Hi, I’m Andy
I’m a web developer working in design and education

Andy Ernst smiling. A 30-something white man with glasses, hair pulled back into a ponytail

What I do

For over a decade, I’ve created great web experiences for everyone from small non-profits to industry-leading billion-dollar enterprises.

Let's build something beautiful together.

  • Development

    With over a decade of web development experience, I've led diverse projects ranging from small non-profit marketing websites to heading the core UI team for a billion-dollar software product.

    I write clean, elegant code to ensure maintainability and scalability across all projects.

    I know:
    • JavaScript/Typescript
    • React
    • HTML/CSS
    • Scala
    • Java
    See my Github

  • Design

    I've always collaborated closely with design teams, which sparked my interest in pursuing a Master's Degree in Design Informatics from the University of Edinburgh. Since then, I've completed both the design and development of three websites and a game.

    From cultivating user empathy to rapid design prototyping, I integrate design and development to craft exceptional customer experiences.

    I'm proficient with:
    • Figma
    • Sketch
    • Illustrator
    • Photoshop

  • Teaching

    I've taught technology to students from 5 to 75 years old.

    I foster a sense of playfulness in the classroom, inspiring curiosity and learning through hands-on engagement and exploration.

    I've taught:
    • English as a foreign language
    • Video game programming
    • Web development
    • Web accessibility
    • Photoshop

My Work

Employment

  • Axon

    Axon
    2016-2022

    Full-stack developer and Lead Developer for core UI team on a $1+ billion product, Evidence.com

    During my six-year tenure at Axon as a senior developer, I completely rebuilt Axon.com, led the core UI team for Axon's primary software product, Evidence.com, and I led the charge on rebuilding our components to be WCAG 2.2 compliant. I conducted 143 code interviews, contributing to fairer hiring practices through the creation of real-world based interview questions, and mentored 5 other engineers.

    • Typescript
    • React
    • Redux
    • Scala
    • CSS
    • HTML
    • C#
    • SQL
  • Expedia

    Expedia
    2015-2016

    Full-stack developer on the Hotel Search page

    I improved the hotel search results page through deep code refactoring, implementing dozens of A/B tests, and a proof of concept migration to React. To improve development speed, I independently wrote a Chrome extension allowing engineers to quickly search through API responses to locate required data.

    • JavaScript
    • Java
    • Backbone.js
    • Marionette.js
    • CSS

Projects
My Github

  • Belle Maison Interior Design

    Belle Maison
    2024

    Belle Maison Interior Design

    A simple marketing website I designed and build as freelance work. The client had a limited budget, so I maximized the value I could deliver within the budget. The client was very happy with the final product. I used the Astro static site generator library for templating, but all other code is custom.

    bellemaisoninteriordesign.com

    • HTML
    • CSS
    • JS
    • Astro
  • Fair Slice project

    Fair Slice
    2023

    Master's Thesis project (University of Edinburgh)

    A web tool and learning resource about provably fair resource division algorithms. I completed literature research, user interviews and tests, design, and development for this project. This thesis won the Joint Design Informatics MSc Oberlander Dissertation Prize.

    fairslice.netlify.app

    • Typescript
    • React
    • SVG
    • HTML
    • CSS
  • United Way of King County non-profit

    UWKC
    2015

    Lead developer of the United Way of King County website

    United Way of King County (UWKC) is a prominent non-profit managing over $75 million annually. I led the complete rebuild of their website to achieve a clean, modern look. The proud relaunch in 2015 increased UWKC's online presence and community impact.

    uwkc.org

    • JavaScript
    • CSS
    • HTML
    • Wordpress
  • Guatemala Village Health non-profit

    Guatemala Village Health
    2019

    Volunteer Developer and Designer

    Guatemala Village Health (GVH) works to improve people's health rural Guatemala. I volunteered to rebuilt their Wordpress in Wix. In two months I launched the new site and trained GVH members to manage their online presence.

    • CSS
    • HTML
    • Wix

For Fun

  • Wordle game

    Wordle
    2024

    Wordle

    A clone of Wordle

    Play Wordle

    • React
    • Typescript
    • CSS
  • Snake game

    1 Hour Snek
    2024

    Snake

    A clone of the classic Snake game built under an hour as a challenge.

    Play Snek

    • React
    • CSS

Testimonial

In the 3 years we've worked together, he never failed to impress.

Shane Menchions, Senior Manager at Axon

I really appreciate that he approached work in a thoughtful manner and for always getting Tech Writing involved.

Dave Schueler, Senior Technical Writer at Axon

During our 5 years of working together, Andy has been an invaluable asset to the team, not only because his attention to detail, in-depth knowledge of the technologies that his team has been using, and affinity to do the right thing, but because he was always willing to go the extra mile to educate his team and himself.

Tamas Weisz, Staff Engineer at Axon

Say Hello

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