Jaan Tollander de Balsch

Problem-solving with computational methods and software engineering.

Education

2018 - 2023
MSc in Computer Science at Aalto University
Track: Algorithms, Logic, and Computation
Master’s Thesis (URN): Monitoring parallel file system usage in a high-performance computer cluster
2014 - 2018
BSc in Applied Mathematics at Aalto University
Minor: Computer Science

Experience

2021 - present
CSC - IT Center for Science

As a trainee on the Cloud team, I tested CSC’s cloud services from the customer’s standpoint. I deployed a Julia application to OpenStack virtual machine on CSC Pouta and OpenShift container platform to CSC Rahti as a demonstration and documented the process thoroughly.

As a junior application specialist in the Computing Environments team, I wrote my master’s thesis regarding monitoring and analyzing parallel file system usage on CSC’s Puhti cluster. Currently, I work on containerizing user applications, improving user workflows, and developing Julia environments.

Supervisors: Sebastian Von Alfthan, Kalle Happonen

2016 - 2021
Systems Analysis Laboratory

As a summer and part-time worker and research assistant at SAL, I have been responsible for developing multiple scientific software packages using the Julia programming language around mathematical models developed by the research group. Developing packages included interpreting scientific research, designing APIs, writing documentation, and creating tests. Packages used GitHub for the centralized repository, GitHub actions for automating testing, and document deployment to GitHub pages. I also have experience in Python, but these days I prefer to use the Julia language for its superior performance and modern features for scientific computing

Supervisors: Fabricio Oliveira, Anton von Schantz

Technical Skills

Natural Languages
Finnish (native), English (professional)

Applied Mathematics
Mathematical modeling, Optimization, Constraint programming, Logic, Numerical analysis, Computer algebra

Computer Science
Algorithm design, Data structures, High-performance computing, Parallel computing

Programming
Julia, Bash, Python, C

Software Engineering
Linux, Git, Git-based workflows, Docker, Apptainer, Buildah, OpenStack, OpenShift

Technical Writing and Communication
Markdown, LaTeX, Pandoc, Static Websites

Developer Tools
Terminal, Tmux, Vim, VSCode, Arch Linux, Ubuntu, Lmod

Projects

Projects that demonstrate my technical skills.

github.com/gamma-opt/DecisionProgramming.jl
Julia package for decision programming, an optimization model for decision making developed at Systems Analysis Laboratory.

github.com/csc-training/GenieWebApp.jl
Intructions for deploying Julia applications on CSC Cloud services.

github.com/jaantollander/dotfiles
Shell scripts for installing Arch Linux and configuring a development environment on it.

jaantollander.com
Personal website for technical writing built with GoHugo using Wowchemy theme and deployed on Netlify.

youtube.com/jaantollander
YouTube channel for video tutorials for communicating technical knowledge.

Contact

You can contact me via email.