Resume
Zachary Sorensen McNellis
Senior Software Engineer · San Francisco, CA
Summary
Senior Engineer with over 10 years of experience leading architecture, development, and scaling of high-performance web applications. Proven track record of building shared UI frameworks, developer tooling, and platform infrastructure that empower product teams. Deep expertise in React, TypeScript, modern frontend architecture, and React Native. Passionate about leveraging AI-powered development tools to accelerate engineering velocity and pioneer AI-first platform solutions.
Experience
Webflow · Senior Software Engineer, Tech Lead
- Serve as Tech Lead for the AI Workflows platform, architecting frontend infrastructure for agentic automations used by internal teams and external developers.
- Design scalable APIs, SDKs, and developer tooling, establishing foundational patterns that improve developer velocity and consistency across the app ecosystem.
- Contribute to long-term web platform strategy, driving adoption of shared UI components and enhancing the extensibility of third-party integrations.
- Champion AI-powered development workflows within the engineering org, using Claude to raise the bar for productivity and code quality.
Squadformers · Senior Software Engineer
- Led full-stack and frontend development for early-stage startups, transforming ambiguous requirements into production-ready solutions.
- Architected and delivered highly performant native mobile (React Native) and web applications for clients across FinTech, EdTech, and Data Management.
- Set up core frontend build pipelines with strict adherence to accessibility and responsive design principles.
Bakesale · Cofounder / Engineering Lead
- Co-founded and built an early-stage B2B SaaS wholesale marketplace serving the Los Angeles metro market — working closely with Duff Goldman of the Food Network.
- Drove all technical and architectural decisions, balancing rapid prototyping velocity with long-term platform scalability.
Pallet · Senior Full-Stack Engineer
- Joined as the second engineer, taking a leading technical role in building the initial recruiting platform product from the ground up.
- Architected server-side rendered (SSR) web applications using Next.js and TypeScript, optimizing for SEO and Core Web Vitals.
- Integrated Apollo Client with Django GraphQL for robust, type-safe data fetching and state management.
Shipt · Engineering Manager, MarTech (2019–2020) · Senior Software Engineer (2018–2019)
- Led the frontend architecture and implementation of an internal experimentation platform, accelerating the delivery of A/B tests and optimizing user acquisition.
- Drove systemic improvements in frontend performance and established strict code review standards across the marketing technology organization.
Education
Clemson University
- MS Computer Science (Graphics & Visualization) — GPA 4.00 · BS Computer Science (Honors), Summa Cum Laude — GPA 4.00
- Additional experience: Contract Software Engineer at Marriott (WebVR platform, 2019); Software Developer at CGI & Lincs (2015–2018).
- Published author in automated metric computation & networked controllers; Graduate Teaching Assistant (C++ & Game Engine Construction).
Skills
- Languages & Frameworks
- JavaScript, TypeScript, React, React Native, Next.js, Node.js, GraphQL, Python, HTML/CSS, CSS-in-JS
- Architecture & Performance
- Frontend Tooling, Component Libraries, Design Systems, Core Web Vitals, Bundle Optimization, SSR/SSG
- Tools & Practices
- AI-assisted development (Cursor, Claude, Codex), Redux, Apollo Client, A/B Testing Infrastructure, CI/CD