Hi, I'm Justin Bell
Senior Software Engineer
I craft reliable systems and intuitive experiences, focusing on performant and user-friendly applications
About Me
I'm a Senior Software Engineer with a passion for building scalable systems, streamlining architecture, and shipping thoughtful product features. At The Washington Post (Arc XP), I solution-designed and shipped features across its most-used applications—Composer, WebSked, and Trident—building and enhancing tools for thousands of internal and client users, powering experiences for tens of millions of downstream users across global sites.
Following organizational restructuring at The Washington Post (Arc XP), I'm continuing professional development through product building and contract engineering. I'm currently a Contract Engineer for a stealth startup in the renewable energy sector, contributing to early-stage platform development. I've also architected and launched GameRelish, a community feedback platform for gaming franchises, and modernized Através, a React/Firebase app for cross-world messaging via antipodal maps. As I prepare for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate exam, I'm deepening the cloud infrastructure expertise I gained over 5 years at The Washington Post.
Regardless of what I'm doing exactly, I’m always drawn to work that lives at the intersection of technology, creativity, and connection.
System Thinker
Designing resilient architectures with a product-first mindset
Full-Stack Craftsman
Obsessed with clean code, smart tooling, and end-to-end polish
Product-Driven Engineer
Bridging design, dev, and business goals with minimal ego
Collaborative Partner
Brings momentum, clarity, and calm to high-trust teams
Interests & Passions
Product Engineering
Music Production
Physical Fitness
Nature & the Outdoors
Fictional Writing
Community Impact
Sports: Lakers/Dodgers/Eagles
Food (Cooking & Eating)
Professional Experience
Independent Software Engineer & Contract Work
Product Development & Professional Growth
Los Angeles, CA
Following organizational restructuring at The Washington Post (Arc XP), continuing professional development through product building and contract engineering:
- Contract Engineer for stealth startup - contributing to early-stage platform development in the renewable energy sector
- Architected, built, and launched GameRelish (gamerelish.com) - a community feedback platform for gaming franchises featuring enterprise-grade architecture: 41+ RLS policies with role-based access, multi-tiered abuse prevention, React Query with optimistic updates, email automation, and Next.js 15 with 100% TypeScript coverage and comprehensive test suite
- Modernized Através (atraves.net) - React/Firebase application (previously built in Angular 1) for cross-world messaging via antipodal maps with geospatial queries, location fuzzing for privacy, and multilingual support (12 languages)
- Preparing for AWS Solutions Architect - Associate certification to deepen cloud infrastructure expertise gained from 5 years at The Washington Post (Arc XP)
- Building new full-stack applications and modernizing legacy projects with current best practices (Next.js, TypeScript, serverless) while exploring AI/ML integration for real-time collaboration and scalability
Senior Software Engineer / Software Engineer (Promoted Apr 2023)
Washington Post (Arc XP)
Los Angeles, CA
- Led rebuild of WebSked's List View using React, refactoring legacy AngularJS CMS code for scalability and maintainability
- Crafted React components for Arc internal UI libraries (built with Tailwind/Bootstrap); tested with Chai, Jest, and Cypress
- Architected an org-wide config-free user authorization system in Node.js reducing admin support tickets by >40%
- Created AWS S3 metadata aggregation tools for customer deployment visibility and CI/CD debugging
- Built REST APIs, automation scripts and DynamoDB schemas enabling fine-grained RBAC
- Consolidated monthly usage data using AWS Lambda-based services
- Solution designed Featured Media appending in most used customer facing app and identified critical bottlenecks
- Led cross-functional "Trident Training Sessions" to help colleagues interface with our backend systems more confidently
- Ensured internationalization compliance (i18n) and RTL support for SLA-bound applications
- Rotated in 24/7 on-call support for live triaging and Slack-based incident response
- Implemented and maintained CI/CD pipelines and AWS cloud infrastructure
Education
Hack Reactor / Telegraph Academy
Software Engineering Immersive
Dartmouth College
BA in Sociology
Featured Projects
GameRelish
A community-driven feedback platform that helps gaming enthusiasts share constructive feedback and shape the future of their favorite games. Features include a four-tier feedback system (wishlist, relish, mustard, gamebreaker), real-time community voting, comprehensive moderation tools, email notifications for game launches, and a foundational badge system that rewards quality contributions.
Através
Através is an interactive web app that lets users discover and explore the antipode—the exact opposite point on Earth—for any location. Features include real-time map rendering, address and landmark geocoding, support for 12 languages, and a whimsical "Message in a Bottle" system that lets users leave or discover anonymous messages on the other side of the world.
Skills & Expertise
Frontend
Backend & Database
Testing & Tools
AWS Services
Get in Touch
Let's Connect
I'm always excited to discuss new projects, product challenges, and collaboration opportunities