A bit about me
I'm a Design Systems Architect with 17+ years as a front-of-the-front-end engineer, most at home in the space where design and engineering meet. I build the component libraries, design tokens, and tooling that help product teams ship interfaces that are consistent, fast, and accessible by default. Lately, that includes systems clean enough for AI agents to build with too.
Beyond components, I own the full delivery path: headless CMS integrations, end-to-end testing, and CI/CD with GitHub Actions. I stay framework-agnostic and reach for the right tool for the job, whether that's Next.js, Astro, or plain HTML and CSS, and I care a lot about the Figma-to-code handoff being a smooth one.
From sites to systems
From hand-coding university landing pages to architecting the design systems that ship across dozens of products. The throughline is always the same: make the next thing easier to build right.
- 2026+
Founder & Principal Engineer
Polaris Digital
Created a web design and development agency helping small businesses in Central Maine. Oversee projects from discovery through design and final build.
- 2021 - 2026
Senior Software Engineer | Design Systems Architect
Bankrate | a Red Ventures company
Shipped two successive design systems that became the foundation for product delivery across Bankrate, moving teams off a legacy CSS framework onto a consistent, maintainable platform with zero production incidents.
- 2025
Engineering Manager | Interim
Bankrate | a Red Ventures company
Stepped into a management role for 6 months, improving team velocity and co-leading an AI hackathon whose results directly shaped the team's migration strategy.
- 2016 - 2021
Senior Front-End Developer
Launch That
Built the design system that unified front-end development across every Launch That property. Trained directly with Brad Frost on Atomic Design methodology, the systems-thinking approach I've carried forward ever since.
- 2014 - 2016
Lead Front-End / Senior Web Developer
Studio Birdsall
Led front-end across 10+ client projects: Magento and Shopify e-commerce and custom WordPress builds.
- 2008 - 2014
Senior Web Developer
Full Sail University
Led front-end for the university's marketing sites, blog, and its first online store and online school.
Selected work
A cross-section of sites I've built, either solo or as part of larger team, from freelance work to enterprise platforms. Click through, they still work.
Kind words from people I've worked with
From the talented engineers, designers, and managers I've had the pleasure of working alongside.
Ricky CarltonSenior Director of Creative @ Bankrate“Dan is the best front-end engineer I know... What makes Dan exceptional is how completely he bridges both sides of the design-engineering equation. He brings a designer's eye and genuine attention to detail, paired with the structural rigor and systems thinking of a strong engineer...”
Let's build something
I'm currently exploring full-time design systems architect and senior front-end roles, remote preferred but open to relocation for the right opportunity. Also available for freelance and contract work.