Richard Knight Harrison
Verified Expert in Engineering
Full-stack Developer
Longmont, CO, United States
Toptal member since November 4, 2022
Richard is a full-stack developer with 15 years of experience building scalable web and SaaS applications. He specializes in React, Angular, Vue, Node.js, PHP, Python, and .NET, with cloud expertise across AWS, Azure, and GCP. He also develops AI-powered solutions using LLMs, generative AI, and workflow automation. Notable projects include Stay.ai and Knocommerce. Richard combines strong engineering expertise with modern AI innovation.
Portfolio
Experience
- PHP - 15 years
- Full-stack - 10 years
- Node.js - 9 years
- React - 8 years
- Python - 8 years
- Angular - 7 years
- CI/CD Pipelines - 5 years
- Claude - 2 years
Preferred Environment
Linux, Slack, Claude, Cursor AI, Git, Docker, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Teams, Jira
The most amazing...
...thing I've developed is Stay.ai, a leading Shopify subscription platform that helps brands manage subscriptions, improve retention, and scale recurring revenue.
Work Experience
Lead Full-stack Developer
Stay AI
- Designed the complex relational database for managing Shopify subscriptions and integrating various 3rd-party services.
- Built the back-end infrastructure using Node.js and Express.js.
- Implemented both internal and open API for managing subscriptions/orders/shipping.
- Wrote migration scripts to migrate subscriptions for ReCharge, Bold, Smartrr, and WooCommerce.
- Set up cloud infrastructure using GitHub and Amazon EKS.
- Reviewed pull requests, managed servers, RDS instances, and SQS queues.
Senior Back-end Developer
Above Lending
- Integrated various 3rd-party services such as DocuSign, Mailgun, and financial services.
- Worked on a Ruby on Rails abstract layer that connects the Node.js back end to the audit service.
- Added unit/integration tests to Node.js back end and microservices.
Lead Full-stack Developer
Knocommerce
- Built a Shopify survey app using the MERN stack and the Polaris UI framework from scratch.
- Worked on a complex form builder that can create various surveys.
- Worked on the analytics module to analyze customer traffic and calculate LTV.
- Implemented benchmarking for merchants to report the trends.
- Created cron jobs for reporting weekly customer traffic data.
- Set up CI/CD using GitHub and DigitalOcean Kubernetes.
Senior Full-stack Developer
Webflow
- Built out scalable services as well as new APIs and migrated old ones using React/TypeScript, Node.js/Express.js, Mongo, GraphQL/Apollo, and AWS Lambda.
- Solved complex technical problems, empowering hundreds of thousands of people.
- Refactored existing components and code paths into clearer, standardized, documented, and testable API-driven boundaries, often resulting in 100%+ faster page load speeds.
- Built and maintained unit and integration tests (Jest and Cypress).
Senior Full-stack Developer
SkyViewTrading
- Analyzed the business requirements with financial experts.
- Designed database schemas based on the business logic.
- Created back-end infrastructure using Node.js/Express.js.
- Integrated TD Ameritrade, DxFeed API, and Nasdaq API.
- Implemented back-end logic for getting breakevens, probabilities, positions, open legs, etc., from TD Ameritrade data.
- Worked on the front end to visualize real-time stock pricing data, positions, breakevens, etc.
- Worked on a real-time chatroom for advising customers to help them gain profit in stock marketing.
Senior Full-stack Developer
Parker Technology
- Designed the data structure from business requirements.
- Built the project structure using Vue and the Laravel framework.
- Integrated Google API to get legislators' data and created advocacy messaging logic.
- Implemented logic for managing key persons' data and their tasks.
- Implemented the analytics module to analyze task progress.
Senior Full-stack Developer
Cloud VO
- Worked on an online virtual office booking site as a full-stack Vue/Laravel developer.
- Migrated the front end from jQuery to Vue and polished the UI.
- Worked on the partner portal for managing virtual office data.
- Integrated Stripe API for managing fees and subscriptions.
- Created cron jobs for reporting monthly income to partners.
- Implemented the logic for managing the booking timetable.
Experience
CoworkingCafe
LayerFive
https://www.layerfive.comEducation
Bachelor's Degree in Software Engineering
University of Colorado Boulder - Boulder, CO, USA
Skills
Libraries/APIs
jQuery, Node.js, React, Vue, API Development, React Query, D3.js, Salesforce API, Stripe, Shopify API, Web3.js, REST APIs, Mapbox GL, Vue 2
Tools
Retool, Claude, Git, Jira, Trello, Apache, Figma, Google Analytics, Claude Code, GitHub, Moodle, MongoDB Atlas
Languages
JavaScript, PHP, HTML, CSS, Python, Go, TypeScript, GraphQL, SQL
Frameworks
Express.js, Laravel, Next.js, Ant Design, Material UI, Tailwind CSS, CodeIgniter, Bootstrap, Svelte, Angular, NestJS, React Native, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Django
Paradigms
Microservices, DevOps, REST
Platforms
AWS Elastic Beanstalk, DigitalOcean, Linux, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Vercel, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Docker, Azure, Blockchain, AWS Lambda, PostHog, Kubernetes
Storage
MySQL, Elasticsearch, PostgreSQL, Google Cloud, Redis, IndexedDB, MongoDB, MySQLdb, PostGIS
Other
Full-stack Development, Web Applications, Full-stack, APIs, Software Architecture, CI/CD Pipelines, Web Development, Front-end, Back-end, Data Structures, MERN Stack, Styled-components, RESTFul APIs, WebSockets, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cursor AI, Teams, AI Tools, AI-generated Code, Supabase, Elastic Load Balancers, Architecture, FastAPI, Content Management Systems (CMS), Large Language Models (LLMs), Gemini, OpenAI, Payment APIs, Booking Systems, Data Entry, Shopify Polaris
How to Work with Toptal
Toptal matches you directly with global industry experts from our network in hours—not weeks or months.
Share your needs
Choose your talent
Start your risk-free talent trial
Top talent is in high demand.
Start hiring