I'm John. I connect technology and people through human-centered systems that make an impact.
Achievements
Aha! Product Management Certificate
2025
Silent Blaze
2024 - presentFounder / Independent Product Strategist
Remote
Learn more at silentblaze.io
- Launched Silent Blaze as a solo product studio focused on lean, high-velocity execution. Built and shipped multiple digital product lines, each with custom branding, storefronts, and delivery pipelines.
- Created two customer-facing stores: a prompt-driven AI productivity line (Gumroad) and a printable lifestyle tools line (Etsy), each tailored to distinct audiences and brand voices.
- Designed and developed end-to-end systems, including e-commerce platforms, marketing automation, and supporting web apps.
- Acted as product lead, developer, designer, and operator across every initiative - from research and prototyping to launch and iteration.
JumpCloud
2022 - 2025Senior UX Engineer
Remote
- Acted as a technical and user advocate for an internal Vue component library (100+ components), collaborating with design, engineering, and product teams.
- Led the Vue 2 to Vue 3 migration strategy and MVP rollout, designing an incremental transition plan to minimize disruption and accelerate adoption.
- Designed and rebuilt the CI/CD pipeline, migrating from CircleCI to GitHub Actions and introducing AWS-based remote environments for better visibility and collaboration.
- Helped decompose a monolithic Vue app into micro frontends, defining architectural patterns and building multiple applications and libraries in Vue 2 and Vue 3.
- Championed early adoption of GitHub Copilot for AI-assisted development and led two cross-functional hackathon projects from concept to award-winning prototypes.
Sentry Data Systems
2015 - 2022Senior Software Developer
Remote
- Led frontend development for CRCA, a major new product, designing the Vue.js-based architecture and workflow from the ground up. [Article ]
- Built automated frontend testing suites with Jest and Cypress to improve quality and delivery confidence.
- Served as Squad Lead for a full-stack team managing globally shared resources like user management, file systems, and internal frameworks.
- Maintained and extended a Ruby-based ADT system with RSpec unit tests, becoming the in-house expert for key integrations.
- Led the development of a new internal frontend framework, integrating a third-party UI library with custom components as part of a platform-wide UI refresh.
- Created layout mockups, collaborated with design teams, and implemented UI/UX improvements across multiple products.
- Built backend functionality with PHP and SQL to support dynamic web applications and system integrations.
- Selected for a specialized team delivering the MVP for a new product initiative, helping define initial scope and architecture.
Hobsons
2007 - 2015Front-end Developer
Cincinnati, OH • Remote (hybrid)
- Built and maintained lead generation websites for higher education clients, integrating internal systems, third-party tools, and backend data pipelines.
- Redesigned submission processing using AWS SQS queues to improve scalability, reliability, and system integration.
- Led a codebase modernization project updating frontend templates for 700+ client sites, achieving full 508 accessibility compliance and improved functionality.
- Designed and structured a cross-team delivery model, coordinating US- and India-based teams across design, development, and testing.
- Created and deployed internal tools and automation systems to improve developer experience (DX), operational efficiency, and process monitoring.
- Developed custom reporting interfaces to deliver actionable insights from third-party and internal data sources.
- Built and maintained event registration platforms and other internal applications supporting enterprise-wide initiatives.
- Authored an 87-page training manual to accelerate developer onboarding and improve knowledge transfer within the frontend team.
- Supported frontend and backend development across PHP, SQL, web services, and AJAX, including full-stack delivery for internal tools and client solutions.
CRCA
Sentry • Remote
Frontend developer for CRCA, a real-time analytics platform helping healthcare organizations make data-driven decisions to improve patient care, financial performance, and operational efficiency.
Template Updates
Hobsons • Cincinnati, OH
Led a cross-functional team to rebuild client sites for over 700 organizations, achieving full 508 accessibility compliance and improved functionality. Designed project structure and contributed directly as a developer.
Lemniscate Animation
Sentry • Remote
I created this animation in Blender to go along with a UX presentation I participated in. Lemniscates ftw
MFEs
JumpCloud • Remote
Helped decompose a large Vue.js monolith into modular micro frontends, improving scalability and delivery efficiency.
Personalized Videos
Hobsons • Cincinnati, OH & Remote
Designed and developed a system to generate personalized MP4 videos for client communications, primarily for student acceptance notifications.
Sentrikit
Sentry • Remote
Co-designed and built a Vue.js component library from scratch to support scalable frontend development across products.
Internal Tools
Hobsons • Cincinnati, OH & Remote
Built internal automation tools and dashboards to streamline workflows for developers and account managers, replacing manual tasks with custom scripts, Excel integrations, and browser automations.
Relive 2010 2 3 4 5
Pipeline Redesign
JumpCloud • Remote
Redesigned the CircleCI CI/CD pipeline for the primary Vue component library, improving efficiency, reliability, and pre-release validation through remote environments.
Training Document
Hobsons • Cincinnati, OH
Authored an 87-page developer training manual to accelerate onboarding and knowledge transfer.
Lab Group Generator
My first project built for someone else. A simple generator of random lab groups for a university Physics lab.
Marianist Dashboard
My first project built as part of a job. A dashboard that helped manage tasks at the job, including an algorithm for selecting people for projects assignments.
Media Manager
A large-scale media manager. A person can use it to track their library and progress through TV, movies and games.
Unity Game Development
Dabbling in Unity game development has become a side passion of mine. Maybe some day an actual game will come from it...
Blender Modeling
I've semi-recently picked up 3D modeling in Blender. My biggest accomplisment so far is creating a model of the Enterprise (with help), and then an opening credits-style animation with it.
Fantasy Baseball Drafter
My first foray into AI. Helps make selections in a fantasy baseball draft, taking player stats and the state of the board and other teams' selections into account when making suggestions.
User Experience
Crafting human-centered, accessible products by blending design, usability, and frontend engineering.
Frontend Development
Building scalable systems with React, Vue, Vanilla JavaScript, and modern tooling.
Product Thinking
Aligning user needs, technical possibilities, and business goals into scalable solutions.
AI-Enhanced Workflows
Using AI tools for research, automation, prototyping, and system optimization.
Automated Testing
Test architecture and coverage in Jest and Cypress, plus experience across frameworks.
Internal Tools & DX
Designing internal systems and developer experience (DX) tools to streamline workflows and scale impact.
Adobe Creative Suite
Experience with Photoshop, Premiere, and After Effects.
Product Delivery
Stakeholder Collaboration
PHP
Ruby
SQL
Figma
Accessibility (508)
Prototyping
C#
Blender
Unity
AI doesn't absolve us of the need to think; it frees the mind to think bigger. Like calculators and spreadsheets, it lets us offload the routine and focus on what matters.
About Me
I build human-centered systems that bridge design, development, and problem-solving. From scalable front-end architectures to internal tools and process improvements, I focus on creating solutions that feel intuitive...and work reliably.
Good product thinking is about more than code; it's about decisions that keep users, teams, and systems moving. I value clarity over cleverness, sustainability over shortcuts, and momentum over rigid process.
When I'm not building things, you'll probably find me at a baseball game, a hockey rink, a movie theater, or out in the garden getting my hands dirty.
