Carolyn Stransky

Software engineer and journalist based in Berlin 🇩🇪

Email / Website / LinkedIn / GitHub / Twitter / DEV

👩🏼‍💻 Engineering Experience

Frontend Engineer @ BRYTER (Dec 2020 - Present)
No-code platform that enables professionals to build interactive applications.

Founding member of BRYTER’s design system team and continued to provide support and extend the component library
Wrote code in multiple architecture layers, including the application core and integrations with external services
Implemented a new Vue 3 app using Vite to replace a legacy Vue 2 and Webpack architecture
Technologies used: Vue, TypeScript, Jest, Testing Library, HTML, CSS, Sass, Vite, Web Components (LitElement).

Google Season of Docs 2020 | Technical Writer @ GraphQL Foundation (Aug 2020 - Jan 2021)
Google Season of Docs is a program matching experienced technical writers with open source organizations.

Created a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) resource for graphql.org, including all the content and page functionality
Triaged issues and reviewed pull requests to the GraphQL website
Wrote internal documentation to improve the contributing experience
Technologies used: CSS, React, TypeScript, Gatsby, GraphQL.

Software Engineer @ Meeshkan (Oct 2019 - Sep 2020)
Early-stage startup focused on automated API testing and NLP.

Built the website and the initial web app that visualized the test reports
Maintained unmock-js, an open-source fuzz testing library
Ownership of Meeshkan’s documentation and technical blog
Technologies used: TypeScript, React, Gatsby, Chakra, Next.js, Node.js, GraphQL, REST, Jest, CircleCI, Python.
Selected open-source work:

Frontend Engineer @ Blacklane (Mar 2018 - Sep 2019)
Professional chauffeur service available in over 300 cities worldwide.

Worked in a cross-functional, agile team to rebuild and rebrand the B2C booking experience
Led an accessibility initiative resulting in the website passing WCAG 2.0 requirements
Extended and maintained a company-wide design system
Technologies used: HTML, CSS, JavaScript ES6, React, TypeScript, Storybook, Redux, Next.js, REST, Jest, Mocha, Cypress, TravisCI.

Technical Writer @ Contentful (Sep 2017 - Feb 2018)
API-first infrastructure to create, manage and distribute content.

Ownership of Contentful’s technical blog
Wrote developer experience documentation
Assistance with information architecture and UX writing for the web app
Technologies used: React, Gatsby, Node.js, GraphQL, REST, Contentful.
Selected writing:
- JavaScript SDK guide
- Node.js example app and courses
- Concept references: Domain model, Multiple environments

🗞 Journalism Experience

This section only accounts for work done post-career change.

Acting Editor @ Future of Sex (Apr 2022 - Present)
Online publication that provides insights into how emerging technologies are expanding human sexuality.

Oversee a team of writers and maintain the editorial focus for futurist publication attracting more than 50,000 monthly visitors and 90,000 monthly page views
Develop article ideas for writers and edit work for readability, grammar, and accuracy
Analyze website traffic and social media analytics to improve online reach and ensure optimal SEO performance

Previously worked as a Reporter from Dec 2020 - Apr 2022

Researched and wrote original stories on sex and technology for sophisticated online audience
Selected articles:

Freelance Writer (Mar 2020 - Present)
Regular contributor to Sex for Every Body. Other articles in Autostraddle, Silicon Allee, Curve Magazine, and elsewhere.

Contributing Editor @ FLURT Magazine (Mar 2016 - Sep 2018)
Magazine for socially conscious young people who want to create their own media.

Wrote over 20 articles for print and web focused on technology and activism
Edited and curated online-exclusive content
Selected articles:

📌 Volunteering

EU Conference Team Member @ Write the Docs (Jul 2019 - Present)
Technology conference focused on documentation systems, tech writing theory, and information delivery.

Emceed the last in-person event in 2019 and the first virtual event in 2020
Introduced speakers and faciliated Q&A sessions

Workshop Lead @ New Devs on the Block (Jul 2019 - Dec 2021)
Free, two-day workshops to help people build their first website.

Creating a curriculum that covers HTML, CSS and a bit of JavaScript
Preparing supplemental presentations on topics like accessibility and animations
Events in Nürnberg and Vienna, now post-poned due to the COVID-19 outbreak

Web Development Instructor @ ReDI School of Digital Integration (Feb 2017 - Aug 2021)
Non-profit digital school for tech-interested newcomers applying for asylum in Germany.

Built and continuously developed the course curriculum with a team of 4-8 other instructors
Led classes to improve student comprehension of React, HTML, CSS and general web design principles
Mentored students through presentations and job search
Note: Took a break from teaching in 2019

Co-Organizer @ QueerJS (Jun 2019 - Dec 2021)
🏳️‍🌈 A meetup for everyone where queer speakers take the stage.

Selected speakers and scheduling events
Fostered an inclusive community and enforced the code of conduct
🐻 Previously co-organized BerlinJS from May 2018 - May 2020

🎤 Public Speaking

Recent Appearances

JSHeroes live in Cluj 🇷🇴 (Jun 9, 2022)
Humanizing Your Documentation
single-threaded Podcast (released on Mar 31, 2021)
Crying at work

Want me to speak at your event?
💖 Check out my website for more information.

🏆 Accomplishments

Won First Place @ Rainbows End Sex Tech Hackathon (May 2021)
Built Tentilex, a wearable armband that records your hand movement and generates a live 3D-model.

Top Author Recognition @ DEV (2019 - 2020)
Named one of the Top 500 authors in 2019. Also wrote two articles that ranked in the weekly Top 7:

Won Best Project @ Geek Girl Carrots Berlin Hackathon (Oct 2017)
Created Qarma, an online platform to report and retrieve lost & found objects for travelers abroad.

💬 Languages

🇺🇸 English: Native
🇩🇪 German: B1

👩🏼‍🎓 Education

12-week intensive coding course focused on full-stack JavaScript
SPICED Academy - Berlin, Germany (Apr 2017 - Jun 2017)

Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Media Studies
Beloit College - Beloit, Wisconsin, USA (2011 - 2015)

Washington Semester Program for Journalism and New Media
American University - Washington DC, USA (Fall 2014)

International Exchange studying Political Science
Yeditepe Üniversitesi - Istanbul, Turkey (Spring 2013)