Chris Simmons

Senior frontend developer and design engineer with 25 years of experience building production grade web platforms and design systems. Creator of Skeleton, an open-source design system and component library with 300k+ monthly downloads.

Work History

Core Maintainer @ Skeleton
February 2022 - Current | https://skeleton.dev | https://skeletonlabs.co

I proudly serve as both the creator and core maintainer of Skeleton, a popular open source UI library for Svelte and React, garnering around 300k downloads and 500k page views a month respectively. I also operate as co-founder of Skeleton Labs LLC, the company that oversees and tends to the business needs of the project.

Design Engineer @ Humble Good
June 2025 - June 2026 | https://humblegood.io/

I operate as both the frontend web developer and design lead. I’ve aided on Conversated - an AI-focused content management system, primarily focused on the hospitality space (think Airbnb), localized for the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul). The platform uses LLM technology to import site content and property listings, and provide agents for generating and managing site design.

Senior Frontend Web Developer @ Maingau
March 2024 - April 2025 | https://www.maingau-energie.de/

I worked as part of a small team building Hoorai, an offshoot within the German-based Maingau energy company. Hoorai is a B2B SaaS platform that utilizes personality traits for individuals and data-driven insights to match teams of users with employers for any type of project. This has been generated using both Skeleton and Svelte.

Senior Frontend Web Developer @ Frontrow (now Frontro)
October 2023 - March 2024 | https://frontro.com/

Senior developer on a video streaming platform, building the production client-facing web apps and dashboards. The product gives content creators the best of YouTube and Twitch inside a white-label platform they own. I led a team of six, balancing process ownership with hands-on implementation, and helped streamline the design-to-development pipeline.

VP of Engineering @ Brain & Bones
February 2020 - April 2022 | https://www.brainandbonesllc.com

Lead all development and design efforts for the company. Including leading a team of developers, as we implemented a web-based SaaS platform. This included a number of branding, UI, and UX for various initiatives, including the Speed Trivia game service.

Senior Platform Engineer @ Jackpot Rising
April 2016 - February 2020

Managed the overall direction of the platform and products, leading research, planning, design, development, and UX across several verticals. This includes our player-facing portal, called PlayerHQ, for web, mobile, and desktop apps. I assisted with Arcade software integration. As well as our admin dashboard, called Homebase, for third party partners, content creation, and moderation.

Independent Game Developer for Minirl
January 2016 - April 2016 | http://minirlgame.com
Minirl (pronounced "Mineral") is a simple, strategic, accessible roguelike video game with a touch of puzzle elements. It was developed using C# in the Unity game engine and published for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, Kindle, and iOS. This was a personal passion project, which meant I was in charge of: production, directing, art/design, development, distribution, branding, and marketing.

Sr. Frontend Web Developer & Creative Director @ Trivie
2014 - 2016 | https://www.trivie.com
Handled design, development, and UX for the Trivie for Business SaaS-based application, admin dashboard, and company website. The product promotes training and knowledge retention within the enterprise space.

Lead Developer @ SQ1 Digital Agency (now Ansira)
2013 to 2014 | https://www.ansira.com/
Managed a team of developers for multiple high profile client brands. Creation of custom web-based management systems. Development of e-commerce stores for clients.

Frontend Web Developer @ Belo Corporation (now USA Today Co.)
2012 to 2013 | https://www.usatodayco.com/
Responsive web design, development, internal web-based tooling, project documentation, and technical support. Including work on the nationally distributed WeatherCaster mobile app.

Web Interface Developer @ Belo Corporation (now USA Today Co.)
2010 to 2012 | https://www.usatodayco.com/
Front end web design and development, technical support, social media integration. Providing support for 15 major television news stations around the United States, including: WFAA, KMOV, WCNC-TV, WVEC, & WWL-TV.

Web Designer @ Times Record News (Scripps News)
2008 to 2010 | https://www.timesrecordnews.com
Front-end web design, e-commerce, web advertising creative, assistant webmaster.

Graphic and Web Designer @ Gordon Photography
2002 to 2008
Served as the senior graphic designer, head of large format printing, and assisted with web services. As well as aided the transition to digital photography.

Knowledge

Languages and Frameworks

JavaScript (React, Svelte, Vue, Angular, Typescript, Node, etc.), HTML5, CSS (Tailwind), C# (Unity), Python (Flask), Go/GoLang (Revel), and Java/Kotlin (Android)

Technology and Concepts

Design systems, Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC),, agentic development via AI/ LLMs (Claude), A11y, RESTful APIs, Monorepos (PNPM), MVC/MVVC, continuous integration (Github Actions), progressive web applications (PWA), gamification, SEO, code standards, technical documentation

Design

Figma/Adobe/Sketch, UX, game design, responsive web design, progressive enhancement, typography, iconography, graphic design, color theory, branding

Tools and Infrastructure

VS Code, Terminal, Git (Github/Bitbucket), PNPM, Vite, Docker, Unity, Vercel, Cloudflare, AWS, Shopify, Stripe

Testing and Code Quality

Vitest, Jest, Playwright, Cypress, OXC Format/Lint, ESLint, Prettier

Methodologies
Agile, Scrum, Waterfall

Community Management
GitHub, Discord, Bluesky, Youtube

Operating Systems

MacOS, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS|

Media Appearances

Education

Computer Animation and Design - 2003 to 2005

Vernon College - Wichita Falls, TX