HomeRésumé

Rick Phillips, Senior Software Engineer.

I build scalable web applications, modernize legacy systems, and fold AI-assisted workflows into professional engineering teams, focused on measurable performance and maintainable code.

info@rickwphillips.comLinkedInGitHub

I specialize in building scalable web applications, modernizing legacy systems, and integrating AI-assisted development workflows into professional engineering teams. With a strong foundation in both front-end and back-end technologies, I focus on delivering measurable performance improvements and accelerating delivery through intelligent tooling, clean architecture, and maintainable code.

Modern Web Development

Building performant applications with React, Next.js, and TypeScript. Experienced in migrating legacy systems to modern architectures.

Full-Stack Engineering

End-to-end development from database design to frontend implementation, with expertise in PHP, Node.js, and SQL Server.

Performance Optimization

Implementing features that drive measurable improvements, like a 30%+ increase in search relevance and systems generating $1.2M in sales.

System Modernization

Leading migrations from Drupal to Next.js, introducing modern development practices, and establishing scalable architectures.

AI-Assisted Development

Designing and shipping MCP servers, multi-agent workflows, and self-healing audit patterns using the Anthropic SDK. Built end-to-end automation across Claude Desktop, VS Code Copilot, and Kiro IDE: autonomous code review, ready-for-review GitLab + Jira workflows, structured logging with secret redaction, and reactive triage skills.

Data Science & Analytics

Master's degree focused on algorithms, predictive analysis, data visualization, and machine learning applications.

Accessibility & WCAG Compliance

Architecting skip navigation with MutationObserver-based responsive area registration, keyboard navigation, ARIA labeling, semantic heading hierarchies, and centralized skip-link label systems to meet WCAG standards.

Best Practices & SDLC

Strong advocate for Git workflows, Agile methodologies, CI/CD pipelines, and comprehensive testing strategies.

Frontend

React
Next.js
Angular
TypeScript
JavaScript
HTML/CSS
SCSS
MUI

Backend

Node.js
PHP
MySQL
SQL Server
Drupal
REST APIs
JWT

AI & Automation

Claude Code
GitHub Copilot
MCP Servers
LLM APIs
Anthropic SDK
Custom AI Agents
Prompt Engineering
Python

Practices & Tools

Git
CI/CD
Docker
Agile/Scrum
Jest
Vitest
Playwright
Zustand
SDLC
01

Search Enhancement

Designed and implemented a de-duplication feature improving first-page relevance by 30%+

02

E-commerce Success

Led development of BuyBoxes.com SPA that generated $1.2M in sales in its first year

03

Modern Migration

Spearheading migration of Drupal platforms to Next.js with React, establishing modern, maintainable architecture

04

AI Developer Tooling

Designed and shipped two MCP server products at NewsBank (80+ tools across six domain-coherent modules) plus the public mcp-skills v1.0.0 (26 tools, 76 unit tests, vitest CI). Architected a self-healing audit pattern where prior triage notes carry forward to the next agent inline via a `_steering` payload, with auto-demotion when guidance stops working.

05

Test Suite Growth

Grew project test coverage from ~2,340 to 3,066+ tests in a single quarter using AI-assisted test generation and automated quality gates

06

Accessibility Architecture

Built skip navigation system with MutationObserver-based responsive area registration, breakpoint-conditional rendering, and centralized label constants with 42 unit tests for WCAG compliance

07

Process Improvement

Introduced Git, Agile, and SDLC practices to development teams, raising efficiency and code quality

M.S. Computer Science, Data Science Concentration

Fitchburg State University, May 2020 · GPA 3.7/4.0

Focused on algorithms, predictive analysis, data visualization, and machine learning

B.S. Computer Science, Software Development Concentration

Worcester State University, May 2018 · GPA 3.6/4.0

Studied design patterns, testing strategies, version control, and Agile methodologies