Michael Puckett

I'm a creative technologist with extensive experience building user-friendly digital products and tools.

Experience

  • Self-Employed

    Freelance Software Engineer

    – Present

    • Engineering scalable, high-performance applications for startups and agencies, including native mobile apps with React Native and web apps using React/Next.js.
    • Integrating AI-driven capabilities including intelligent suggestions, personalized recommendations, and dynamic content generation, leveraging embeddings and large language models.
    • React
    • React Native
    • Next.js
    • TypeScript
    • AI/ML

  • Google

    UX Engineer

    –

    • Developed production web interfaces with clean, efficient, and maintainable TypeScript code, optimizing for performance and scalability.
    • Subject Matter Expert (SME) for accessibility compliance, championing inclusive design principles and ensuring that UIs met or exceeded WCAG standards.
    • Played a pivotal role in multiple successful launches, including the belonging.google domain, the pride.google domain, and the annual Year in Search experience.
    • Architected coding scaffolds to simplify the creation of new projects.
    • TypeScript

  • LiveSchool

    UI Architect

    –

    • Leveraged Vue 2 to build features for LiveSchool's suite of web applications and web-based mobile apps, ensuring a seamless user experience across platforms.
    • Utilized Firebase for authentication and real-time changes that reflected immediately across open tabs and devices.
    • Collaborated closely with designers and stakeholders to craft architectural artifacts, including detailed documentation, diagrams, and timelines, ensuring alignment with project goals and requirements.
    • Debugged existing performance issues and implemented performance-friendly components, including an infinite scroll view that recycled DOM elements.
    • Vue

  • Humana

    Web Developer

    –

    • Built a library of accessible Vue 2 components for one of the nation’s largest health insurance companies.
    • Vue

  • Apple

    UI Engineer

    –

    • Built interfaces to support product launches and transactions on Apple.com.
    • Led a successful project to harmonize competing corporate design systems and implemented a unified styling library.
    • Prepared coding guidelines for use by large engineering teams.
    • Directed offshore teams to implement tools and libraries that improved engineer efficiency.
    • JavaScript

  • CNN

    Web Developer

    –

    • Helped to re-platform CNN.com from Java to Node.js, improving feature velocity and resulting in more ergonomic and maintainable code.
    • Created a responsive styling library for many possible page layouts.
    • JavaScript
    • Node.js

  • iostudio

    Web Developer

    –

    • Built client marketing websites and web apps for clients in an advertising agency environment.
    • Implemented the first responsive redesign of NationalGuard.com.
    • JavaScript

  • Fruit of the Loom

    Web Developer

    –

    • Designed and developed a relaunch of Jerzees.com.
    • Helped maintain all Fruit of the Loom websites, including Fruit.com.
    • JavaScript

  • 2-Com

    Designer/Developer

    –

    • Helped build a web app that generated print marketing materials for small businesses, using JavaScript and XML technologies.
    • JavaScript

Education

  • Western Kentucky University

    B.A., Interactive Advertising & Graphic Design

    –

    • Coursework included Digital Illustration, Motion Graphics, Typography, Creative Strategy, Journalism, Copywriting, and PR.
    • Interned at Imagewest, WKU's design studio, as a web developer.
    • Interned for the municipal website for the City of Bowling Green, as a web developer.
    • Interned at the College Heights Herald, WKU's newspaper, as a print designer.
    • Graduated Summa Cum Laude (3.9 GPA).