Denise Walter full-stack engineer · Melrose, MA
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The Digital Meadow — a portfolio that grows

Software grown from native roots.

I'm a full-stack engineer who builds accessible interfaces, dependable APIs and branching learning tools — and spends weekends with Massachusetts native plants. Each flower is a role; its roots are the skills it grew from.

soil line Chewy design system components test coverage 20% → 100% WCAG AA accessibility Vendr customer API integrations Slack Block Kit approvals HubSpot webhook workflows Kyron Learning lesson tree navigation branching lesson paths subscription export rules prompt chains LLM evaluation pipelines
Frontend Software Engineer · Jun 2019 – Nov 2020 · Boston, MA
  • Expanded the design system with reusable components in React/TypeScript, Vue, and vanilla JavaScript.
  • Raised design system test coverage from 20% to 100% with unit tests.
  • Improved accessibility across browsers, OS, and screen readers to meet WCAG Level AA standards.
Full-stack Software Engineer · Nov 2020 – Mar 2022 · Boston, MA
  • Built customer-facing API integrations in Ruby on Rails and Hotwire/Stimulus for companies accessing pre-negotiated software deals.
  • Integrated Slack messaging with Block Kit for internal team notifications and approvals.
  • Developed HubSpot webhook and email-triggered workflows to automate Vendr Collective applicant processing.
Full-stack Software Engineer · Jan 2024 – Jul 2026 · Cambridge, MA
  • Built a hierarchical folder and tree navigation system for lesson collections, handling nested moves, safe-delete validation, and lazy-loaded API queries across thousands of lessons.
  • Reworked branching lesson path ordering, implementing next-step resolution for multiple-choice and free-response segments.
  • Partnered with product management to build subscription-based export rules driven by org-level usage history.
  • Worked with educators to refine prompt chains for structured learning objectives and multiple-choice output quality.
  • Designed LLM evaluation pipelines using judge-style tests and benchmark runs to measure prompt consistency across model versions.
§ 02 — Featured project

Native Plant Hub

A Rails 7 app helping gardeners find native plants by state, county and characteristics. Its ETL pipelines merged 41,000+ records from 5 sources, resolving taxonomy conflicts. Tilt the glass, then run it — or visit nativeplanthub.com.

raw/ — 5 tangled sources
symphyotrichum novae-angliae ASCLEPIAS SYRIACA Aquilegia canadensis (dup) null eutrochium maculatum;; Rudbeckia hirta? Solidago sp. / goldenrod N/A Monarda fistulosa,,, aquilegia CANADENSIS #REF!
FILTER
clean/ — massachusetts natives
Symphyotrichum novae-angliaenative ✓
Asclepias syriacanative ✓
Aquilegia canadensisnative ✓
raw/ · 5 heterogeneous sources
staging/ · resolve taxonomy conflicts · normalize
index/ · multi-criteria search
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0 records merged
§ 03 — Background

Cross-pollination.

Before engineering, I studied how people think, feel and see. That still shapes every interface I build. Hover a degree.

Salem State University · Summa Cum Laude Master of Social Work

Listening closely, thinking in systems, and caring about the person on the other side of the screen.

Gordon College · Summa Cum Laude BA, Visual Art & Psychology

Composition, color and perception — how people see, and why they look where they do.

Contact

Let's grow something.