👀 I see you! Let’s chat.

Hey, I’m Sam.

I have spent 17 years as a software developer. Working primarily on front-end: the component libraries, token pipelines, and standards that other engineers rely on. I do good work on the back-end too!

I'm employable.

I worked at QA Wolf as a Staff Software Engineering Lead · UI/UX 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 Software Engineer · UI/UX Lead; 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 Front-End Engineer · Full-Stack 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 started my career at RNDPXL as a Junior Web Developer, promoted to Lead Front-End Engineer; built PHP and WordPress platforms, including themes, plugins and JS front-ends, and managed deployment and client relationships (2009 → 2016).

I moonlighted for Rocketcode as a Front-End Engineer; building Shopify themes and custom plugins for ecommerce merchants (2014 → 2015).

I founded Neon Anomaly; a lab for bizarre experimentation + dev shop for local small biz (2025 → present).

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.

I help small biz.

I contribute upstream.

Kind words by kind people.

  • “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

Full-stack engineer, seventeen years in developer tools.

I work at the interface with the data layer: designing schemas, writing resolvers, and building the components they serve. I also build the systems other engineers depend on, from component libraries and token pipelines to agent interfaces.

Available immediately for remote or hybrid roles. Based in Cincinnati, OH.

Experience

  1. 2024 → RIF'd 1 week ago

    Staff Software Engineering Lead · UI/UX Lead

    QA Wolf

    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

  2. 2024

    Software Engineer · UI/UX Lead

    Acryl Data

    Architected a scalable design system and modular component architecture, thoughtfully decoupled from product data contracts to maximize reusability and accelerate developer velocity

  3. 2019 → 2023

    Principal Software Engineer + Engineering Manager

    Astronomer

    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

  4. 2016 → 2019

    Senior Front-End Engineer · Full-Stack Engineer

    Planetary

    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

  5. 2009 → 2016

    RNDPXL

    As a Junior Web Developer, promoted to Lead Front-End Engineer, where I architected PHP and WordPress platforms — themes, plugins, and JS front-ends — while owning deployment and partnering directly with clients

  6. 2014 → 2015

    Front-End Engineer

    Rocketcode

    Empowering ecommerce merchants with bespoke Shopify themes and custom plugin solutions tailored to their unique business needs

  7. 2025 → present

    Neon Anomaly

    A boutique innovation lab and full-service development partner empowering local businesses to thrive in an increasingly digital landscape

Open source

Technical skills

Languages
TypeScript, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, SQL, GraphQL
Front-end
React, Next.js, React Router, TanStack, Framer Motion, Astro, Storybook, Rollup, ESLint
Design systems
Radix UI, Base UI, React Aria, Zag.js, shadcn/ui, vanilla-extract, Tailwind, Style Dictionary, Figma
Back-end and data
Node.js, Express, Apollo, PostgreSQL, Redis, Elasticsearch, Prisma, Drizzle
AI and agents
Claude Agent SDK, MCP, OpenAI, Cursor
Testing and quality
Playwright, Vitest, React Testing Library, MSW, axe, Chromatic, Lighthouse

Education

Full Sail University

Bachelor of Computer Science · Valedictorian, 4.0 GPA

References

  • 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

Open to new opportunities

I would be glad to talk through how my background fits what your team is working on.

Get in touch