I’m Sam O’Leary, a Cincinnati-based UX developer, product engineer, and chaos coordinator.
The human your team didn’t know it needed. I write APIs behind the UX I craft, manage CI and deployment systems, organize Linear across teams, understand deep product problems, and turn repos into software people actually want to use. Want more? I also manage teams and mentor; I deeply care about the people I work with. Full Stack? Sure. Coordinating Chaos? 100%.
Seeking employment.
Let's chat. Thirty minutes, no pitch.
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I founded Neon Anomaly; a lab for bizarre experimentation + dev shop for local small biz (2025 → present).
I worked at QA Wolf as a Staff Engineering Lead; led the move from gated access to public self-serve signup, owned front-end architecture, crafted Wolf UI, and shipped the natural-language interface (2024 → RIF'd 1 week ago).
I worked at Acryl Data as a Staff Engineer; crafted a design system and component architecture decoupled from product data contracts (2024).
I worked at Astronomer as a Principal Software Engineer + Engineering Manager; rebuilt the cloud UI and extended the GraphQL API behind it as the near-sole front-end engineer heading into a $13.6M Series A, then led a team of eight through product maturity (2019 → 2023).
I worked at Planetary as a Senior Software Engineer; NYC-based dev shop, contributed full-stack to projects such as: Best Home Furnishings, Spacetime, Univision, Photoland, Blue Diamond Almond, Google Impact Challenge, Prudential Financial (2016 → 2019).
I moonlighted for Rocketcode as a Front-End Engineer; building Shopify themes and custom plugins for ecommerce merchants (2014 → 2015).
I started my career at Round Pixel Studio as a Junior Developer, promoted to Lead Software Engineer; led UI architecture, front-end delivery and DevOps for client web products (2013 → 2016).
TL;DR: developer tools and cloud consoles, B2B SaaS, design systems and component libraries, data platforms and visualization, ecommerce storefronts, news and media platforms, marketing and campaign sites, conversational interfaces, enterprise mobile, and physical installations.
LinkedIn without the brands or the bots. Every post is screened for AI generated text and rejected unless a person actually wrote it.
Ask a question, get an answer with more confidence than it has earned. Divination as an interface; may good fortune seek you.
A numbers station that broadcasts to nobody in particular, all night, whether or not anyone tunes in.
But what if ghosts could draw?
A haunted shell, of course.
“It was wonderful working with you, Sam! You built a great design system at QA Wolf which significantly improved the UX and you also did a superb job leading the UI team.”
“..you are one of the best persons I had the priviledge to work with..”
“Your impact was huge, though. From working together with the design team to build a design system and component library. To shipping entire user facing features in no time. Whenever you were on a task I was sure the end result would be of high quality.”
“As a leader, Sam has an eye for potential and actively develops her team. As a teammate, she inspires you to raise your game. As a human…she’s the kind of person the world needs more of.”
“I had the pleasure of working with Samantha at Astronomer and can absolutely vouch that she's a world class talent. I would HIGHLY recommend her to anyone looking for a rockstar front-end engineer.”
“I can vouch for Sam’s high quality work and attention to UI/UX detail!”
“She is, far and away one of the best employees I’ve had the fortune to work with. Determined, committed, and very self-driven, Samantha has worked hard to not only worked to achieve her day-to-day engineering goals but has regularly gone above-and-beyond.”
“Samantha is about as close as one can get to the ideal colleague and developer that a designer can ask for. Not only is her technical expertise broad and impressive, she's also a wonderful person to work with daily.”
Full-Stack Engineer
a passionate, results-driven full-stack technologist based in Cincinnati — bridging the gap between design and engineering to deliver impactful solutions at scale.
Get to know me
What I bring
Where I've made an impact
A boutique innovation lab and full-service development partner empowering local businesses to thrive in an increasingly digital landscape.
Staff Engineering Lead
Spearheaded the strategic transition from gated access to a frictionless self-serve onboarding funnel, owned front-end architecture end to end, and delivered Wolf UI alongside an AI-powered natural-language interface that redefined how users engage with the platform.
Staff Engineer
Architected a scalable design system and modular component architecture, thoughtfully decoupled from product data contracts to maximize reusability and accelerate developer velocity.
Principal Software Engineer + Engineering Manager
As the near-sole front-end engineer, reimagined the cloud UI and extended the GraphQL API powering it in the lead-up to a $13.6M Series A — then scaled and mentored a high-performing team of eight through the product maturity journey.
Senior Software Engineer
Partnered cross-functionally at this NYC-based digital studio, delivering full-stack excellence across a diverse portfolio of world-class brands: Best Home Furnishings, Spacetime, Univision, Photoland, Blue Diamond Almond, Google Impact Challenge, Prudential Financial.
Front-End Engineer
Empowering ecommerce merchants with bespoke Shopify themes and custom plugin solutions tailored to their unique business needs.
As a Junior Developer, promoted to Lead Software Engineer, where I owned UI architecture, front-end delivery, and DevOps for a robust suite of client web products.
Throughout my professional journey, I have delved into a diverse array of problem spaces — developer tooling and cloud consoles, B2B SaaS, design systems and component libraries, data platforms and visualization, ecommerce, news and media, marketing, conversational interfaces, enterprise mobile, and physical installations — consistently delivering scalable solutions that move the needle.
Trusted by growing teams
Giving back to the community
Always building
A next-generation professional networking platform that leverages advanced AI detection to ensure every post is authentically human — fostering genuine connection in an increasingly synthetic world.
An innovative conversational experience that reimagines the ancient art of divination for the modern user, delivering personalized insights with unwavering confidence.
A round-the-clock ambient audio experience that reimagines the classic numbers station for today's always-on listener.
A creative exploration at the intersection of paranormal folklore and generative ASCII art.
A whimsical yet powerful command-line environment that brings a touch of the supernatural to the daily developer workflow.
Kind words from colleagues
It was wonderful working with you, Sam! You built a great design system at QA Wolf which significantly improved the UX and you also did a superb job leading the UI team.
Atchyut Preetham Pulavarthi · Peer @ QA Wolf
..you are one of the best persons I had the priviledge to work with..
Felipe Augusto · Reportee @ QA Wolf
Your impact was huge, though. From working together with the design team to build a design system and component library. To shipping entire user facing features in no time. Whenever you were on a task I was sure the end result would be of high quality.
Mateus Zitelli · Peer @ QA Wolf
As a leader, Sam has an eye for potential and actively develops her team. As a teammate, she inspires you to raise your game. As a human…she’s the kind of person the world needs more of.
Sjen Warner · Peer @ Astronomer
I had the pleasure of working with Samantha at Astronomer and can absolutely vouch that she's a world class talent. I would HIGHLY recommend her to anyone looking for a rockstar front-end engineer.
Zachary Hensley · Peer @ Astronomer
I can vouch for Sam’s high quality work and attention to UI/UX detail!
Eric Dobbertin · Peer @ QA Wolf
She is, far and away one of the best employees I’ve had the fortune to work with. Determined, committed, and very self-driven, Samantha has worked hard to not only worked to achieve her day-to-day engineering goals but has regularly gone above-and-beyond.
Josh Gross · Founder @ Planetary
Samantha is about as close as one can get to the ideal colleague and developer that a designer can ask for. Not only is her technical expertise broad and impressive, she's also a wonderful person to work with daily.
Valdis Barrett · Peer @ Planetary
I would love to connect and explore how my background might align with your team's goals. Thirty minutes, no pressure.
Get In Touch 🚀