Joel Lithgow

joelnotlithgow@gmail.com | joellithgow.com | San Francisco Bay Area

Professional Summary

Software engineer with 7+ years of experience, primarily in frontend development with growing infrastructure interests. Strong TypeScript foundation with experience in Docker, GCP Cloud Run, and CI/CD pipelines. Passionate about understanding how systems work at scale—eager to transition deeper into infrastructure engineering.

Technical Skills

Frontend: TypeScript, JavaScript, CSS, HTML5, Vue, Astro, React

Backend: Python, Django, Wagtail CMS, PostgreSQL

Testing: Playwright, Automated Testing, QA Processes

Cloud: Google Cloud Platform, Docker, CI/CD, Cloud Run, Node.js

Tools: Git, PostgreSQL, REST APIs

Accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA, Screen Reader Optimization, Color Contrast Standards

Learning: Go, Distributed Systems, Container Orchestration, Kafka

Professional Experience

LazarusAI

2026 – Present

Forward Deployed Engineer 2026-04 – Present

Build end-to-end AI document extraction pipelines using LazarusAI AIE engine and LiteLLM for insurance, workers comp, and underwriting use cases
Partner directly with sales to scope, build, and deploy customer-facing demos from rapid prototypes to production-grade Dockerized apps on EC2
Develop multi-tenant insurance claims quality audit infrastructure with LLM and RAG pipelines over unstructured claim documents producing structured audit outputs with LLM tracing and explainability
Design and ship internal tooling including an agentic Slack bot for Jira product board management and a sales calendar integration for meeting triage

California College of the Arts

2017 – 2026

UX Designer / Developer 2023 – 2026-04

Develop and maintain frontend applications for the marketing and communications department
Build interactive editorial experiences for the college newsroom using modern web technologies

Junior UX Designer 2021 – 2023

Ran user research and usability testing to inform design decisions
Partnered with developers to ship responsive, accessible designs
Produced wireframes, prototypes, and detailed design specifications

Interaction Designer 2019 – 2022

Designed custom digital storytelling experiences for editorial content using Vev.design and custom code
Conducted design QA ensuring cross-browser and cross-device compatibility for all web properties
Created multimedia narrative components for commencement coverage and exhibition showcases
Collaborated with marketing team to translate brand guidelines into accessible digital implementations

QA Specialist 2017 – 2019

Identified and documented accessibility issues with remediation plans
Partnered with developers to prioritize and resolve bugs
Wrote test documentation and regression-testing procedures

Asian Art Museum

2022 – 2022

Preparator / Art Handler 2022 – 2022

Handled and installed artwork for exhibitions with care and precision
Assisted with gallery preparations and exhibition changeovers
Maintained proper art handling protocols and safety standards

Education

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Interdisciplinary Studies

California College of the Arts

Projects

WebGL Background Playground – Interactive shader-based generative art system with real-time controls joellithgow.com/backgrounds
CMS Automation Case Study – Playwright test automation reducing months of manual work to automated processes
Accessibility Standards Initiative – Cross-functional effort to establish WCAG-compliant color guidelines for brand identity