I’m . I’m an independent . A native Mainer, I am living in Vietnam. I like to listen to , , and get some .

Resume

Hi there, I’m Ben. I’m a web developer/designer with 10+ years of experience in consumer-facing tech, including scrappy startups and some Big Tech™️. I love to bridge the gap between design and engineering and I pride myself on building high-quality end-user experiences. I enjoy making creative decisions and usually fill a hybrid designer/developer role.

Stack

  • Core: TypeScript, React, Tailwind, Next.js on Vercel
  • Backend: Node.js, Python, PHP
  • Data: Apollo GraphQL, RDBMS, WordPress, Airtable
  • Auth: JWT, Auth0
  • UI: HeadlessUI, Material UI, D3.js
  • State: Apollo Client, XState, SWR
  • Environment: macOS, VS Code, Git, Docker
  • Logs: DataDog, Sentry

Experience

  • Namecheap (2019–present)

    1. Built a new marketplace for aftermarket domain names using React, AdonisJs, and GraphQL, including the user front end, and admin console, as well as a public and private API.
    2. Built a sales lead collection app for a large portfolio of high-value aftermarket domain names. Example: provoke.ai.
  • Thumbtack (2016–2019)

    1. Built their Help Center from the ground up using Create React App and a custom-built Salesforce API.
    2. Built their Solution Center, a dispute settlement application, with React, Redux, and XState.
  • Airtable (2017)

    1. Built three new blocks for their pro "blocks" feature, including the records block, description block, and chart block.
  • Homely.com.au (2015–2016)

    1. Built a profile/portfolio page for real estate agents.
    2. Built an alerts feature for saved search criteria.
  • Yelp (2012–2014)

    1. Part of the small team that produced Yelp's first UI style guide, which we made available to the public. The style guide precipitated an organization-wide push towards modular design.
    2. Rebuilt Yelp's most important page, the business page, from scratch, using advanced (at the time) SCSS/CSS features for layout and interaction.
    3. Led the development of a complete overhaul of all HTML email templates, including Yelp Weekly, which is sent to millions of users each week.
    4. Gained experience working on a large-scale software project with hundreds of contributors. Learned extensively about release engineering, including testing and deployment, as well as common web security vulnerabilities.
  • Couchsurfing (2011–2012)

    1. Designed experiments focused on optimizing user onboarding, using Optimizely A/B testing platform.
    2. Had a fluid role within a startup environment, ranging from coding to graphic design and product management.
    3. Redesigned the website's primary navigation.
  • Perch Design Studio (2009–2011)

    1. Turned beautiful Photoshop mockups into small WordPress and Shopify sites.

Side Projects

Check out some of my projects over here.

Education

  • Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics and Computer Science
    Colby College, Waterville, Maine (2005–2009)

Languages

  • English (native)
  • Spanish (fluent)
  • Vietnamese (intermediate)
  • Korean (beginner)