.

Education

2001 — 2002 Master of Science
Conducted research using computer modeling (Density Functional Theory) to predict the structures and stability of new coordination complexes. Published multiple research papers on the synthesis of new coordination complexes.
1998 — 2000 Bachelor of Science
Major in chemistry

Personal life

Originally from New Zealand, I now call Berlin, Germany my home, adding to my international living experience that includes stays in Canada and Norway. My travel log also includes frequent visits to Israel, with a notable recent visit to the Elementor office.

In my personal time, I stay engaged with my passion for technology by contributing to open source code. Balancing my digital interests, I lead and participate in outdoor activities such as cycling and hiking events. I enjoy participating in simracing competitions.