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Ken Pierson

kenpierson.com/engineering

Lean software, built to be handed off.

I design the architecture of web applications on serverless AWS (infrastructure, APIs and React front ends) and then build them. Since 2019 that’s been the research software at Screen Engine/ASI, which the company uses every week to test films, TV and games with real audiences.

Diagram: several open copies of one React app, with three parts: live data, views and a DRM video player. Changes in DynamoDB are pushed through Lambda and a WebSocket API to every open copy; views send REST requests through CloudFront, API Gateway and Lambda to Aurora; live video comes from IVS through CloudFront with signed URLs. CloudFront, API Gateway and Lambda are shared between paths.

Back end to front end: when data changes, Lambda pushes it over WebSockets to every open copy of the app (no polling), while requests and live video keep their own paths.

How I build

Principles
  1. 01

    Serverless by default

    No servers to patch and nothing idling. Most apps need only functions, a table and a CDN, and they scale to a full screening without changes.

  2. 02

    Infrastructure as code

    Every resource is declared in TypeScript with Pulumi, reviewed like code and reproducible in a new account or stage from scratch.

  3. 03

    Build it once

    Patterns that repeat across projects go into shared libraries, with documentation, so the next project starts further along.

  4. 04

    Secure from the start

    Least-privilege IAM, a strict content security policy and short-lived tokens from day one, not added before launch.

Stack

What I reach for first

Front end

React · TypeScript · Vite · Tailwind · shadcn/ui

Back end

Node.js · Lambda · API Gateway · WebSockets

Data

DynamoDB · Aurora Serverless · MySQL · Postgres · S3

Infrastructure

Pulumi · CloudFront · IVS · ECS Fargate · CI/CD with OIDC

Independent projects

● 2026 · redesignKaris Family DaycareA site for a family daycare in Glendale: program, staff, tuition and enrollment. Prerendered React served from S3 through CloudFront, with its infrastructure in Pulumi and nothing to run or patch.React RouterTailwindPulumi● rebuild in progressCopeley Designs[What the site is, what the rebuild changes, and what it runs on.]ReactVite● you’re looking at itkenpierson.comReact 19 and React Router, prerendered with Vite, served from S3 through CloudFront and deployed with Pulumi.React RouterTailwindPulumi

Screen Engine/ASI

Lead Software Architect & Senior Software Engineer · Los Angeles · 2019 – present

Screen Engine/ASI is a consumer-research firm for entertainment, media and gaming, interviewing more than 2 million people a year. I design the architecture and AWS infrastructure for its software, build much of it myself, and write the shared libraries the rest of the team builds with.

  • The Movie Group runs its screenings on two platforms I architected and lead: Preview Free Movies every day, and VirtuWorks for online events. Screenings run several times a week, sometimes several a day.
  • Every current product deploys with the Pulumi library I wrote, so each new project starts from tested, documented components instead of a blank stack.
  • I keep older systems healthy instead of leaving them to age: Angular 2 to 17 in about five months, AWS SDK v3, Node upgrades, and infrastructure as code where there was none.
  • I set the security and observability baseline new projects start from: least-privilege IAM, CSP and HSTS, Okta and Auth0 sign-in, tracing and real-user monitoring.
● 2020 – present · architectVirtuWorks Screening RoomSecure online screenings for film and TV research, with live moment-to-moment dial feedback from viewers. I architected it and built most of it: about 170 Lambda functions behind four REST and four WebSocket APIs, DRM video with forensic watermarking, live streaming on Amazon IVS, and dial statistics computed in WebAssembly. In 2023 I moved it onto Pulumi, automated CI/CD and passwordless sign-in.ReactLambdaWebSocketsDynamoDBIVSDRM
● 2019 – present · lead developerPreview Free MoviesAudience recruitment for free advance screenings: registration, screeners, invitations, NDAs and rewards, plus Ionic apps venue staff use for check-in and to balance a live audience. I moved its client from Angular 2 to 17, wrote its AWS infrastructure from scratch in Pulumi with CI/CD, and set up a separate environment for gaming research.AngularIonicNode.jsMySQLPulumi● 2026 · infrastructure & securityAttentricA data platform that turns signals from Steam, Twitch, TikTok, Roblox and others into weekly attention scores for games and entertainment. I’m the main author of its infrastructure code (seven Pulumi stacks covering about 40 ETL Lambdas and Glue jobs, three APIs on Lambda and ECS Fargate, and three React apps), led its security hardening, and wrote its engineering knowledge base.PulumiGlueECS FargatePostgresBedrock
● 2025 – present · foundationsInsightsIQDashboards where clients explore their research data: crosstabs, reports and documents. I set up its foundations: separate staging and production AWS accounts, a Lambda API behind Auth0, CI/CD with OIDC, tracing and real-user monitoring, and generated API docs.ReactLambdaPostgresAuth0X-Ray
● 2025 – present · sole authorPulumi component library55 TypeScript components covering networking, compute, data, APIs, CDN and identity, which every current company product deploys with. Published to npm with per-component imports, generated API docs, unit tests, and context files for AI coding agents.PulumiTypeScriptAWS
● 2025 – present · co-founderReact design systemThe company’s shared component library on Tailwind, shadcn/ui and Base UI, used by its newer front ends. I set up its packaging, Storybook and release pipeline, and built its form engine, theming and dark mode, and charts.ReactTailwindshadcn/uiStorybook

Let’s make something.

I take on a few independent websites for small businesses and creative work, and I’m open to talking about new roles.

hello@kenpierson.com
The other halfMusic