Ali PajandSenior Product Engineer | Design-Systems Architect | Developer Experience

9+ years building fast, reliable web apps with React, TypeScript & Node.js. Design systems, interactive and 3D/animated UIs, and DX tooling. Bridging design and engineering to ship better products.

About

Senior Product Engineer with 9+ years turning complex requirements into fast, reliable products. I focus on frontend (React, TypeScript, Next.js) and backend (Node.js, Python, APIs), with deep experience in design systems, component libraries, and Developer Experience—tooling, docs, and workflows that help teams ship faster.

I bridge design and engineering: accessible, performant UIs; interactive and 3D/animated experiences; and production-ready code. I've driven ~30% performance gains, led design-system adoption, and introduced AI-driven automation (e.g. MCP for Cursor) for code review and velocity. I work best in agile, cross-functional teams and care about product vision and execution.

What I bring: Leadership, cross-functional collaboration, mentorship, and a track record of stable releases (e.g. 99.9% deployment stability). Open to senior and staff-level roles where I can shape architecture, DX, and product quality.

Experience

Roles and impact across product teams and startups.

  • Senior Frontend Developer

    AlwaysGeeky Games

    2024 – 2026
    • Full-stack ownership of Marketplace & Login: React/Next.js frontend to Node.js and Python backend in production.
    • Improved site speed and server response by ~30% via data and DB optimization; built shared component library for faster feature delivery.
    • Design System & Component Library with full WCAG accessibility and CI/CD (GitHub Actions).
    • Developer Experience: tooling, docs, and workflows; AI-driven automation (MCP server for Cursor) for code review and velocity.
  • Senior Frontend Developer

    Emplifi

    2022 – 2023
    • Built data-heavy UIs with GSAP animations; translated high-fidelity Figma into responsive, performant components.
    • Delivered data dashboards with D3.js and React; optimized for mobile webviews and embedded environments.
    • Used A/B testing, Sentry, and Hotjar to drive measurable improvements in retention and interface responsiveness.
  • Frontend Developer

    ControlTech Startup Studio

    2018 – 2022
    • Owned full development cycle for multiple startup products: Figma to React/React Native, AWS infra, and stable releases for early customers.
    • Reduced first-load times via code splitting, lazy loading, and CDN; built PWA from scratch (service workers, offline, caching).
    • Established Jest & Playwright test suites and GitHub Actions CI/CD; achieved 99.9% deployment stability.
  • UI/UX Designer & Frontend Developer

    Rayvarz Inc.

    2016 – 2017
    • Led redesign of legacy B2B dashboards; +15% user engagement through data viz and information architecture.
    • Acted as bridge between design and engineering: Figma/Photoshop to Vue.js; user research and A/B testing to validate UI decisions.

Skills

Languages & Frameworks

ReactNext.jsTypeScriptJavaScript (ES6+)HTML5CSS3Node.js

Backend & APIs

Nest.jsPythonPostgreSQLREST APIsGraphQL

Interactions

D3.jsGSAP3D Web Graphics

State & Data

ReduxZustandReact QueryContext API

Testing & Quality

JestPlaywrightCypressSentryChrome DevTools

Tools & Cloud

AWSDockerGitGitHub ActionsViteFigmaStorybook

Core: Leadership, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Communication, Problem-Solving, Mentorship, Stakeholder Alignment.

Get in touch

Open to senior and staff-level roles in product engineering, frontend architecture, design systems, and Developer Experience. Happy to discuss full-time, contract, or advisory work. Let's build something great.