Build with Confidence,
Connect with Clarity.
I'm a Frontend Developer & Project Coordinator seeking impactful full-time roles, focused on turning UX designs into reliable, maintainable, and well-integrated products. I specialize in bridging design intent, technical architecture, backend integration, and cross-team alignment. I focus on bridging design intent, technical architecture, and backend integration — often shaping APIs and data structures to align with UI needs behind the scenes.
With experience in React, Next.js, TypeScript, Prisma, and backend integration, I help async-first teams turn complex ideas into accessible, inclusive, and scalable interfaces with a growing focus on accessibility best practices. Open to relocation with visa sponsorship and flexible work models — remote, on-site, or hybrid — depending on what best supports the team and product.
View My Work
Async-first & adaptable — supporting inclusive product teams across time zones and cultures.
What I Do
Design-to-Implementation Clarity
I focus on translating UX designs into structured, maintainable components, while collaborating on data models and API contracts. By understanding both the user flow and the backend requirements, I reduce friction between design and engineering.
From Figma to API & Schema Definition
My work doesn't stop at layout. I design component logic, manage state predictably (Redux, Zustand, React Query), and handle secure authentication and data access. I co-define API endpoints and shape response structures with backend engineers to ensure clarity and alignment with frontend logic.
Cross-Cultural Understanding
As a Japanese developer working internationally, I’m mindful of communication styles, implicit assumptions, and the need for shared clarity. I use that awareness to ensure everyone — teammates and users — is considered in the final experience.
Accessibility by Design
I'm currently deepening my accessibility practice through both study and application — preparing for the CPACC certification while building a real-world product with inclusive design at its core. For me, accessibility is not just a checklist, but a way to uncover edge cases, reduce friction, and design with care from the start.
Collaboration with Responsibility
I work best in async-first, multicultural teams that value trust over hierarchy. I take ownership of my work while staying aligned through clear, respectful communication — seeing collaboration as shared problem-solving, not top-down direction.
Project Clarity & Delivery
I often step into coordination roles — clarifying requirements, aligning priorities, and ensuring smooth handoffs between design, development, and QA. By documenting flows and risks early, I help teams deliver with fewer surprises and stronger alignment.
Cultural Insight
Bringing a Cross-Cultural Lens into Design
As a Japanese woman working across cultures, I've learned to navigate subtle dynamics of power, perception, and communication — seen and unseen.
These experiences shape my approach to UX and frontend development, helping me prioritize accessibility, clarity, and empathy for users from all backgrounds.
Design isn't just visual. It's about helping people feel seen, respected, and understood. I listen deeply, observe carefully, and build with that awareness in mind.
Ideas, Built
These are projects where I put this philosophy into action — demonstrating how design, technical architecture, and API/schema design can work together to deliver clear, reliable, and human-centered experiences.
Interview Flashcard App – Built for Accessibility, From Day One
A real, accessibility-focused flashcard app built to help non-native speakers practice interviews. Designed with inclusive UX from the start, it supports full keyboard navigation, screen reader access, animation control, and a 90+ Lighthouse score — all in a lightweight, privacy-friendly package.
Web3 EdTech Platform – UX-Focused Frontend & API Co-Design
Sole frontend developer in a 4-person async team for a Web3-enabled education platform. Focused on reducing friction for non-technical users by designing a clear, fallback-ready onboarding experience. Co-shaped API endpoints, refined Prisma schema, and built accessible, modular UI components using Next.js, TypeScript, and React.
Automated PDF Reporting Tool – UX-Focused Frontend & Data Integration
Built a scalable frontend tool to automate PDF reporting from complex SQL datasets, aligning with real sales workflows. Co-designed API contracts, translated raw SQL into Prisma, and created a React-based UI with Chart.js and Puppeteer — reducing reporting from 1–2 weeks to a few hours and enabling future handoff to non-technical teams.
UX-Oriented Website Redesign for a Beauty Appliance Brand
Redefined a mid-sized beauty brand's online presence by leading a strategic end-to-end website redesign — aligning brand tone, UX structure, and content clarity to improve trust, engagement, and reduce support load. Introduced key sections (FAQ, support, brand concept), enhanced product visibility with SEO-informed content, and achieved +174% sessions and lower bounce rates.
UX-Focused Branding Strategy for a Local Hair Salon
A UX-led rebranding project for a small salon facing low retention. Mapped customer emotions and redesigned brand messaging to drive loyalty and revenue. Blended user interviews, lightweight segmentation, and iterative ad testing while facilitating team-wide alignment and feedback-driven content updates.
Tipshelf – Internal Knowledge Sharing Tool
A UX case study turning cultural insight into product structure. Designed an internal knowledge-sharing tool with structured flows, post templates, and role-specific user journeys — based on insights from global teams.
What People Say About Working with Me
I'm grateful to have worked with thoughtful people who value clarity, empathy, and ownership. Here's what they say about our work together.
Work With Me
I'm seeking a full-time role in an environment that balances clarity, autonomy, and mutual respect. I work with async-first teams to deliver maintainable, user-centered solutions — combining self-directed problem-solving with collaborative planning and smooth integration between frontend and backend. I'm especially interested in projects where I can bridge UX, frontend engineering, and project delivery — from clarifying requirements and shaping APIs to ensuring maintainable code and smooth team collaboration. I enjoy co-designing API contracts and backend data structures with engineers, handle authentication, and manage database integration, so teams can trust the handoff and focus on the bigger picture.
I'm happy to relocate with visa sponsorship and work on-site, in hybrid environments, or remotely — depending on what best supports collaboration and delivery.
If you value:
- Clear, honest communication
- Reliable ownership across the full integration flow
- Respect — for users, teammates, and the process
While my primary focus is full-time roles, I'm also open to select contract-based work.
I'd love to connect.
About Me
I'm a hybrid professional bridging UX, development, and project delivery. I started my career in branding and content strategy before moving into frontend development, and I'm now looking to bring this combined expertise to a full-time product team. Over time, I've developed a practice rooted in bridging logic, design, and technical implementation — combining independent initiative with collaborative alignment to help teams shape not just how things work, but how they feel.
I'm especially comfortable owning the connection between UI and backend: co-designing APIs, managing authentication flows, shaping data structures with Prisma, and ensuring smooth, maintainable implementation, and ensuring smooth, maintainable implementation in React and Next.js. I enjoy working closely with backend engineers to define clear contracts and keep things reliable.
With experience across B2B SaaS, global fintech, and remote cross-functional teams, I focus on bringing clarity and reliabilityinto frontend workflows. I care about code that communicates, design that includes, and work that respects people and context.
Recently, I've started expanding my frontend practice through accessibility — currently preparing for the CPACC certification and learning how inclusive design can improve both technical reliability and user experience. I see accessibility not just as a checklist, but as a mindset that sharpens how we notice, include, and design with care.
Outside of work, I write, explore cultures, and take long walks to reflect and recharge.
✨ One of my recent articles — “From Universal Design to Personalized Interfaces” — was featured in Bootcamp (UX Collective), a curated UX publication reaching 3M+ monthly readers.
Let's Connect
Whether you're building a product, shaping a team, or just curious — I'd love to chat.
You can reach me at yokoworks.dev@gmail.com or connect via LinkedIn or X (Twitter).