Samuel is available for hire
Hire SamuelSamuel Ham
Verified Expert in Engineering
Software Developer
Prosper, TX, United States
Toptal member since February 19, 2026
Bio
Samuel has 15+ years of software engineering experience, specializing in UI/UX front-end engineering with full-stack capability. His mission is to deliver innovative solutions that empower teams and drive user satisfaction. He builds user-centric apps and tools, mentors engineers, and fosters cross-functional collaboration. Leveraging technology to solve complex challenges, Samuel focuses on creating scalable and impactful digital experiences.
Portfolio
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React, TypeScript, GraphQL, Node.js, Jest, React Native, Mobile, UX Design
Lyft
React, TypeScript, GraphQL, Node.js, Jest, UX Design
Outreach
React, TypeScript, GraphQL, Node.js, Jest, Cypress, UX Design
Experience
- Algorithms - 15 years
- Git - 15 years
- UX Design - 13 years
- React - 10 years
- TypeScript - 8 years
- GraphQL - 8 years
- Jest - 8 years
- React Native - 2 years
Preferred Environment
React, TypeScript, GraphQL, Node.js
The most amazing...
...thing I've built is an onboarding app that reduced users' setup time—improving active users by 50% and reducing internal CSM tickets by 30%.
Work Experience
Senior Software Engineer
2023 - 2026
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- Architected and led the evolution of an onboarding platform, driving improved user conversion and cross-product upsell through modular UI composition and scalable state management patterns.
- Built and scaled a company-wide React component system with Storybook and visual regression testing, increasing design consistency and accelerating multi-team frontend velocity.
- Built partner marketplace following post-acquisition rebranding. Delivered a frontend-first architecture with forward-compatible data contracts, enabling quick launch while allowing back-end services to integrate incrementally without refactoring.
- Influenced front-end architectural standards around component decoupling, accessibility compliance, and long-term maintainability.
Technologies: React, TypeScript, GraphQL, Node.js, Jest, React Native, Mobile, UX Design
Senior Software Engineer
2021 - 2023
Lyft
- Designed and led the development of an executive-facing real-time tool aggregating market performance and pricing intelligence, enabling leadership to make rapid, data-informed decisions.
- Partnered cross-functionally with Back end, Data, and Product to define front-end data contracts and visualization strategies for high-volume analytics systems.
- Architected an all-in-one leadership tool, consolidating distributed metrics into a unified interface, reducing decision friction across business units.
- Mentored interns, drove code quality standards, and elevated front-end best practices across teams.
Technologies: React, TypeScript, GraphQL, Node.js, Jest, UX Design
Senior Software Engineer
2017 - 2021
Outreach
- Led the architectural migration of core features, including calendar, editor, and composer, into modular microfrontends with full internationalization and time zone intelligence.
- Co-led the development of an organization-wide UI system and shared GraphQL (Apollo) layer, standardizing data access patterns and improving frontend-backend collaboration.
- Architected and built onboarding UX flows to reduce customer success support load, directly impacting operational efficiency.
- Mentored engineers and helped drive front-end hiring and architecture decisions.
Technologies: React, TypeScript, GraphQL, Node.js, Jest, Cypress, UX Design
Front-end Engineer
2015 - 2017
Investopedia
- Developed high-traffic interactive financial tools, including mortgage calculators and rate tables, supporting 3+ million daily pageviews.
- Optimized ad rendering performance and resolved critical monetization-impacting issues.
- Built scalable ad templates using DoubleClick and GTM, supporting revenue growth initiatives.
Technologies: JavaScript, jQuery, Advertising, Google Tag Manager, DoubleClick for Publishers, Drupal
Front-end Engineer
2013 - 2015
1r
- Delivered pixel-perfect responsive implementations for luxury fashion eCommerce platforms using Magento Enterprise and WordPress integrations.
- Ensured cross-browser performance and premium UX quality for high-end consumer audiences.
- Implemented SEO best practices to enhance site visibility and user engagement.
- Collaborated in UI/UX design processes to create an intuitive shopping experience.
Technologies: Magento, WordPress, JavaScript, PHP, jQuery, Backbone.js, Sass, UX Design
Software Engineer
2012 - 2013
P-Turn Education
- Built 10+ educational tools and an essay revision platform from the ground up.
- Redesigned LMS data schema to improve query performance and scalability.
- Conducted client training sessions to ensure effective use of the developed tools, leading to increased user satisfaction.
Technologies: PHP, JavaScript, jQuery, MySQL
CTO
2011 - 2012
Ultimatum Corp
- Co-founded and led the technical strategy for an eCommerce platform, integrating payments, SMS, and internal ad systems.
- Owned product architecture, system customization, and early-stage growth initiatives.
- Developed a Minishop that drove increased engagement.
Technologies: PHP, JavaScript, jQuery, MySQL
Experience
Onboarding Flow
Designed and built an onboarding flow or microapp that significantly reduced users’ setup time, improving the number of active users by 50%. We also saw 30% fewer CSM tickets internally in the first week of launch.
Education
2006 - 2011
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science
University of Virginia - Charlottesville, VA, USA
Skills
Libraries/APIs
React, jQuery, Node.js, Backbone.js
Tools
Git
Languages
TypeScript, GraphQL, JavaScript, Sass, Java, PHP
Frameworks
Jest, React Native, Cypress
Paradigms
Agile Software Development, UX Design
Platforms
Mobile, WordPress, Drupal, Magento
Storage
MySQL
Other
Teamwork, System Design, Data Structures, Algorithms, Advertising, Google Tag Manager, DoubleClick for Publishers
Collaboration That Works
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