Software developer. I connect users to data
through robust APIs and
intuitive interfaces.
David P Larsen
Hi. I'm David.
I am a fullstack developer with over 4 years' experience developing professional applications utilizing JavaScript/Typescript frameworks.
I have extensive experience using React for frontend development, along with a variety of styling frameworks. I also have experience developing backends in Node/Express, with a tiny bit of C#/.NET experience. I have utilized SQL and NoSQL databases, particularly through PostgreSQL and MongoDB.
Before I was a developer, I split time between IT Support and professional music, including 5 years pursuing music full-time. Support gave me a superb troubleshooting and problem solving skills. Music gave me the creative itch to move beyond support into development.
I also love to disconnect with a good book or by getting outdoors or playing with my golden retriever. Actually, he insists on playing.
GitHub:
LinkedIn:
Little Caesars
Software Engineer II
September 2022 - Present
Detroit, MI (Remote)
- Led long-term frontend development for two project teams
- Led development of UI interface for management of product offerings through third-party platforms, opening significant new streams of revenue
- Architected new UI component patterns on admin platforms, reducing time spent on new features and maintenance by up to 75%
- Contributed to React component libraries to enhance common components, add new components, and fill feature gaps
- Rebuilt key components to improve usability by incorporating UI best practices and addressing accessibility concerns
- Scoped front end requirements for security improvements needed to satisfy a vital partnership with an external organization
- Directed and provided principal engineering on dependency and React framework upgrades across both platforms, cutting costs by eliminating deprecated packages
- Mentored other engineers of varying skill levels on React and Typescript best practices while fostering innovation outside their usual scope
FanPower (formerly Pickup)
Software Engineer / Team Lead
August 2021 - September 2022
New York, NY (Remote)
- Defined Engineering scope and supervised Agile team in building a new internal ad management platform on Node.js Express REST backend APIs and React frontend, providing more targeted engagement through the core product
- Defined Engineering scope and led development of a new admin application in ReTool, streamlining content generation with 60% fewer user interactions
- Developed REST API routes for Node.js and React UI components to transition from Rails to JavaScript, enabling team-wide repository contributions
- Optimized React core picker and web page, improving load times by up to 50%
- Wrote the JavaScript-based embed code that allows websites to embed PickUp’s cornerstone React product while syndicating content back to PickUp’s homepage, opening up previously unavailable markets for the product
- Upgraded error-reporting system to map better to source code and provide version-based reporting, decreasing time to resolve issues
- Contributed REST API routes to Node.js and React UI components to migrate tech from a Rails-based system to all JavaScript, allowing the full engineering team to contribute to any repo
- Implemented unit tests for public-facing UI library, ensuring comprehensive test coverage and minimizing bugs in further development
- Connected homepage content to Contentful, decreasing time to implement updates by up to 60%
SAFE Health
Software Engineer
November 2020 - August 2021
Los Angeles, CA (Remote)
- Designed and constructed front-end components in React to meet MVP for the Virtual Consult Builder (VCB) project
- Constructed all React UI components and a C#/.NET API backend for a natural language processing chatbot prototype with VCB integration
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to align API routes with frontend product requirements
- Contributed React components to shared software libraries to improve code efficiency across multiple product
Nashville Software School
May 2020 - November 2020
Nashville, TN (Remote)
- Led the extracurricular "Morning Algorithms" group which explored more advanced programming logic, helping colleagues gain knowledge of topics outside classroom scope
Earlier Experiences
Before April 2020
- Provided IT support to individuals and small- to medium-size businesses
- Professional musician, including 5 years full-time
- As a support technician, created procedural checklists to improve accuracy and consistency of technician work, reducing same-issue returns by 40%
- As a support technician and as the company's first full-time employee, helped to establish and scale a team whose detail-oriented service kept a growing customer base happy
- As a musician, built a lesson studio of 50+ full-time weekly students plus additional part-time students through word-of-mouth and targeted online marketing
- As a musician, procured first-call positions with other musicians by learning material quickly and demonstrating flexibility with unplanned live challenges
Though I consider myself an engineer far more than I consider myself a designer, and I don't get a lot of time for side projects, I am able to dabble once in a while.
Here are some of those dabblings.
This Website
Initial completion: July 2024
Last update: July 2024
My personal developer portfolio site
Pretty self-explanatory, since you’re looking at it! After having a templated site that I left untouched for several years, I needed an update. I also wanted something that was easy-to-maintain, while utilizing elements of the tech stack I most worked with (React).
While I am not a designer, I had a couple ideas for interactive elements I wanted to include. Mainly, these included the main navigation “bubble” on the landing, as well as the expandable headers in the interactive resume and Projects sections.
Tech: Astro, React, Radix, PandaCSS
React Routing Tabs
Initial completion: May 2024
Last update: May 2024
An open-source tab library of my creation
Creating tabs for your router is easy. Making them meet WAI-ARIA accessibility standards is not.
Lots of tab libraries give you accessible tabs. Connecting them to your router, though, means jumping through lots of hoops.
React Routing Tabs gives you accessible tabs that connect to your router with minimal effort.
Tech: React
Barkeep
Initial completion: July 2022
Last update: December 2022
A cocktail catalog for personal use
Several years ago, my wife got into mixology, especially tiki cocktails. A typical tiki drink includes many ingredients. This presents two challenges:
- Keeping track of drink recipes from many different sources
- Finding a recipe that matches the ingredients you have
Barkeep is our in-home solution to these problems. At its core is a database of drink recipes we have collected. They can be searched by regular searches, but also filtered by one or more ingredients to find the right recipe for the moment.
Since this is for my personal use, and due to legal implications around alcohol, it is not publicly deployed. I run this in a Docker container on a home UnRaid server.
Tech: PostgreSQL, Typescript (Express API, React client)
GearPatch
Initial completion: November 2020
Last update: November 2020
A peer-to-peer network for renting musical equipment
GearPatch is a platform for musicians to make some money on their extra equipment by renting it to other musicians. A user can request a rental, which is then confirmed by the owner. The status of that rental is tracked in the owner’s inventory.
This was my fullstack capstone for Nashville Software School, right as I was starting my software career. The full project was built in about ten days.
Tech: SQL, C#/.NET API, React client
Greener
Initial completion: August 2020
Last update: August 2020
Helping you grow a greener lawn
Greener is designed for personal use for individuals who want to keep better track of their lawn care. Features include:
- Log for tracking lawn care chores
- Fully-automated schedule of seasonal tasks with reminders
- Weather data and alerts
- Precipitation monitoring to let the user know if water is needed
- Tips and tricks for a greener lawn
This was my frontend capstone at Nashville Software School. The full application was built with a mobile-first design in about two weeks.
Tech: React, Javascript, vanilla CSS
