Nichole Kitmitto
Hi there!
I'm a Senior Software Engineer based in the Netherlands who loves turning complex infrastructure into data-driven web platforms that feel friendly and genuinely usable. I enjoy building creative, accessible interfaces with React, backed by AWS serverless systems. Outside of work, I enjoy exploring creative projects in all forms - I'm particularly fond of sewing, knitting, and digital illustration.
Always passionate, always trying to make the web a happier place.
Experience
Protagona / Remote — Senior Software Engineer
Client: Southwest Airlines | May 2023 - Present
- Led full-stack development for a React-based internal frontend platform adopted by engineering and operations teams, with a roadmap to support several thousand internal users.
- Implemented end-to-end testing achieving ~95% coverage for backend features and ~85% coverage for frontend features, reducing regressions and increasing deployment reliability.
- Designed and provisioned AWS infrastructure using Terraform to support frontend platforms and backend APIs, including Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB, and S3.
- Actively mentored and onboarded new engineers, providing guidance on React, AWS, Terraform, and internal tooling best practices.
Bluestaq / Colorado Springs, CO — Software Engineer
June 2022 - May 2023
- Contributed to exploratory product development, delivering a Three.js-based data visualisation and analytics tool that rendered entities and their relationships as interactive graphs for relational data analysis.
- Collaborated with backend engineers to define requirements, design APIs, and shape data-retrieval strategies, optimising data access to support responsive frontend interactions.
- Implemented CI testing within the delivery pipeline, increasing code quality and detecting regressions early in a constrained, security-sensitive environment.
- Led the implementation of unit and end-to-end testing using Cypress, improving application reliability in releases.
- Developed UI components for an Angular-based application, including a custom file-explorer–style component that emulated familiar desktop navigation patterns for managing hierarchical data.
- Established the application's authentication and authorization foundation using RedHat Keycloak with JWT-based flows, and automated Docker image deployment to enable repeatable releases.
Canyon Technology Services / Remote — DevOps Engineer
Contractor | September 2021 - June 2022
- Led UI/UX and frontend development for the first iteration of Stanford Deep Ocean, a serverless precision-medicine education platform built with an open-source AWS Labs solution, improving usability, accessibility, and clarity of workflows for research students.
Ginger (Headspace Health) / Remote — IT Automation Engineer
January 2021 - October 2021
- Designed and implemented automated employee onboarding and offboarding workflows using Python and cloud infrastructure defined with CDK, improving security controls and auditability.
- Implemented SAML-based SSO integrations with Okta to enable employee access to internal SaaS tools through a single authentication flow.
CollegeNET / Portland, OR — UI Engineer
April 2018 - November 2020
- Served as the sole frontend engineer on a higher-education event scheduling application, owning UI architecture, accessibility, and responsive design.
- Designed and implemented a cohesive UI refresh to modernise the product's visual identity while maintaining consistency across the application.
- Introduced accessibility-focused features, including a contrast-optimised dark mode for visually impaired users.
- Contributed to the migration of approximately 75% of a legacy AngularJS application to Angular, improving maintainability and long-term viability.
- Led a company-wide transition from SVN to Git following successful adoption within the team, supporting engineers across the organization with establishing Git workflows and day-to-day Git issues.
SimpleWeb
Web Developer
- Delivered client-facing web products in small, cross-functional teams, working closely with stakeholders to design, build, and iterate on responsive websites and user experiences.
- Led early development of new products and features, including the first iteration of a SaaS onboarding platform and enhancements to a microfinance charity's billing system, improving reliability and usability.
- Built responsive marketing and product landing pages for early-stage startups, balancing speed, quality, and evolving requirements.
- Contributed frontend development to a responsive web application, including integration of a payment gateway and hands-on client collaboration to ensure successful delivery.