Frontend Engineer · React / Next.js / TypeScript
I’m a frontend engineer focused on React, Next.js, and TypeScript.
My work sits at the intersection of UI implementation, API-driven data flows, and accessibility — especially for teams building complex products and internal tools.
A quick snapshot of what I repeatedly deliver in teams: clarity, stability, and thoughtful UI execution.
I turn user flows and requirements into maintainable UI — building screens, components, and interaction patterns that stay readable, testable, and easy to evolve over time.
I often work at the boundary between frontend and backend — helping shape API contracts, payloads, and data flows so the UI stays predictable, resilient, and aligned with how people actually use the product.
Accessibility is part of how I design and implement from day one. I use semantic HTML, ARIA, and WCAG guidelines in real projects, and I hold IAAP’s CPACC certification to help bridge UX, accessibility, and engineering across teams.
A mix of client work and self-directed products. Filter by focus, or search across titles and tags.
A lightweight tool built to make accessibility checks faster and more intuitive for frontend developers and designers. It helps teams validate WCAG contrast ratios across Tailwind color palettes and semantic tokens, with a keyboard-first workflow that fits into real design and development pipelines.
A fully keyboard-navigable flashcard app designed to help non-native speakers practice interviews with confidence. Built from the ground up with inclusive UX principles, Promotee supports screen readers, motion control, and structured semantic markup — with a 90+ Lighthouse Accessibility score.
A real-world client project where I designed and specified two internal dashboard features: Operation Planning (month/day views) and Operation Mode Switching. Focused on safe CSV upload/download flows, multi-layer validation and error UX, and implementation-ready specs for handoff.
As the sole frontend engineer in a 4-person async team, I led the frontend of a Web3-enabled education platform that issues blockchain-based learning certificates. I co-designed API endpoints and data models with backend engineers to align UX with performance and reliability.
A frontend tool that automated PDF report generation from complex SQL datasets, showing that delivery time could be reduced from weeks to hours. I converted raw SQL into Prisma models, designed data-fetching aligned with frontend state, and integrated visual reporting components.
End-to-end redesign of a beauty appliance brand’s website, aligning brand tone, information architecture, and UX structure into a cohesive product experience. Improved engagement and reduced support load while increasing sessions by +174%.
A UX-informed branding project for a local salon with low retention. I identified core customer motivations and redesigned brand messaging and content structure to improve loyalty and revenue.
A UX case study translating cultural insight into product structure. I designed a knowledge-sharing platform with structured user flows, post templates, and role-based journeys for distributed teams.
A UX reflection on how knowledge-sharing behaviors emerge and how teams can design rituals and structures to support scalable information flow. These insights inform how I design interfaces and collaborative tools.
A self-initiated UX tool for remote, cross-cultural teams to reflect more inclusively. Structured around four prompts to support balanced, low-pressure sharing.
A browser-based game built from concept to code. I designed gameplay loops, level progression, and UI flows with player behavior and feedback cycles in mind — my first exploration of UX in a game context.
A conceptual UX model mapping how structure and culture shape human reactions in teams — highlighting behavior as adaptive modes influenced by energy, safety, and clarity.
I'm most comfortable in cross-functional, async-friendly teams where design, frontend, and backend work closely together.
I often sit between UX and backend engineering — turning sketches and Figma files into concrete flows, clarifying edge cases, and making sure APIs match what the interface needs to do.
On the process side, I'm used to working in agile, Scrum-based environments. I hold Scrum Alliance's CSM and CSPO certifications, and I've facilitated retrospectives and planning sessions for distributed teams across Europe and Asia.
I write about UX, accessibility, and how culture shapes the way people experience products. Some of these pieces have been featured in publications such as UX Collective and JavaScript in Plain English.
Writing helps me articulate how I think about products — and gives teams a clearer view of how I approach UX, accessibility, and collaboration.
A reflection on how an unexpected moment in a small Tokyo salon became my first real UX lesson — and how emotional insight can reshape the way we design experiences.
An exploration of why “universal design” is not always enough — and how more adaptive, personalized interfaces can better support real users with diverse needs.
Lessons from designing and shipping a fully keyboard-accessible app — from uncovering edge cases to using accessibility as a driver of frontend architecture.
A quiet writing project by Sola, tracing how people, cultures, and societies shape one another — through portraits, places, and everyday acts of care, with attention to what often goes unseen.
A few words from managers, teammates, and clients — focused on how I communicate, execute, and collaborate.
Testimonial: “Yoko’s projects were consistently high quality and often ahead of schedule. She combines best practices with creative problem solving, and uplifts everyone around her.”
Testimonial: “Yoko is an avid learner who surpasses every challenge she encounters. Her React skills allowed her to build highly functional, responsive apps in no time—and her attitude enriched every team she joined.”
Testimonial: “She possesses a rare combination of technical prowess and language proficiency. Her adaptability and contribution to our TypeScript/React projects were invaluable.”
These voices reflect what I care about most: clarity, thoughtful engineering, and respect for each person’s constraints.
Frontend Engineer · UX-focused, Accessibility
I’m a frontend engineer who sits at the intersection of design, development, and data. I started my career in branding and content strategy before moving into frontend engineering, and that background still shapes how I work — always connecting how things look, how they work, and how they feel into one cohesive product experience.
My core strength is bridging disciplines. I translate design intent into maintainable React and Next.js architectures, shape API contracts and data flows with backend engineers, and make sure what ships to users is aligned, consistent, and reliable. I’m especially comfortable owning the connection between UI and backend — from co-designing endpoints and shaping data models, to handling authentication flows and building scalable frontend logic.
Accessibility is a core part of that practice. I hold IAAP’s CPACC certification and apply inclusive design principles in real products, treating accessibility as something baked into the system rather than added at the end. For me, accessibility isn’t just compliance — it’s a mindset that helps us design with more care, resilience, and respect for different ways of using a product.
Over the past years I’ve worked across B2B SaaS, fintech, and global async-first teams. Much of that work has happened in cross-cultural settings — from a 20+ person engineering team spanning Europe and Asia, to startup teams spread across the US, Singapore, and Canada, and a year and a half living in Malta while working with a European company. These experiences taught me to listen carefully, adapt quickly, and stay curious about how different people think and collaborate.
All of this shows up in how I build software: I care about code that communicates, design that includes, and systems that respect people and context — and I try to make the process calmer and clearer for everyone involved, not more stressful.
I’m looking for roles where frontend is more than “the last step” — where it plays a central role in shaping how a product behaves, scales, and serves users.
I work best in trust-based, async-friendly teams that value clarity over control and collaboration over silos. I take ownership of my part of the work — from building UI and managing state to shaping APIs and data structures — while staying closely aligned with design, backend, and product priorities.
When I join a team, I pay particular attention to:
Translating design requirements into predictable frontend architecture, and collaborating on backend contracts and data flows so that handoffs are smooth and there are fewer surprises down the line. In distributed setups, I lean on clear written communication — asking questions early, sharing drafts, and making trade-offs explicit so we don’t rely on assumptions or cultural guesswork.
Identifying edge cases early, designing for inclusivity, and making sure the product is usable for people with different abilities, environments, and devices. Accessibility tends to surface structural issues in the product, so I try to use it as a lens to make the overall experience more robust.
Facilitating clear communication across design, engineering, and product — documenting flows, trade-offs, and risks so everyone can make better decisions together. I’m comfortable raising concerns when something feels unclear or risky, and I try to pair that with concrete suggestions for what we could do next.
I’m open to remote roles and to relocation with visa sponsorship, especially within Europe. The exact setup — remote, hybrid, or on-site — matters less to me than shared trust, thoughtful communication, and a genuine commitment to building good products.
If you value:
…I’d be glad to connect and explore how we can build something meaningful together.
If you’re working on a product where frontend, APIs, and accessibility all matter, I’d be happy to hear from you.
The easiest way to reach me is via LinkedIn, and you can also email me at yokoworks.dev@gmail.com .