I'm an engineer, interaction designer, and teacher with over two decades of experience leading complex web development, design systems, and data visualization projects in government, open source, and creative agency environments. I design and build performant and scalable products, mentor and manage individual contributors, and have led the delivery of critical public services and foundational design systems.
Tailwind, Storybook, Docusaurus, Primer, Design Tokens, Plugin Development.
TDD, BDD, E2E Testing, Browser Automation, Code Quality, Test Automation.
GitHub, GitHub Actions, CircleCI, Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, Release Automation, Documentation Automation.
Next.js, Django, Jekyll, Drupal CMS, Wagtail, Data Migrations, Content Translation, i18n.
AWS, Ansible, AWX.
JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, shell scripting, Java.
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SVG, HTTP, accessibility, responsive design, web performance.
Principal Engineer, Engineering Manager
San Francisco, CA, US
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Summary
Led critical digital initiatives for the City & County of San Francisco, encompassing pandemic response, the development of a new design system, and a ground-up rebuild of SF.gov, while also serving in an Engineering Manager capacity.
Highlights
Directed the rapid deployment of a forms management system, enabling City staff to deliver essential aid and services during the pandemic lockdown.
Developed and launched a near-real-time COVID vaccination site listing, integrating public and private data sources and translating content into Chinese, Spanish, and Filipino to serve diverse communities.
Architected and led the complete rebuild of SF.gov using Next.js and a Django/Wagtail backend, significantly enhancing performance and user experience.
Developed and integrated SF.gov's new design system (Tailwind, Storybook, Docusaurus) with the Drupal CMS, establishing a scalable and consistent user interface.
Automated AWS infrastructure deployment using Ansible and AWX, streamlining operations and improving system reliability and scalability.
Served as interim Co-Director of Technology and led dozens of engineering efforts, fostering org-wide best practices through management, mentorship, pairing, and code review for multiple teams.
Systems Designer
San Francisco, CA, US
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Summary
As a founding Systems Designer, contributed to the foundational GitHub Design Systems team, enhancing core frameworks and spearheading initiatives for improved consistency, accessibility, and performance.
Highlights
Maintained, improved, and refactored GitHub's CSS framework, Primer, streamlining testing, contribution, and publishing workflows for thousands of contributors.
Reviewed hundreds of pull requests to GitHub's monolithic Rails application, ensuring consistency, accessibility, and maintainability across a decade-old codebase.
Architected Primer's React component library, laying the groundwork for dark mode on github.com by driving adoption of Primer and design tokens.
Systematically measured Primer adoption and implemented logging stats in Datadog, successfully reducing CSS footprint across the platform.
Front End Design Lead
San Francisco, CA, US
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Summary
Led front-end design initiatives for 18F, a federal digital consultancy, driving strategic direction, managing a team, and delivering impactful open-source projects for government agencies.
Highlights
Defined and documented 18F's front-end strategy, providing technical leadership and mentorship to direct reports.
Spearheaded the development of the U.S. Web Design Standards, which became the de facto design system for dozens of federal agencies.
Refactored interactive components to leverage WAI-ARIA best practices and developed 'receptor', an open-source library still used by USWDS.
Improved documentation systems and led intake and research sessions for agencies adopting the U.S. Web Design Standards.
Independent Contractor
San Francisco, CA, US
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Summary
Provided specialized consulting services, designing and implementing data visualization systems for diverse clients.
Highlights
Designed and developed a comprehensive visualization system for energy consumption, enabling clearer data interpretation.
Created an open elections data portal for an Indonesian client, enhancing transparency and public access to electoral information.
Partner & Interaction Director
San Francisco, CA, US
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Summary
As a Partner and Interaction Director, led the planning, design, and development of hundreds of interactive data visualizations and maps, contributing to business growth and strategic direction for nearly a decade.
Highlights
Planned, designed, managed, and built hundreds of interactive data visualizations and maps for a diverse client base at a groundbreaking design studio.
Drove client acquisition, project management, and long-term business planning as one of three business partners.
Directed and owned the user experience (UX) discipline, leading explorations and co-developing interactive prototypes.
Collaborated with visual designers to craft delightful interfaces and with engineers to optimize runtime performance.
Engaged in public outreach through speaking and teaching, enhancing the studio's reputation and thought leadership.
Interaction Designer
San Francisco, CA, US
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Summary
Pioneered web design and interaction design across multiple agencies and studios, developing innovative digital solutions and foundational systems.
Highlights
Developed a proto-CMS from scratch, demonstrating early expertise in full-stack web development and system architecture.
Became an expert in Flash before ActionScript's prevalence, leveraging it to build advanced web applications for a PR firm.
Architected the first Flash-based console game front end for Maxis, contributing to innovative user experiences in gaming.
Gained proficiency in UNIX and version control, establishing a strong technical foundation for web development.
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Summary
Taught three courses (Web Skills, JavaScript, and Data Visualization) to a class of 14 students for the inaugural Creative Code Summer Immersive at San Francisco's Gray Area art and design foundation.
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Summary
Taught a month-long summer intensive on data visualization at the Parsons School for Visual Arts.
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Summary
Developed and taught a 2-week intensive course on data and visualization in collaboration with David Mellis (creator of Arduino) at the Copenhagen Institute for Interaction Design's Pilot Year.
Awarded By
Prix Europa
Recognized for groundbreaking work with VPRO on the "Nederland van Boven" series, receiving a special commendation in the online category.
Awarded By
Prix Italia
Awarded for interactive website work with VPRO at Stamen, related to a TV or radio program.