Nick Daugherty
Staff Software Engineer
Staff-level engineer with 18+ years of experience building scalable, secure web platforms. Recently led technical direction for WordPress VIP's enterprise hosting platform serving WhiteHouse.gov, NASA, and Fortune 500 clients. Now available for contract engagements focused on architecture, full-stack development, and technical leadership.
Experience
Lightfall — Founder
October 2024 - Present
- Designed and built Lightfall (lightfall.photo), a photography community platform serving as an alternative to Instagram for artistic photographers
- Architected and managed cloud infrastructure on GCP (Cloud Run, Cloud SQL, Cloud Storage, etc) with Cloudflare for edge delivery and security
- Implemented full-text search with Elasticsearch including custom scoring, fuzzy matching, and multilingual support
- Built cross-platform mobile apps using React Native and Expo
- Developed real-time analytics pipeline using Vector, ClickHouse, and Grafana for monitoring and business intelligence
- Integrated AI-powered content detection using open-source models deployed on GCP infrastructure
- Established CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions, Docker containerization, and comprehensive error tracking via Rollbar
Consultant — Staff Software Engineer
October 2024 - Present
- Provided technical leadership and hands-on development for startups and agencies across full-stack web and mobile projects
- Delivered architecture reviews, performance optimization, and security assessments for existing applications
- Built custom solutions spanning Node.js/TypeScript backends, React frontends, cloud infrastructure, AI integrations, and API design
- Advised on technical strategy, helping early-stage companies make pragmatic technology decisions
- Built highly customized WordPress-based applications for high-performing sales and marketing teams
Automattic — Staff Software Engineer
August 2016 - October 2024
- Set the technical direction for the WordPress VIP engineering team, defining the Software Development Lifecycle, coding standards, testing and review expectations, and SLAs / SLOs
- Oversaw development and was the principal engineer of all areas of the platform, including REST and GraphQL APIs in Node.js, robust Elasticsearch integrations, React-based interfaces, CLI tools, scalable authentication systems, and many more initiatives
- Wrote high-performance, secure, documented, and maintainable Node.js, TypeScript, React.js, and PHP code across the full stack
- Set product vision and roadmap, translating business and customer needs into technical direction and execution
- Oversaw platform cybersecurity by analyzing threats, performing security reviews, and responding to incidents
- Was responsible for incident-response readiness and procedures
- Worked with high-profile customers including WhiteHouse.gov, NASA, and Fortune 500s to deliver accessible, enterprise-grade solutions for the most mission-critical applications
- Evaluated candidates and successfully built, led, and mentored a high-performing, fully remote engineering team
- Led the engineering team in developing a brand new containerized, highly-scalable, mission-critical hosting platform, which enabled the business to expand by more than 10x through better product-market fit
- Helped the organization achieve FedRAMP Moderate certification by reviewing and building security controls, writing and enforcing policies, and performing red-team security assessments
- Communicated and collaborated with co-workers from 92 countries and all timezones in a remote-first environment
Automattic — Senior Software Engineer
February 2013 - August 2016
- Provided scalability, security, and architectural direction to the largest WordPress sites globally
- Analyzed applications for performance and security, ensuring the integrity of mission-critical platforms
- Designed and implemented new platform features
- Assisted team members in advancing their skills and knowledge, fostering a collaborative environment
- Communicated effectively in a fully remote setting
VistaWorks — Lead Software Engineer
June 2006 - February 2013
- Met with clients to plan and scope complex projects
- Designed, architected, and implemented complex web and mobile solutions in a variety of industries
- Full stack development, from SysAdmin tasks to PHP and ASP.net, to JavaScript and CSS
- Android and iOS development, including server-side application and REST API design and implementation
- Designed, architected, and implemented AWS-based bespoke photography management and e-commerce application
- Set the technical direction for the team, guiding projects toward successful outcomes
- Mentored fellow engineers, fostering professional growth and skill development
Dharma Communications — Web Developer
2007 - 2009
- Designed and implemented web solutions for prominent organizations and individuals in the coaching and wellness fields
- Conducted website maintenance, ensuring optimal performance and user experience