Hi, I'm Steph.

I bridge design and engineering through a shared system, not a handoff packet. I work the product surface and the foundation under it: flows that feel obvious because they were iterated carefully, plus token systems, component APIs, and docs that keep the system maintainable.

1. Align. Scope, flows, and what ships. With product and engineering before pixels pile up.
2. Systemize. Tokens, patterns, and states in Figma and code so UI stays consistent.
3. Build. Production UI in the real stack. Storybook demos for every component the team reuses.
4. Review. Same reference in Storybook, not reinterpreted from one-off frames.
5. Ship. Docs and the pattern library so adoption lasts. See Superbloom on this site.

I prototype in code when interaction matters; Figma is for exploration and system specs. AI handles mechanical work (scaffold, refactors, docs). I focus on scope, judgment, accessibility, and how a flow should feel.

I joined Mermaid in early 2023 as employee #4 and founding UX Engineer through March 2026, with no website, design system, or Storybook to start from. I owned product design, frontend engineering, and that system from zero: 23 components, tokens, a documentation site, and work across the dashboard, editor, and core surfaces.

Before that, I contracted with the Microsoft FAST team on documentation infrastructure and integration guides for Svelte, Vite, and Rollup, focused on developer experience and adoption.

Earlier, I shipped React and Next.js UI at IDIQ and Family Proud, freelanced design engineering from 2015 to 2020, mentored students at UC San Diego Extension, and have helped organize events with San Diego Tech Hub (a community of developers, designers, and entrepreneurs) since 2019.

Chico, my rescue dog, and I hit the park most days. Fresh air and sunshine help me think.

Outside work: sparkling Rosé, Lego sets, flowers, spy thrillers, and anything space-themed (current obsession: Project Hail Mary, Amaze Amaze Amaze).