Hi, my name is
Alex Hopkins.
I build things for the web.
Welcome, I'm happy you're here!
I'm a Denver based Web Engineer with a background in design, research, and language. I specialize in developing (and now and again designing) delightful user experiences. Currently, I'm a Senior UI Engineer at Tonic, a full service digital agency (and newly established B-Corp) committed to providing state of the art development, design and strategy to impact-driven organizations (all while planting a tree for every billiable hour and therefore saving the world).
Get in touchAbout Me
Hi, my name is Alex Hopkins and I'm a zillenial working as a web engineer in sunny Denver, CO!
A little about me: since graduating from The University of Colorado Boulder (sko Buffs) with a BA in International Affairs, I have worked as a waitress at a restaurant (and loved it), had a few internships, travelled quite a bit, became a graphic designer, discovered a deep love of cooking and hosting, attended General Assembly's Fullstack Software Engineering bootcamp, written some code for some sweet companies, and learned so much along the way. When not hacking the mainframe at work, you can find me at the pottery studio or doing literally anything outside with my family and friends!
Here are a few technologies I've been working with recently:
- React
- Next.js
- ApolloGQL
- TypeScript
- JavaScript (ES6+)
- Gatsby.js
Where I've Worked
Tonic
|Denver, COSenior UI Engineer
October 2022 - Present
- Front-end team lead on Tonic's largest and most established client.
- Collaborate with product managers and designers to define project requirements and translate them into technical specifications.
- Built dynamic data visualizaitons to help admin users analyze large amounts of complex data, utilizing the d3 library.
- Lead full redesign efforts for:1. Onboarding flow for pilot program between Google and client.2. Payment portal including payment method management, transaction history, and ecommerce flow.
UI Engineer
July 2021 - October 2022
- Implemented responsive design principles, resulting in a 20% improvement in mobile user engagement.
- Integrated Plaid into application's existing Stripe environment, increasing users' ability to verify ACH payment types quickly and securely.
- Increased application's site speed on heaviest pages by 80% using react-query and introduction of server side pagination.
Gloo
|Boulder, COWeb Engineer
March 2021 - June 2021
- Conducted A/B testing and user feedback analysis to improve user experience, resulting in the successful creation and launch of marketplace app.
- Introduced continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines using CircleCI, increasing cadence of feature work deployment and decreasing deployment time.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to gather requirements and deliver solutions that met business objectives.
Associate Web Engineer
May 2020 - March 2021
- Assisted in the development of web applications, gaining experience in front-end technologies like Next.js and ApolloGQL.
- Collaborated with senior developers to troubleshoot and debug code issues.
- Participated in code reviews and contributed to coding standards and best practices.
- Developed responsive and user-friendly interfaces.
Natural Habitat Adventures
|Boulder, COSenior Web Developer (Contract)
December 2021 - Present
- Development of custom UI features including image carousel, dynamic video rendering, and smart photo resizing via CDN.
- Large scale refactoring of old code to introduce ES6 consistency and modern patterns.
Jr Frontend Web Developer
July 2019 - May 2020
- Design and develop new UI features for both end user and content creators within CMS.
- Spearheaded API integration to allow for dynamic, real-time data loading.
- Collaborate with product team to improve internal features to increase efficiency.
- Develop end-to-end integration tests using Cypress.io.
AMB3R Creative
|Denver, COGraphic Designer
June 2018 - February 2019
- Designed custom apparel for 40+ clients.
- Created pixel perfect separations to take designs from digital to screen print.
- Itterated with clients and project managers to ensure customer delight.
- Developed 86 page look-book and style guide for both internal use and external marketing.
Some Things I've Built
Program Explorer POC
Research effort to validate a hypothesis that if explorers are presented with an array curated of programs from outside vendors that they will be more likely to sign up for one.
Made at: Gloo (private repository)
- React
- Gatsby
- Prismic.io
- MaterialUI
Ecommerce/Buyflow
Ecommerce flow that steamlines the purchase process of Gloo's applications.
Made at: Gloo (private repository)
- Next.js
- React
- Redux
- ApolloGQL
- Nextmail
- MaterialUI
Get in Touch
Although I'm not currently looking for work, I'm always happy to chat and entertain exciting opportunties. If you want to start a conversation, please shoot me an email or connect with me on LinkedIn and we can grab a coffee (virtually or in person).
Say hello