Lead software engineer and application architect: customer-facing platforms and AI-enabled systems. Hands-on direction and mentorship.
July 26, 2026
Re
Dear Hiring Team,
I wanted to reach out and introduce myself. After 20 years designing and delivering web platforms, the last decade leading technical direction in my current role, I am deliberate about where I invest next: a team where I can set architecture, ship meaningful product, mentor the people around me, and stay with systems worth owning for years.
I am a hands-on lead and application architect. I set technical direction and still write production code daily across React, Next.js, TypeScript, Node.js, and PostgreSQL. I design systems from requirements and UX through APIs, data models, integrations, testing, deployment, and long-term support. Delivery follows the need: Docker multi-service fleets first, working familiarity with AWS, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud for enterprise compute and networking, and familiarity with Kubernetes when orchestration is required.
AI is where 20 years of judgment pays off most. I use Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot, and Grok Build daily to plan, prototype, refactor, and test faster, with the review discipline to keep quality high. I also design AI into products, not just workflows: CoThinkAI.app ships OpenRouter model routing, Vercel AI SDK streaming chat, and structured extraction in production. I help teams adopt these tools effectively and safely.
Loyalty shows up in my history: a decade in my current role, four years establishing my first employer’s technical foundation, and systems I still maintain years after launch. I am looking for the next team worth that kind of investment, somewhere I can be valued, grow, and help others grow.
I would welcome the chance to talk about how application architecture, hands-on engineering, and practical AI experience could help your team for the long haul.
Sincerely,
Daniel Porter
Lead Software Engineer
Lead software engineer and application architect: customer-facing platforms and AI-enabled systems. Hands-on direction and mentorship.
Profile
Lead software engineer and application architect with 20 years designing and delivering customer-facing platforms, AI-enabled features, API integrations, and modern content systems. The last decade: technical direction, mentoring, and long-term ownership across React, Next.js, TypeScript, Node.js, PostgreSQL, Docker multi-service delivery, and working familiarity with AWS, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud.
I design and deliver for the long haul: a decade in my current role, four years establishing my first employer’s technical foundation, and systems I still maintain years later. Looking for the next team worth that kind of investment.
Technical Profile
Design full-stack systems: interfaces, API contracts, data models, auth, and integration boundaries that keep multi-system products maintainable.
Design AI into products with schemas, validation, memory, and cost-aware model choices. Use AI tools in daily engineering work with the same review bar as any other contribution.
Polished product interfaces with React, Next.js, Tailwind, semantic HTML, and attention to performance, accessibility, and hierarchy.
Enterprise CMS architecture, headless and hybrid content platforms, large modular publishing systems, and legacy modernization.
Fast sites, clean metadata, structured data, analytics events, server-side tracking, and conversion data paid media teams can trust.
Docker multi-service delivery by need: major clouds for enterprise compute and networking, Kubernetes familiarity when orchestration is required. Working familiarity with AWS, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud.
Daniel Porter
danielporter.dev · daniel.edward.porter@gmail.com
AI Practice
I use AI every day, but I do not outsource judgment to it. Twenty years of shipping software helps me recognize what is sound, what needs work, and what should never leave a draft.
AI-assisted delivery, with discipline
Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot, Grok Build, and local Ollama models help me plan, prototype, refactor, test, and document work. They save time because I still review the work, test the behavior, and own the result.
AI systems designed into products
The useful work sits around the model: prompts, schemas, validation, retries, memory, and cost controls. I have designed and shipped that application layer in production.
Helping a whole team use AI well
One developer using AI well is useful. A team with shared habits is better. As a lead, I help people choose when to use these tools, review the output, and keep quality high.
AI supports execution, but direction, judgment, and quality remain driven by experience.
Leadership
I lead from within the work. I still write production code every day, and that proximity makes architecture and mentorship stronger: scoping complex projects, setting standards, and translating tradeoffs into decisions stakeholders can actually make.
Leveling up the people around me through code review, pairing, and shared context, helping developers build instincts that only come from experience.
Application architecture and standards that survive contact with reality: clear boundaries, fewer dependencies, best practices earned the hard way, systems built to be inherited.
Breaking down complex work, setting priorities, and keeping projects moving without losing quality, from fuzzy requirements to shipped and supported.
Leading client calls, presenting strategy, and translating complex technical concepts into language stakeholders actually understand.
Working naturally with designers, marketers, and leadership. Understanding everyone’s priorities means fewer miscommunications and better outcomes.
A BFA in Computer Art and decades of front-end work sharpen layout, typography, hierarchy, and the polish most developers miss.
Daniel Porter
danielporter.dev · daniel.edward.porter@gmail.com
Recent Leadership
Jun 2016 - Present · 10 Years
Twelve Three Media
Remote / Colorado
Career Timeline
Dec 2013 - Jun 2017
Boomerang Marketing
Colorado
Sep 2013 - May 2017
Dan Porter Web Development
Denver, CO
Apr 2012 - Jul 2015
Denver Washer Dryer
Denver, CO
Jun 2011 - Apr 2012
Airiam
Colorado
Oct 2007 - Jun 2011 · 4 Years
Shero Commerce
New York / Remote
Daniel Porter
danielporter.dev · daniel.edward.porter@gmail.com
Independent Builds
Docker-first multi-service learning product: a real containerized fleet on your machine so you can operate, break, and recover a production-style system. Core craft is Docker services, networking, and recovery; Kubernetes when orchestration is the need (familiar).
Account-free event signup platform with slots, RSVPs, reminders, attendee tracking, templates, approval flows, and AI-assisted event generation from structured product design.
Collaborative AI product with shared rooms, model routing, streaming interfaces, grounded search, pinned memory, and usage analytics. Designed the application architecture around the model, not only the chat UI.
Agricultural marketplace for local producers with location search, verified profiles, secure messaging, and domain-specific categories on a full-stack application architecture.
Resume crafted with Next.js, Tailwind, and AI-assisted workflows, reviewed by hand