Lead Developer - Umbra Search

As lead developer of Umbra Search, I architected and launched a groundbreaking digital platform that democratized access to African American history, aggregating over 800,000 artifacts from more than 1,000 cultural institutions across the United States. This solo endeavor required me to master complex technical challenges while building deep collaborative relationships with historians, archivists, and researchers.

The project’s technical scope included implementing distributed web crawlers, designing a scalable search architecture, and developing APIs that could handle diverse metadata schemas. The platform effectively bridged the gap between cultural institutions and researchers, making previously scattered collections accessible through a single, intuitive interface.

Beyond coding, I shaped the project’s identity and trajectory. I authored technical specifications that strengthened grant funding applications, facilitated focus groups that refined our user experience, and even conceived the project’s evocative name, “Umbra.” This holistic approach - combining technical excellence with product vision and stakeholder engagement - exemplifies my commitment to building technology that matters.