7 Years of Growth, Leadership, and Impact
I joined Moment as employee #20, starting as a full-stack engineer. Over the next seven years, I helped shape the company’s digital presence — modernizing the web platform, leading mobile efforts, building team culture, and ultimately guiding Moment through a full replatform of our tech stack as Head of Software.
Context
- Role: Full-Stack Engineer → Head of Software
- Timeframe: 2018–2025
- Team Size: Scaled from 20 → 55 → 18
- Scope: Web, iOS, Infra, Hiring, Developer Experience
I’ve worn many hats: architect, builder, team lead, mentor, and decision-maker. This case study walks through the problems we faced, what I led, and the outcomes we achieved.
Problems
- A monolithic Craft CMS made iteration and experimentation slow
- High AWS costs ($9k+/mo) and ops complexity strained budget and productivity
- Conversion rate was underperforming despite strong product/brand
- Engineers lacked a modern frontend stack to move quickly
- No structured system for internal documentation or product planning
- Needed to support a growing paid iOS app alongside the web business
Actions
1. Modernizing the Frontend (Years 1–4)
- Introduced Vue/Nuxt across key projects for faster development
- Led UI/UX improvements that aligned our site with product quality
- Built a team culture of ownership and iteration
- Introduced Notion + project briefs that became team-wide standards
- Mentored junior engineers and helped establish scalable code practices
2. Replatforming the Stack (Years 5–7)
From a monolith to a modular, fast, developer-friendly system.
- Migrated from Craft CMS to Next.js + Sanity CMS + Vercel + Shopify
- Cut infrastructure costs by 50%, eliminating dependency on a dedicated ops engineer
- Improved site speed (Core Web Vitals) and Google Merchant Center scores
- Built an efficient developer workflow with React + GraphQL across the frontend/backend
- Enabled the marketing team to run campaigns independently via CMS
- Implemented bundle features that boosted AOV by up to $80
3. Leading Mobile Engineering
- Led engineering efforts on our paid iOS camera app
- Supported the app’s rank in the Top 3 Paid Apps on the App Store
- Helped balance App Store requirements with our internal roadmap
- Worked cross-functionally with design, product, and marketing
Results
- Conversion Rate: 0.9% → 2.5%
- Average Order Value (AOV): Baseline → +$30
- AOV w/ Bundles: — → +$80
- Infra Costs: $9,000+/mo → -50%
- Core Web Vitals: Mixed → All "Good"
- Top Paid App Ranking: — → Top 3 consistently
Reflections
“It wasn’t just about rewriting code — it was about rewriting how we worked.”
As the company evolved, so did my role — from contributor to leader. I’ve built teams, made hard calls, mentored developers, and led a full-stack replatforming that changed how we launch, iterate, and operate.
This experience taught me how to balance technical vision with business needs, how to scale not just software, but the people building it — and how to do more with less when it really mattered.
Want to chat?
I'm always excited to talk shop — whether it's about developer experience, replatforming, iOS, or team leadership.