Kane Small
Design Engineer
Based in the UK.
Professional Summary
Design engineer with 7+ years across React, Next.js and TypeScript, focused on the seam where design becomes code — interaction primitives, motion, and design systems a team can actually own. I’d rather own my code than rent it: at HighTide I led a product off MUI and onto a custom shadcn/ui layer so the team controlled its own components instead of bending to someone else’s API. I’m happiest turning a Figma file into something that feels right in the browser, down to the easing curve.
Core Expertise
- Engineering: React, Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind, Radix UI, Base UI, shadcn/ui, TanStack Query, Apollo Client, dnd-kit, cmdk.
- Design: Figma, Storybook, Interaction Design, Motion (Framer Motion).
- Leadership: Frontend Architecture, Team Mentorship (2 to 7 engineers), UX Decision Making.
Professional Experience
Senior Software Engineer
Stax.ai · Oct 2025 – Present
- Primary frontend contributor for an AI orchestration platform, porting a legacy SolidJS system to a modern Next.js / TypeScript / TanStack Query architecture.
- Architected high-performance dashboards for document workflows, transforming complex AI extraction confidence scores into intuitive user experiences.
- Maintained a custom internal design system built on Tailwind, introducing prototyping-led development to tighten design-to-code feedback loops.
Senior Software Engineer
HighTide Software · June 2023 – Jan 2025
- Employee #2 at a nonprofit CRM startup; chose the core stack (Next.js, React, Tailwind) and led all frontend development.
- Feature highlight: built a fully customisable command palette (using cmdk) and complex drag-and-drop kanban layouts (dnd-kit).
- Led the transition from MUI to a custom abstraction over shadcn/ui to ensure design consistency and engineering flexibility.
- Co-led UX direction alongside the designer, ensuring technical feasibility while pushing for “pixel-perfect” UI.
Senior Front End Developer
Blend Marketing · Nov 2018 – June 2023
- Grew the engineering team from 2 to 7, leading hiring, technical assessments and mentoring new engineers through code reviews and clear objectives.
- Introduced Git, Sass, Vue.js, and Tailwind CSS into agency workflows, significantly improving code quality and consistency.
- Built a reusable component framework that cut engineering time on new client sites by 30–40%; every component shipped for one client could be design-stripped and folded into a growing module library, so each build made the next one faster.
Freelance & Side Projects
Nov 2021 – Present
- Designed and built a wedding website and accompanying admin dashboard for two close friends ahead of their wedding — custom UI, a guest RSVP flow with email confirmations, and live guest and registry management. Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind, shadcn/ui, Convex (auth + database), Resend (RSVP confirmations).
- Developed a HubSpot CMS application with a React frontend and Laravel backend for complex data entry workflows.
- Built reactive Shopify collection listings in Vue.js and delivered complete HubSpot CMS sites (20+ templates, 25+ modules).
Education
BSc Computer Science, First Class Honours
University of Reading · 2014–2018
IT BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma
The Henley College · Triple Distinction*