Staff Software Engineer · Design Systems
Hey, I’m Josh. I build the quiet systems the web runs on.
Design-systems architect and accessibility advocate with 15+ years shipping high-availability platforms — from a university-scale design system serving 100+ sites to billion-dollar commerce.
About
Tinkerer by nature, engineer by trade.
Curiosity first
It started with Legos, evolved into code, and now extends to renovating my home. Understanding how things work — and making them better — never stopped being satisfying.
Use the platform
Web standards matter. Semantic HTML, progressive enhancement, and accessibility aren't checkboxes — they're the foundation of good engineering. The browser gives us so much for free.
Empower people
The best work removes barriers and unlocks potential — design systems that let non-developers build websites, tools that make complex tasks simple.
Rescue the bulldogs
My wife and I have spent a decade adopting the "broken bulldogs" others passed over. They teach patience, unconditional love, and joy in the present moment.
Track Record
Fifteen years of shipping.
- Sites adopting the design system in year one
- 100+
- Reduction in partner development costs
- 70%+
- Fewer production incidents on business-critical systems
- 80%
- Accessibility compliance — up from below 40%
- 90%+
Oct 2021 - Present
Staff Software Engineer
The University of Maryland
- TypeScript
- React
- Node.js
- GraphQL
July 2020 - Oct 2021
Staff Frontend Engineer
- React
- TypeScript
- Jest
- React Testing Library
July 2019 - June 2020
Software Engineer
Under Armour
- React
- TypeScript
- Redux
- Apollo
November 2011 - March 2019
Full Stack Developer, UX Designer
ALEX+TOM
- JavaScript
- React
- Ruby on Rails
- Django
Plus side ventures shipped end-to-end: CTO of Macro Meals (profitable year one, exited) and founder of Draft Slot (graduate thesis turned production platform).
Read the full resumeSelected Work
Recent Case Studies
A selection of projects I’ve worked on throughout my career
From Figma to Production
How design tokens create a translation layer between design decisions and code, enabling consistent styling across any platform.
Read Case Study
Every Kilobyte Counts
How tree-shaking, modular consumption, and smart bundling keep the design system fast at any scale.
Read Case Study
The Upstream Advantage
How investing in shared infrastructure creates compounding value for a distributed community of adopters.
Read Case Study