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Profile
Kenton Jacobsen
Senior global engineering leader, focused on software quality, developer effectiveness, AI enablement, and scaling global engineering delivery. I build teams and technology across newsroom operations, AI/ML solutions, immersive experiences, secure cloud platforms, and complex digital products. Vim user, hat wearer, tinkerer, relentlessly curious.
- Current Position
- Head of Engineering
Code and Theory - Focus
- AI/ML · DEVOPS · DX · IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
- Scope
- QUALITY · PRODUCT · DELIVERY
- Stack
- TYPESCRIPT · REACT · NODE · GRAPHQL · REACT NATIVE · DEVSECOPS · INFRA
Top Skills
- ├─API Design★★★★★
- ├─GraphQL APIs★★★★★
- ├─REST APIs★★★★★
- ├─Dataloaders★★★★★
- ├─Authentication★★★★★
- ├─Authorization★★★★★
- ├─OAuth / OIDC★★★★★
- ├─Identity provider integrations★★★★★
- ├─Role and permission modeling★★★★★
- ├─Headless Architecture★★★★★
- ├─Content Modeling★★★★★
- ├─Performance-aware systems★★★★★
- ├─Build systems★★★★★
- ├─Tooling★★★★★
- ├─CI/CD★★★★☆
- ├─Testing ergonomics★★★★★
- ├─Performance Testing★★★★★
- ├─Security Testing★★★★★
- ├─Version Control★★★★★
- ├─Release quality★★★★★
- ├─Interactive experience design★★★★★
- ├─Design systems★★★★★
- ├─Motion and micro-interactions★★★★☆
- ├─Data visualization★★★★★
- ├─D3★★★★☆
- ├─MapBox★★★★☆
- ├─GLSL / shaders★★☆☆☆
- ├─Vercel★★★★★
- ├─AWS★★★☆☆
- ├─Deployment architecture★★★★★
- ├─Operational readiness★★★★★
- ├─Linux / Unix administration★★★★★
- ├─DNS / BIND★★★★★
- ├─Apache httpd★★★★★
- ├─nginx★★★★★
- ├─Varnish★★★★★
- ├─Shell scripting★★★★★
- ├─Production debugging★★★★★
- ├─Relational★★★★☆
- ├─Graph★★★☆☆
- ├─Time-series★★★☆☆
- ├─Document★★★★☆
- ├─Cache / key-value★★★★☆
- ├─Search-oriented storage★★★★☆
- ├─Technical direction★★★★★
- ├─Modernization★★★★★
- ├─Platform choices★★★★★
- ├─Risk tradeoffs★★★★★
- ├─Newsroom operations★★★★★
- ├─Checkout and payment integrations★★★★★
- ├─Product catalog modeling★★★★★
- ├─Subscription and membership flows★★★★★
- ├─Conversion analytics★★★★☆
- ├─Merchandising and search★★★★☆
- ├─Engineering standards★★★★★
- ├─Mentorship★★★★★
- ├─Delivery accountability★★★★★
- ├─Cross-functional execution★★★★★
- ├─AI workflow adoption★★★★☆
- ├─Developer productivity★★★★★
- ├─Applied AI evaluation★★★★☆
- ├─Using the Mouse★☆☆☆☆
- ├─Calendar Hygiene★★☆☆☆
- ├─Inbox Zero☆☆☆☆☆
- ├─Updating Jira Proactively★☆☆☆☆
- ├─Closing Browser Tabs★★☆☆☆
Technical Interests
- ├─CRDTs
- ├─Operational Transformation
- ├─Vector Clocks
- └─Causal Consistency
- ├─Context-Free Grammars
- ├─Abstract Syntax Trees
- ├─Intermediate Representations
- ├─Type Systems
- └─Static Analysis
- ├─Bloom Filters
- ├─Prefix Trees
- ├─Query Planning
- └─Vector Search
- ├─Backpressure
- ├─Tail Latency
- ├─Load Shedding
- └─Observability / Tracing
- ├─RAG
- ├─Eval Design
- ├─Agentic Workflows
- └─Context Engineering
- ├─k-means
- ├─t-SNE
- ├─PCA
- ├─Bayesian Statistics
- └─Neural Networks
Skill Progression
INDEX *** PAGE W READY ***
VOICE: 1
COMMAND:
MODE: 4
WAVEFORM DISPLAY · UNIX SYSADMIN → HYPERSCALER SIGNAL 2001—2026
Bio
I was the lead technologist for a number of household-name publications, including Vogue, GQ, Glamour, and more, managing total engineering efforts across web, mobile, CMS platforms, and live-event traffic.
I helped launch multiple websites, mobile apps, CMS replatforms, and sustained record-setting traffic for events like the Vogue Met Gala.
After Condé, I started a retail and ecommerce chain in the Midwest, growing it to a peak of $6M annual revenue.
Awards
NBC Big Board
- Webby Winner · Websites and Mobile Sites, Best Data Visualization
- Webby Winner · Apps & Software, Technical Achievement
- Webby People's Voice Winner · Apps & Software, Best Practices
Vogue Runway iOS App
- Webby Nominee · Mobile Sites & Apps, Magazine/Editorial
- Webby Nominee · Mobile Sites & Apps, Fashion & Beauty
- Webby People's Voice Winner · Mobile Sites & Apps, Fashion & Beauty
Vogue iOS App
- Apple's Top 10 App of 2016
- Webby Nominee · Mobile Sites & Apps, Fashion & Beauty
- Webby Honoree · Mobile Sites & Apps, Best Visual Design — Aesthetic
Speaking
- Empire JS 2016 · GraphQL is En Vogue
- GraphQL Summit 2016 · GraphQL in Production Panel
- GraphQL NYC Meetup Sept 2017 · Your Data is a Moving Target
- React Boston 2017 · Your Data is a Moving Target
- Fastly Altitude 2017 · Fail Fast, Fix Faster
- F8 2018 · React Native Panel
- Buzzfeed Tech Meetup April 2018 · Magic Numbers in Monitoring
- React Bangalore Meetup May 2024 · Technology in 2024
Professional History
Managing Director, Head of Technical Craft
Code and Theory
Current
Leading engineering quality, applied AI, DevOps, and delivery practices across modern product teams.
ANECDOTES
We embedded with NBC to modernize and overhaul their election mapping project, called the Hitboard, and by the night of the general election it was running so smoothly that we built and released a feature at the request of the talent.
Built operating patterns for improving software quality while teams adopt AI-assisted development.
Partnered across product, design, and engineering to keep delivery reliable without losing technical depth.
Founder / Operator
Independent Retail / Ecommerce
Prior
Started and operated a Midwest retail and ecommerce chain.
ANECDOTES
Grew the business to a peak of $6M in annual revenue.
Owned the practical overlap between software, operations, inventory, customer experience, and margin.
Director of Engineering / Sr. Staff Engineer
Condé Nast
Prior
Led engineering efforts for major publications including Vogue, GQ, Glamour, The New Yorker.
ANECDOTES
Not many bugs have been written up in the trades, but this one was.
At Vogue, we acquired Style.com and nearly a million images with an incredibly complex data model just as GraphQL was open-sourced--which was quite fortunate, as this was exactly the type of data that GraphQL performs best with.
Vogue needed an image and video transformation service quickly when we decided a just-booked photo shoot was the right opportunity to create a new editorial format—slideshows composed of short video clips.
At Vogue, the annual Met Gala was our superbowl as our brand "owned" that event and we needed to ensure our red carpet coverage was flawless and as fast as The Times and others.
When I joined Vogue, we were nine days out from an immovable launch with a WordPress website that wasn't ready, but I hit the ground running and we launched on time.
Director of Technical Operations
TheBlaze
Prior
Was variably the only member of technical staff and the leader of a small team managing the largest WordPress website in the US.
ANECDOTES
It turned out that php_flag engine off was the final piece of our "swiss cheese" security model that kept us from a complete compromise.
In 2013, mobile traffic was surging but still the minority in traffic and monetization, I decided to make the site responsive in a weekend and, along the way, learned one of my most important technical management lessons.
Web Developer
Fox News
Prior
Finished an internship and got the job, resulting in my move to New York. I did WordPress and Drupal development for various sites and blogs in the ecosystem.
ANECDOTES
Education
FORMAL
- DEGREE
- B.A. Philosophy, Journalism
- INSTITUTION
- California Baptist University
PRACTICE
I am largely autodidactic: I learned by building production systems, leading teams through difficult launches, and studying primary sources, the best of which I've presented in the next section.
Influential Articles
A small shelf of essays and posts that shaped how I think about systems, quality, organizations, and software practice.
- 01Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a SystemDonella H. MeadowsSystems Thinking · Complexity Science · Strategy
- 02The Log: What Every Software Engineer Should Know About Real-Time Data's Unifying AbstractionJay KrepsDistributed Systems · Architecture · Systems · Data Architecture
- 03Statistics for SoftwareMahmoud HashemiStatistics · Performance Engineering · Reliability · Software Metrics
- 04Why Google Stores Billions of Lines of Code in a Single RepositoryRachel Potvin; Josh LevenbergSoftware Engineering · Architecture · Scaling Organizations · Developer Experience
- 05The Configuration Complexity ClockMike HadlowSoftware Engineering · Complexity Science · Architecture · Configuration Management
- 06The “Bug-O” NotationDan AbramovSoftware Engineering · Complexity Science · Architecture · Developer Experience
- 07Why Are Enterprises So Slow?Ian MiellOrganizational Design · Engineering Leadership · Enterprise Software · Systems Thinking
- 08Too DRY — The Grep TestJamie WongSoftware Engineering · Code Quality · Developer Experience
- 09Contempt CultureAurynn ShawComputing Culture · Organizational Design · Engineering Leadership · Workplace Culture
- 10FollowershipJason WongLeadership · Engineering Leadership · Organizational Design · Management
- 11Avoid Else, Return EarlyTim OxleySoftware Engineering · Code Quality · Web Development
- 12Stop Writing Code CommentsBrian NorlanderSoftware Engineering · Code Quality · Developer Experience
Board Game Mastery
POSITION
TEMPO
ENGINE
MARKETS
SOCIAL
Most
Complex
Complex
Complexity
Most
Accessible
Accessible
Sidequest
(Indie Cluster)
(Indie Cluster)
Catan
Tenzi
The Mind
No Thanks!
Mille Bornes
Sushi Go!
TickettoRide
Splendor
Carcassonne
Azul
Bohnanza
Patchwork
Skull
Five Crowns
The Game
Jaipur
Half Truth
ExplodingKittens
Odin's Ravens
TheFoxintheForest
Azul:StainedGlassofSintra
Codenames
Pandemic
TheQuacksofQuedlinburg
Hive
Azul:SummerPavilion
7 Wonders
Downforce
Stock Ticker
Trogdor!!TheBoardGame
Chinatown
Coup
Red Flags
Cryptid
Wingspan
Fruit Boss
SnakesofWrath
DesperateOasis
Frantik
MansionsofMadness
Agricola
RacefortheGalaxy
Power Grid
Puerto Rico
PandemicLegacy
Root
CoffeeTraders