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Senior frontend engineer · React + TypeScript

Complicated web apps, made fast, accessible, and easy to use.

I’m Andrew Watson, and I’ve been building for the web since 1998. I help teams modernize aging applications, untangle data-heavy workflows, and ship interfaces that load fast and work for everyone.

Available now · Remote, US Eastern time

Highlights

  • Building for the web since 1998

    From small-business sites to enterprise SaaS, fintech, health data, and ecommerce.

  • Work used by major brands

    Dunkin’, Home Depot, Perry Ellis, Samuel Adams, and a benefits platform serving hundreds of thousands of employees.

  • Lighthouse scores from under 40 to 90+

    Plus load times cut in half and full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance on SAVVI’s benefits platform.

Selected work

Recent and notable projects

Highlights from fintech, health data, and enterprise SaaS, going back through years of ecommerce work for national brands.

  • SAVVI Financial2022–2026

    Rebuilding a benefits platform used by hundreds of thousands

    SAVVI helps employees and their families make informed benefits decisions. As the first in-house frontend engineer, I moved the app from React Native to a standard React web app with semantic HTML. Load times dropped by more than half, the bundle shrank by over 50%, Lighthouse scores rose from under 40 to over 90, and the platform reached full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance. I also partnered with the CTO on rollouts through Voya, Benefitfocus, and PlanSource.

  • ExpoLife at U.VU2022–Present

    Making health data explorable on a map

    ExpoLife, now in beta, is a health-analytics platform that connects environmental exposures with health outcomes. As part of the founding team and sole frontend engineer, I built the experience that turns a plain-language question into an interactive map, neighborhood-level overlays, and rankings, with AI-assisted chat and analytics working as one product. Built with React, MapLibre, D3, React Query, and Material UI.

    Visit ExpoLife (opens in a new tab)

  • Snowcrash2021–2022

    A digital collectibles marketplace on Solana

    Led frontend development of a marketplace for minting, buying, and reselling digital collectibles, including a planned Bob Dylan collection developed with the artist’s management. The project was shelved when the NFT market collapsed in 2022.

  • Workflow by Design2012–2020

    A spreadsheet-style web app for enterprise packaging design

    Principal UI developer for a SaaS platform that takes product packaging from creative brief to production-ready artwork, used by Dunkin’, Welch’s, Home Depot, Duracell, and Scotts. Built its next-generation web spreadsheet, with full data management, custom forms, validation, and reporting, and worked on the replatform of its legacy application.

  • PixelMEDIA2005–2012

    Ecommerce sites for national brands

    The developer sent in wherever large client projects needed help, picking up each account’s stack on the fly. Built Demandware storefronts for brands like Perry Ellis, Pier 1 Imports, ECCO, and Samuel Adams, and contributed responsive design, SEO, and structured data to Demandware’s SiteGenesis 2.0 storefront.

How I help

Ways to work together

I’m looking for a senior full-time role, and I also take on contract, project, and hourly work. Either way, I do my best work with product teams that need someone to own the frontend, whether that means untangling an existing app, improving a critical workflow, or building something new.

  1. Modernize an existing application

    Move an aging frontend onto a modern, maintainable foundation, like the SAVVI rebuild that cut load times in half, so your team can ship safely and keep improving.

  2. Build a data-rich web product

    Maps, charts, spreadsheets, and detailed forms that help people understand their data and act on it without getting lost.

  3. Improve performance and accessibility

    Find what’s slowing users down or shutting people out, then fix it with measurable results, from faster load times to full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance.

  4. Add senior frontend capacity

    Someone who takes ownership of the hard parts, not just tickets, whether you need a full-time hire, a contractor, or a few hours of expert help.

Getting started: a short conversation about where things stand, then a clear recommendation for next steps.

About

Easy to work with, serious about the work

I started building websites for local businesses in 1998, spent about ten years doing full-stack WordPress, Drupal, and PHP work, then focused on frontend development and UI/UX. Most of my career has been on small teams, often as the only UI developer, so I’m used to owning a product’s frontend from design handoff to production.

AI is a core part of how I work. I use several models in Cursor, including Grok, Fable, and Gemini, to explore approaches, write and review code, and generate tests, plus ChatGPT and Grok for research. It lets me move faster and check more of my own work. The judgment calls, like architecture, accessibility, and what’s right for the people using the product, are still mine.

I try to keep things fun and easygoing, even when the work is hard, and many of my colleagues have become good friends. Outside of work, I’m a dad of three and have been playing guitar for more than 30 years.

View résumé (PDF, opens in a new tab)

Recommendations

What colleagues say

  • “Talents who stand out like Andrew are rare. No matter the complexity, Andrew made sure everyone understood the design challenges for both web and mobile. His ability to translate requirements and enforce design standards within the product dramatically increased the productivity of our development process.”

    C.T.Product manager, Workflow by Design

  • “Andrew worked for me for 5+ years and he is by far one of the most reliable, capable, quality-driven, ambitious developers I’ve met. He worked directly with clients every day to define and deliver web solutions, and he was an excellent teammate. I would re-hire him in an instant.”

    C.G.SaaS support and client success leader

  • “It was obvious from our first meeting that Andrew is an expert in his field. He comes up with creative solutions for complex problems, and I’ve always been impressed by his ability to deliver a finished product that looks and interacts just as the original design required.”

    J.D.UX and product design, Salesforce and Demandware alum

  • “Andrew is a talented web developer with a ton of energy and passion. His strengths are his love of learning and his drive to improve his craft. I would gladly work with him again.”

    B.B.Senior frontend engineer and accessibility specialist

Contact

Hiring, or need help with a frontend project?

Tell me a little about your team, your product, or what you’re working through. Email is the best way to reach me.