About Me
👋 Hey there! I’m Kelly King — a front end (occasionally full stack) engineer with 13 years of experience. I’ve helped scale platforms like Tumblr and Twitter, shipping features that reach millions while mentoring engineers and championing inclusive, user-focused experiences.
I love turning ambitious ideas into polished, high-impact products — whether it's building a better notification system, launching paid features, or reimagining community tools from the ground up. I’ve worn many hats: IC, tech lead, hack week ringleader, and conference organizer. Whatever the role, I’m here for the collaboration, curiosity, and a little chaos.
When I’m not coding, you’ll find me running the streets of London, crocheting something colorful, or spending time with my dogs.
Work Experience
Staff Software Engineer
Tumblr
March 2023 – April 2025
- Launched Tumblr Premium on tumblr.com, bundling perks like store credits and ad-free browsing — giving the subscription model a double-digit ARR glow-up.
- Shipped a multi-column layout for Tumblr power users (Hack Week winner 🏆).
- Turned down the volume on noisy notifications — slashing 2 million a day without hurting conversions.
- Built moderation tools for Communities to help admins keep their spaces kind, safe, and spam-free.
L4 → Senior → Staff Software Engineer
June 2014 - January 2023
- Spearheaded GraphQL adoption across twitter.com, scaling it from idea to mission-critical infrastructure.
- Brought Twitter Blue into the web3 world with NFT avatars
- Advocated for accessibility, from employee training to launch reviews.
- Contributed to iconic features like Quote Tweet, Ranked timeline, and the new Twitter.com.
- Mentored and onboarded over a dozen engineers and built curriculum for GraphQL, React Hooks, and A11y workshops.
Projects
Wellness Tracker
A self-care dashboard that visualizes mood, energy, and habits.
Trail Mapper
A hiking and running route planner powered by OpenStreetMap.
Blog
Running and Flow State
Thoughts on how long-distance running parallels deep work in engineering. Discover the harmony between mind and motion.
More About Me
Outside of tech, I'm always in motion or making something with my hands. You can follow along on Freya the Boston, Kelly Makes Things, or my Strava profile.
