How I got here
Natural gateway, really. I wanted to make buttons do things, so I picked up HTML, CSS, a bit of JavaScript. Then CoffeeScript, Ruby on Rails. Then Node.js once the community started shifting that way, and eventually React and TypeScript.
What got me was the superpower of it. Having a button on a screen, clicking it, and solving an actual problem. As that understanding grew I started noticing how everything in layout relates to everything else. I found systems and abstractions that, when applied well, make beautiful experiences almost easy. Learning from old media like printing press layout systems and applying that to CSS, calculating ratios in JavaScript, making everything scalable and modular. It's just magic.
Teach systems, not tricks. As a senior on any team it's a core responsibility to pass on the lessons of time — what works and what doesn't — to the next generation of engineers.
Built to create
I have an internal drive to create. Stories, costumes, food, furniture. Creativity is something that just pours out of me and it has many outlets. Cosplay, running D&D campaigns as Dungeon Master, cooking, occasionally building something with my hands.
Next chapter
Smaller autonomous teams with a clear goal is where I work best. Large monolithic setups where you're just another cog in the machine with a lot of unclarity drain me fast.
I want to take a step back from leadership and focus on the core of the craft. Ideally something like a component library that gets adopted across a larger organisation, with clear directives, well-defined scope and good communication throughout.