Joshua A. Winn
Portfolio: joshuawinn.com
Email: Please use the contact form
Location: Asheville, North Carolina
Status: Employed full-time
With 13+ years of professional experience as a web developer, I’m comfortable jumping into a variety of tech stacks. I care about high quality UI/UX for both users and admins, writing organized and maintainable code, and the visual details.
Professional Experience
Web Developer, at Sparkbox:
| Remote
I joined Sparkbox as a web developer in 2022. Sparkbox is based on Dayton, Ohio and partners with complex organizations to create user-driven web experiences. The team is a talented bunch, with a healthy company culture that values empathy, learning, and accessibility.
While at Sparkbox, I’ve been a part of a couple of projects:
- Design System Components – React + TypeScript + Storybook
Updated and created components for the design system of a large company involved with electronic signatures. Components were built in React with TypeScript, with their content and settings provided through Contentful. I also made updates to Storybook, to add theming options, controls, and additional stories. - Design System Components – CSS + HTML + Storybook
Updated and migrated CSS components for a design system that also helps power their web component library. Made heavy use of CSS custom properties with values based on tokens. Migrated components to a new tokens system. Cleaned up and refactored CSS and documentation. Validated changes with various teams and tracked down bugs. Added new and missing features to components. Updated Storybook templates and stories to account for more variations. Compared changes in Chromatic VRTs. Updated styles for Windows High Contrast Mode (forced-colors). - Large Multi-site Drupal Migration
Helping in the final stages of a large migration from Drupal 7 to Drupal 9. Converted PHP templates to Twig, tracked down, and improved legacy code.
Some of the various software and tools I’ve become accustomed to using while working remote:
- Meetings through Zoom and Teams, with a daily standup
- Daily communication in Slack
- Managing and creating Jira issues to track work during sprints
- GitHub for managing code, writing PRs, and reviewing PRs. I’ve become used to the conventional commits standard and commit curation.
Tech Lead / Senior Developer, at The Idea People:
| Charlotte, NC
In 2017 I left the freelance life to join The Idea People (TIP) as a Senior Developer, initially to assist with developing a large React app for both web and native. I also helped to develop and maintain several websites based in PHP and WordPress.
In addition to general WordPress theme development, I was able to dig in deeper with WordPress and WooCommerce, creating a couple extensive plugins that make use of 3rd Party APIs, generate printable PDFs, provide digital download codes, and more. This position also broadened my experience to include writing in Python, using Docker, and working with various JavaScript frameworks.
I took on a Tech Lead role in 2019, programming alongside a team of developers, setting up processes and coding guidelines, reviewing PRs through Bitbucket, and quoting/planning new projects.
Freelance Web Developer, Self-Employed, at JWinn Development:
Full-time: August 2013 – February 2017 (3.5 yrs) | On the Side: Since 2008 | Remote
Creations and Skills: See Portfolio or Web Development Services for more information.
I have been working on the side as an independent contractor from 2008 to the present. From 2013 to 2017 I took my freelancing business full-time.
I built and modified websites both for clients and through various design agencies. I’ve created custom WordPress themes, modified and fixed themes, created plugins and integrated 3rd party libraries, launched sites, worked with a custom CMS, moved an old Yahoo site to Shopify, etc.
For much of this time I continued maintaining and developing a custom Shopify theme for a luxury brand. It went through several redesigns and many changes as the brand grew.
On the side I also developed a user-driven review site Hot Sauce Fever (built in a PHP framework), and a hybrid mobile app.
Senior Web Developer, at PaperStreet:
Full-time: October 2008 – August 2013 (4.8 yrs ) | Fort Lauderdale, FL
At PaperStreet I primarily built websites in WordPress and an in-house PHP-based CMS. Most sites that I developed used CSS3, HTML5, and PHP. I integrated JavaScript functionality using plugins, jQuery, and custom scripts. When I first started, we were still supporting IE8. Near the end of my time there, I helped in the transition to responsive design.
Over the years there, I built dozens of sites, made upgrades to a custom CMS, created database driven websites (custom PHP and CodeIgniter), launched websites, dealt with all kinds of DNS and server issues, wrote htaccess rules, made updates for SEO, worked with IIS and started learning Linux server basics, transferred sites to new servers, spoke to clients regarding updates and issues, installed different scripts and web apps, and more.
While also building some of the more complex sites, I moved into a quality control role on the development team, reviewing new builds for errors and accuracy compared to PSDs and specs.
Front-end Web Developer and Programmer, at Motorguru.com:
Full-time: November 2007 – July 2008 | Delray Beach, FL
Motoguru was a startup web company that created video reviews of new cars and was working with a custom video player platform. I turned site design layouts into XHTML and CSS using standards-compliant code, and integrated database information into various parts of the site’s frontend and custom admin area with PHP and MySQL.
Researcher and Webmaster at Game Recruiter:
Full-time: January 2007 – November 2007 | Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Reviewing artwork, portfolios, and resumes, working in a team-oriented environment, utilizing database software, managing website.
Education
Bachelor of Science in Game Art & Design
The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, FL
Graduated March 2008