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 touch
01.

About 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
alex hopkins headshot
02.

Where I've Worked

Tonic

|Denver, CO

Senior 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, CO

Web 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, CO

Senior 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, CO

Graphic 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.
03.

Some Things I've Built

Barna Access Plus

Content platform built on Gloo's core authentification services. Currently utilized for Barna, but built to accomodate expansion and scaling to incorporate other content partners in the near future.

Made at: Gloo (private repository)

  • Next.js
  • React
  • ApolloGQL
  • Prismic.io
  • MaterialUI

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

Natural Habitat Adventures

Company marketing website that features detailed descriptions of Nat Hab's 100+ adventure trips.

Made at: Natural Habitat Adventures (private repository)

  • JQuery
  • VanillaJS
  • Sass
  • HTML
  • CMS

Hike On

Single page application that consumes user location data, plugs it into Google Maps API and REI's Hiking Project API and returns a list of trails near them. Also includes optional difficulty and length paramaters as well as weather data at the trailhead.

Personal Project

  • React
  • Node.js
  • MongoDB

Mario Maze

Javascript game inspired by an intersection old school Mario games and Pacman. Run around, collect coins, avoid ghosts and see if you can save Princess Peach from Bowser's lair!

Personal Project

  • VanillaJS
  • jQuery
  • HTML

Porfolio v1

My first attempt at a portfolio site, whipped together during the last week of my bootcamp at General Assembly circa June 2019.

Personal Project

  • Sass
  • jQuery
  • HTML
04. What's Next?

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