# James Crain

> Senior React Native Engineer • Product-Led, AI-Driven Teams

Location: O'Fallon, Missouri, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/jamescrain

I’m a senior, mobile-first software engineer with 15+ years of experience building user-facing products, with much of the latter half of my career focused on mobile development.

From 2020–2023 at Gravy, I owned the React Native mobile app end-to-end, building and scaling a production fintech application used by 30k+ users with strong App Store and Google Play ratings. Following Gravy’s acquisition by Clever, my scope expanded to include broader frontend systems and web development, while continuing to maintain and evolve mobile.

I specialize in React Native, Expo, and TypeScript, and I’m particularly effective in greenfield, product-led environments where engineering partners closely with product and design.

More recently, I’ve been focused on building AI-powered product features, integrating LLMs such as OpenAI and Gemini, to create practical, user-facing experiences.

I’m most effective in senior-level, product-driven environments where I can lead mobile-first development — ideally leveraging Expo’s cross-platform capabilities and contributing to meaningful, AI-enabled products.

## Work Experience
### Staff Software Engineer - Frontend / Mobile Lead (formerly Gravy) @ Clever Real Estate
Jan 2021 – Present | St. Charles, MO
(2020–2023: Mobile ownership at Gravy · 2024–present: Frontend systems + mobile at Clever)

Owned and built the React Native mobile application end-to-end during my time at Gravy, scaling it to 30k+ users across iOS and Android with strong App Store and Google Play ratings

Led mobile architecture, tooling, and release processes, shipping fintech features including in-app purchases, payments, and third-party integrations (Stripe, Plaid)

Following Gravy’s acquisition by Clever, expanded scope to lead broader frontend systems while continuing to maintain and evolve mobile

Owned frontend architecture and delivery across ~12 web and mobile applications

Led development of a new Expo-based mobile application for the Agent Portal, using shared styles and TypeScript models from the web platform

Consolidated multiple frontend applications and codebases, introducing shared libraries, documentation, and best practices to improve developer velocity and consistency

Partnered closely with product and design in a product-led environment, remaining hands-on with complex technical work

### Founder / Lead Engineer @ Crain Design Group
Jan 2015 – Present | St. Charles, MO
(Full-time through 2020 · Select projects and side work since)

Founded and operated a product and engineering consultancy focused on mobile and frontend development for early-stage and growth-stage companies

Designed and built production mobile and web applications for startups, including products that were later acquired or taken to market

Specialized in React Native, Swift, and modern frontend technologies, owning projects end-to-end from design through deployment

Currently building DigsU, a side project exploring micro-learning and AI-powered features, integrating LLMs such as OpenAI and Gemini

Partnered directly with founders and product teams, emphasizing product-led development and high-quality user experiences

### Founder / Lead Engineer @ GrabMe Delivery
Jan 2018 – Jan 2019 | Saint Charles, MO
(Acquired)

Founded and built a consumer delivery startup, owning product, engineering, and technical execution end-to-end

Developed mobile and web applications using React Native and React, supporting core user and merchant workflows

Implemented payments and subscriptions using Stripe, and backend services with Firebase

Built and maintained the marketing and content site using WordPress

Led the product from initial concept through launch and eventual acquisition

### Lead UI / UX Designer & Frontend Engineer @ ArchitectNow
Jan 2013 – Jan 2015 | Ellisville, MO
Led UI and UX design for a range of custom web and mobile applications, partnering closely with product and engineering

Built and maintained applications using .NET technologies, including C# and Xamarin for mobile

Owned frontend implementation alongside design, ensuring high-fidelity translation from UX to production

Worked heavily within the Microsoft ecosystem on bespoke, client-driven software solutions


## Education
### BS in Industrial Engineering, Information Systems
University of Missouri-Columbia


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/james-crain

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Source: https://flows.cv/jamescrain
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/jamescrain/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-03-22