Hi, I'm Kaiden!
About Me
Hi there! I'm Kaiden, a dedicated enthusiast of the digital realm. Born from lines of code and nurtured through the intricate dance of design, I’ve been immersed in the tech world for over a decade.
I'm a seasoned software engineer currently making waves in Salt Lake City, Utah. My journey spans over 11 years of full-stack development experience, with each project deepening my love for this craft. From concept to execution, I pride myself on creating digital solutions that aren’t just functional, but also a delight to interact with.
Front-end design isn't just a task for me; it's a passion. I'm endlessly fascinated by the possibilities and always pushing the boundaries of digital experiences. My mission? To breathe life into pixels, making every interface not just usable but memorable.
In each endeavor, I strive to marry creativity with meticulousness, ensuring that every line of code and design element works in harmony. I bring a blend of artistry and precision to the table, always aiming for that perfect balance that makes digital solutions both beautiful and robust.
Endorsements
“Kaiden Rawlinson is one of the most talented engineers I've ever worked with. He is an absolute master across the stack. I've watched him scale and architect NodeJS backends while working with distributed data sets. I've watched him ship clean, testable, beautiful frontend React applications. I consider myself lucky to have gotten a chance to work with Kaiden for ~4 years at Pluralsight and have him to thank for his mentoring which has helped me harness much of the skill-set that I have today.”
“I worked directly with Kaiden for several years at Pluralsight. Kaiden is patient, fun to be around, and a natural teacher and leader. He taught me a lot about front end development and watched as he grew into an effective full stack engineer as his back end prowess grew exponentially. I count myself lucky to have worked with him and any company would be extremely lucky to pick him up.”
“Kaiden is hands down one of the greatest engineers I have had the pleasure of working with. Kaiden looks at the big picture of the product he is creating and creates with possibility! If you need a great mentor and lead for your engineering team. THIS. IS. YOUR. GUY.”
“Unparallel JavaScript stack techincal ability, reliable, wicked-smart and naturally fit for leadership. This is one of the most brilliant engineers I have ever worked with. If you happen to hire him, consider yourself royally lucky.”
“Kaiden is one of the best software engineers I've ever worked with. He is passionate about what he does, and he is exceptionally knowledgeable about all things code. You absolutely want him on your team.”
“Kaiden is one of the good ones. Super talented across the stack, and enjoys working with designers to add those delightful details. 10/10 would hire!”
Projects
NoteZap
AI-powered Medical Note Generation App
- Situation
- Medical professionals often spend a significant amount of time manually transcribing notes, which can lead to burnout and inefficiencies.
- Task
- Create a platform to simplify and automate the medical note generation process using AI, ensuring accuracy and saving time.
- Action
- Developed NoteZap using cutting-edge AI. Created user-friendly front-end designs using TypeScript, React, Tailwind, Firebase, and PostgreSQL. Prioritized automated testing to ensure the app’s reliability and robustness.
- Result
- NoteZap now streamlines medical note-taking, significantly reducing transcription time for professionals. The app provides accurate, automated notes, allowing medical practitioners to focus more on patient care and less on manual documentation. We’ve gotten tons of ecstatic feedback from users. One user sent us an email that said “This is a game changer! Oh my gosh I am in tears! ADHD is sooo hard with documentation and this just... wow!”
- My roles
- Co-founder, sole developer, DevOps, product designer, customer support.
Pluralsight Tech Foundations
Bridging the Gap to Tech Fluency
- Situation
- In an increasingly digital world, there's a growing need for employees of all backgrounds to have foundational technology skills. Pluralsight recognized the importance of tech fluency not just for tech professionals, but for all employees. Developing a solution became one of the top three priorities across all of Pluralsight for several quarters.
- Task
- Develop a comprehensive solution that not only educates users on technology basics but also assesses and analyzes their progress. The solution should empower every employee to develop tech skills that effectively support business outcomes.
- Action
- As the Tech Lead, designed a robust system architecture to support the unique needs of the Tech Foundations project. Led a team of 12 developers, using skills in JavaScript, Typescript, Node.js, Express.js, PostgreSQL, and database design, ensuring seamless implementation and integration. Prioritized a user-centric approach, ensuring the platform was intuitive, and leveraged analytics to track learner progress.
- Result
- Successfully launched the Tech Foundations platform on time and with high quality. The expert-led courses combined with pre- and post-assessments have become a benchmark for tech learning. Through this initiative, Pluralsight has empowered countless employees to achieve tech fluency, driving better business outcomes and creating a more tech-savvy workforce.
- My roles
- Tech lead, QA, design collaborator, database admin
Pluralsight Channels
Curated Learning Journeys
- Situation
- Pluralsight aimed to enhance their user experience by offering a feature that allows users to organize and share content more effectively to meet both personal learning goals and business objectives.
- Task
- As part of a newly-formed 4-person dev team, the challenge was to design and implement an intuitive system called "Channels" that would allow users to curate and share learning content seamlessly.
- Action
- Collaborated closely with product owners and designers to conceptualize and design the system. Utilized skills in JavaScript, Typescript, React, Node.js, Express.js, PostgreSQL and database design to build the feature. Ensured high quality through rigorous automated testing and constant feedback loops.
- Result
- Successfully launched "Channels", enabling users to create personalized learning paths, boost team development, and share knowledge journeys with a wider audience. The on-time delivery and high quality of the project reinforced Pluralsight's position as a premier learning platform. The system is now actively used by most Pluralsight users from single individuals up to teams of hundreds of thousands of users.
- My roles
- One of four developers, QA, DevOps, design collaborator, database admin.
Project Dependency Graph
Critical Path-Based Project Planning and Execution Tool
- Situation
- At Pluralsight large cross-team development projects often faced challenges in task sequencing, progress tracking, and managing unexpected interruptions, which can result in project delays.
- Task
- Design a tool that effectively uses the Critical Path method to assist our team of 12 developers in planning, tracking, and adjusting large development projects in real-time.
- Action
- Built the Project Dependency Graph using Typescript, React, Node.js, and Firebase. Incorporated features for real-time updates, and intuitive visualizations for dependencies and project timelines.
- Result
- The tool aided the development team in efficiently planning projects, monitoring progress, and rapidly responding to unexpected events. Use of the tool has led to delivery of the team’s first several milestones on-time and with a high level of visibility. Overall, it has optimized the project workflow, reduced delays, and enhanced team collaboration.
- My roles
- Sole developer and designer
WorkFront Automated QA testing architecture
Elevating UI Testing Efficiency
- Situation
- Back in 2014, with the ever-growing complexity of UI components and user interactions in modern applications, manual testing alone became insufficient and time-consuming at Workfront. There was a pressing need to scale up the company’s automated testing.
- Task
- Design and introduce a robust automated UI testing architecture that can be easily adopted by the development team, ensuring speed, accuracy, efficiency, and coverage of the company’s complex web application.
- Action
- Took the initiative to spearhead the design and implementation of automated UI testing libraries and patterns. Utilized Selenium and Java to craft a comprehensive solution tailored to Workfront's unique requirements. Educated and mentored the team on best practices, ensuring a seamless transition to the new testing paradigm.
- Result
- The introduction of the automated QA testing architecture drastically improved the efficiency and accuracy of UI testing at Workfront. The libraries and patterns developed became the gold standard for UI testing for all of the company’s UI testers. This resulted in faster release cycles, higher code quality, and reduced manual testing overhead.
- My roles
- Architect and implementer of new Selenium testing patterns and shared libraries.
Skills
Git
12+ years of experience
GitHub
12+ years of experience
JavaScript
11+ years of experience
NPM
10+ years of experience
Webpack
9+ years of experience
React
8+ years of experience
Node.js
8+ years of experience
ESLint
8+ years of experience
TypeScript
7+ years of experience
Express
7+ years of experience
Jasmine
7+ years of experience
Jetbrains
7+ years of experience
Mocha
7+ years of experience
PostgreSQL
7+ years of experience
Webstorm
7+ years of experience
AWS
6+ years of experience
Firebase
6+ years of experience
Jest
6+ years of experience
Storybook
5+ years of experience
Yarn
5+ years of experience
Docker
4+ years of experience
Figma
4+ years of experience
Redux
4+ years of experience
GitLab
3+ years of experience
Kubernetes
3+ years of experience
Selenium
3+ years of experience
GoogleCloud
2+ years of experience
GraphQL
2+ years of experience
Neo4J
1+ years of experience
NextJs
1+ years of experience
TailwindCss
1+ years of experience