# Donald Twiford > Software Engineer | Team Oriented Full-Stack Developer | Passion for growth and learning Location: Irvine, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/donaldtwiford I am a friendly, passionate, and team-oriented developer and I approach all of my tasks with that energy in mind. In my most recent roles, I worked on small teams on high pace projects, tackling challenges, coordinating with manages and other engineering teams, and producing quality work and a productive engineering space and team culture.In my current job, I work as a Software Engineer for Autopilot, a rapidly growing startup that helps bring intelligent investing to its users. In this role, I've developed multiple standalone websites, coordinated with mobile, and backend engineering teams, and helped drive forward the multitude of features and ideas that help our company grow.In all of my jobs, I’ve thrived with a good team, where I could take my love for overcoming challenges with like-minded people. I’ve always been passionate about supporting the people around me and rising to the challenge and I try to bring that energy with me whether I'm running solo or working on a team. ## Work Experience ### Software Engineer @ Autopilot Jan 2024 – Present As a software engineer at Autopilot, I am part of a small team developing the web experience for the Autopilot App and our Pilots. My main focus is on a portal that allows our Pilots to manage their portfolios and interact with the wider user base connected through our iOS and Android applications. My day to day involves working with amazing product designers, a talented mobile and backend team, as well as a dedicated staff of company leaders including our Product Manager, content creators, and C Suite team. ### Software Engineer @ CS Engineering Jan 2023 – Jan 2024 As a Software Engineer with CS Engineering, I worked alongside the CS team modernizing their legacy codebase and customer UI, converting React class components and Redux forms to React Functional components using Typescript to implement strict data typing and security coupled with React Testing Library and Jest to increase code quality and functionality. I also facilitated presentations for the team on leading industry standards and onboarded new Engineers to facilitate a supportive growth-focused environment. (linkedin.com/company/cs-engineering-tech-team/mycompany/) - Developed and maintained Codesmith’s public site (codesmith.io) serving over 200,000 unique annual visitors in 2023. - Utilized Jest and React Testing Library in our CI/CD pipeline to enhance React/Redux component and middleware reliability, ensuring robust database functionality and early detection of side effects. - Harnessed TypeScript to transform and enhance legacy JavaScript codebase to reinforce type safety through strict data typing, significantly improving codebase maintainability and scalability for future development. - Created an event page calendar feature with dropdown filter options utilizing Redux state and React functional components expanding the original event list page and improving community awareness and accessibility to company events. - Modernized legacy codebase by transitioning React class components to functional components alongside feature development, enhancing code readability and maintainability for future feature expansions. - Reviewed, refactored and developed documentation for company engineering best practices and operations decreasing onboarding time, and increasing team cohesion, ticket completion, and information accessibility. - Conducted training for technical skills and best engineering practices, and facilitated tech talks on emerging technologies and industry standards to elevate junior engineers and improve team communication and ability. ### Next Engine Optimization @ Next Engine Optimization (Open Source) Jan 2023 – Jan 2023 I leveraged the Next.js framework to develop a single-page application utilizing SSR and SSG focused on allowing developers to gather site rendering metrics from their Next.js applications to optimize their SEO metrics. Our MVP utilized the reliable dependence abstraction of Docker containers and the headless testing features of Puppeteer to upload and test user-built applications in an isolated environment and return meaningful render metrics like Hydration time and First Contentful Paint. Development has continued seeing NEO moving to a more locally available form as a VSCode extension for easier individual use. - Built a metrics collection application, under tech accelerator OSLabs, leveraging the NextJS framework to create a responsive server-side rendered frontend for obtaining SEO metrics of user-uploaded projects. - Optimized stability and user experience through Typescript integration to enforce strong typing and promote seamless data synchronization between backend databases and front-end metric displays. - Implemented E2E testing with Puppeteer and Jest to ensure site functionality and detect unwanted side effects. - Utilized Docker to containerize user-uploaded projects into testing suites, streamlining metrics gathering, simulating deployment and automating the creation and deconstruction of application data. - Utilized Puppeteer’s headless server functionality to access the Chrome Performance API to retrieve and parse render/runtime metrics of user-uploaded projects. - Constructed a secure user authentication system leveraging unique credentials and SQL database integration also allowing for association of containers with individual users, enabling multiple users to use the site concurrently. - Designed dynamic graphics with ChartJS to display meaningful metrics, e.g. “First Contentful Paint” and “Hydration Time.” - Created interactive UI with Tailwind for quick, targeted, and organized styling of React components for scalability. ### Production Manager @ JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery Jan 2019 – Jan 2023 As Production Manager, I lead a team of up to 60 people through a variety of tasks needed to maintain the safe and efficient operation of the production facility. I developed organizational documentation to track and manage the flow of material and operations and facilitated the training, hiring, and workflow of our talented staff. - Managed and tracked employee and product workflow using the Oracle Relational Database System. - Supervised and coordinated day-to-day operations of up to 60 staff, ensuring efficient workflow, timely production schedules, and adherence to quality standards and safety protocols. - Fostered a positive team culture by recognizing and rewarding achievements, promoting open communication, and resolving conflicts in a timely manner, resulting in an engaged and cohesive workforce ## Education ### Codesmith Jan 2023 – Jan 2023 ### Bachelor of Science - BS in Viticulture and Enology University of California, Davis Jan 2013 – Jan 2016 ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/donaldtwiford --- Source: https://flows.cv/donaldtwiford JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/donaldtwiford/resume.json Last updated: 2026-03-29