As a web developer with over 28 years of experience, I've worked with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript throughout my entire career, and with WordPress, PHP, and MySQL for more than 20 years. Each role below has added to my skill set, including SEO, Drupal, GitHub, Agile, Jira, Jenkins, SCSS, Mustache, jQuery, and more.

For more than two decades, I've been passionate about web performance—consistently focused on speed, efficiency, and delivering a better user experience.

I also enjoy researching and testing emerging web technologies, and I'm equally passionate about mentoring others in best practices.

1. January 2022 - October 2025

   Senior Performance Architect / UX Advocate

   Estée Lauder Companies, New York, NY, USA (remote contractor)

   • Setup RUM and Synthetic tests and reports
   • Monitor daily performance reports to ensure all sites are within performance budget KPIs, including Core Web Vitals
   • Investigate anomalies using RUM and Synthetic tools, DevTools, WebPageTest, etc., report to brand with solutions
   • Perform quarterly brand- and regional-focused site audits, document all performance enhancement opportunities, report findings to stakeholders
   • Update Drupal templates, including Mustache, JS and SCSS files, to implement performance improvement solutions
   • Research and document best practices and innovations, propose opportunities for adoption
   • Organized effort to reduce LCP by automating media lazy load settings and creating "preload" link for LCP candidate asset; reduced global average from 3.26s to 1.78s, and key market (CA, UK, US) average from 2.94s to 1.81s
   • Led effort to reduce CLS related to content media components; reduced global average from 0.41 to less than 0.10, and key market (CA, UK, US) average from 0.44s to nearly 0.04

2. April 2016 - January 2022

   Chief Technology Officer, Co-Owner

   AdvantiPro GmbH, Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Pfalz, Germany

   • End-point for all technology decisions within company
   • Research, select & communicate with third-party service vendors to find existing solutions when available, including Freshdesk, Freshsales, Google Drive, Mailchimp, Pandadocs, Redbooth, Slack, Zapier
   • Provide in-house solutions when necessary, including custom API interactions between internal & external services
   • Automate workflows using event-driven & cron-based automations, including custom API interactions and Zapier
   • Develop & maintain mobile-first, responsive customer websites & apps, including WordPress, PHP, MySQL, CSS and JavaScript
   • Evaluate customer websites using Dev Console, WebPageTest and Google Analytics, propose & implement solutions for performance optimizations & sales flow improvements
   • Communicate with team & customers via support tracking & project management systems
   • Support internal technology concerns, including PCs, networking, communication and remote office via VPN & remote desktop software
   • Support all company products, including proprietary third-party frameworks and websites that require IE9 support
   • Investigate & resolve any internal or external issues
   • Research, test and propose new technologies where applicable

3. March 2012 - April 2016

   Senior Developer

   Netbiscuits GmbH, Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Pfalz, Germany

   • Member of international, Agile team
   • Lead front-end developer for Analytics Dashboard, utilizing Bootstrap, jQuery, Ajax, JSON, jQuery DatePicker, Highcharts, Highstock, and dynamic SVG charts
   • Lead front-end developer for customer Account Management system, utilizing Thymeleaf framework, Bootstrap, jQuery, Ajax, and jQuery Validate
   • Lead developer for company website, built using WordPress, integrating server-side adaptive design and client-side responsive design via a custom theme, third-party plugins and in-house plugins
   • Aggressively focus on cross-device performance, including file optimization, minification, concatenation & caching, custom builds, and device-specific mark-up

4. November 2011 - March 2012

   Freelance Web Developer

   Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Pfalz, Germany

   • Hand-code HTML, CSS and JavaScript, including jQuery & JSON
   • Establish and restrict project scope
   • Estimate project time frames, requirements, and costs
   • Issue proposals, write contracts, and invoices
   • Communicate via Skype, email, phone
   • Deliver product on time

5. June 2007 - November 2011

   Tech Lead

   Time Inc. (People.com), New York, NY, USA

   • Develop tablet-optimized, responsive design version of website, including dynamic data retrieval, use of in-browser data storage, and multi-section swipability
   • Create second-screen project for 2011 Academy Awards, adding in-synch branded interactivity to the night's events
   • Spearheaded site-wide optimization projects including:
     • Study and recommend server- and client-side performance optimizations
     • Cleanse all site CSS files, reduce home page load by 23 objects, 52kb, and 1.3 seconds; these same techniques were then applied site-wide, with consistent, cascading results
     • Rewrite of site JS files, improving speed, reliability and portability
     • Introduce jQuery to global JS, rewriting functionality when file size or function performance could be improved
     • Integrate HTML5 Boilerplate techniques, including customized version of Modernizr and use of CSS3 techniques when possible (and adding reliable fallbacks when not)
   • Numerous HTML, CSS, JS projects, often concurrently, in various stages of completion
   • Numerous JS projects, many of which have been used cross-brand, including:
     • Google Map implementations with custom markers and overlays, driven by multiple JSON feeds
     • Ajax galleries using JSON/P
     • Hot-spot tagging tool
     • Gallery stitching
     • Custom Twitter module
     • More carousels than I care to remember...
     • Converted above Ajax photo gallery JS into iPad in-app browser hot spot, bringing currency to date-specific magazine app
     • Served as departmental mentor & team leader

6. June 2005 - June 2007

   Web Developer

   Bank of America (Prime Brokerage), New York, NY, USA

   • Develop conference registration website for Capital Introduction team, improving data tracking and customer relations
   • Develop, maintain, and host client websites, including secure sections and fund-specific data
   • Automate monthly performance page updates, saving up to 10 man-hours per month and ensuring data import accuracy
   • Develop dynamic investor statement pages, improving customer client relations
   • Implement advanced CSS and JavaScript techniques, migrating client sites from table-based to CSS-based layouts and introducing progressive enhancement techniques to the team, improving page load times and reducing site maintenance time
   • Integrate server-side variables to dictate user-based access levels and to trigger page-specific CSS for look and layout control, improving customer client relations

7. May 2002 - June 2006

   Web & Software Specialist

   National Academies of Science (Transportation Research Board), Washington, DC, USA

   • Develop conference websites, including interactive site for 10,000+ attendee Annual Meeting, improving attendee data availability, staff efficiency and reporting accuracy & turn-around time
   • Convert third-party form-driven registration process into customizable template-based HTML sites and registration process, reducing site stand-up time by nearly 20% and ensuring cross-site consistency
   • Create stand-alone ASP/database-driven online registration process for no-fee conferences, reducing per-conference costs by $500, reducing data-conversion time by 50% and ensuring data accuracy
   • Overhaul and streamlined Annual Meeting VIP invitation and registration process, reducing man-hours by 25%, ensuring data integrity, and reducing VIP frustration by eliminating duplicate contacts
   • Integrate web-based database with MS Office for reporting and distribution of data collected for above-referenced websites

1. Pace University, New York, NY, USA

   • Graduated 2007
   • Awarded Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Studies within three semesters with a 3.98 GPA while working 40 hours per week at Bank of America.
   • Graduated with Distinction

2. Montgomery College, Rockville, MD, USA

   • Graduated 2004
   • Awarded two Associates degrees, Information Systems and Web Technologies, simultaneously with 3.84 and 3.89 GPAs, respectively, while working 20-30 hours per week at the National Academies of Science.
   • Member Phi Theta Kappa

AaronTGrogg.com

• Personal blog: aarontgrogg.com

  • WordPress-based, custom mobile-first, responsive theme, optimized for performance
  • Grunt for HTML, CSS, JS, and SVG minification to improve FCP
  • Git for repo syncing and version control
  • Smush-it plugin to optimize media assets as uploaded
  • Site caching plugin installed & configured to reduce TTFB
  • .htaccess cache controls to reduce browser requests
  • Anonymized Google Analytics for site flow tracking, aiding with GDPR compliance

Estee Lauder Corporation

• Numerous Brand.com sites

  • PHP and Mustache templates, optimized for performance
  • Automated addition of media asset width and height attributes to reduce CLS
  • Updated uncountable CSS blocks to reduce CLS
  • Automated media asset lazy load settings via Drupal page publish hook to improve INP
  • Automated "preload" link for LCP asset to improve LCP

AdvantiPro GmbH

• Company website: advantipro.de

  • WordPress, mobile-first, responsive theme, customized child theme
  • Smush-it plugin to optimize media assets as uploaded
  • Site caching plugin installed & configured to reduce TTFB
  • DNS pre-fetch to reduce external asset latency and INP
  • .htaccess cache controls to reduce browser requests and INP
  • Anonymized Google Analytics for site flow tracking
  • GDPR compliance

• USAG Bavaria App: (resource no longer available)

  • WordPress, custom mobile-first, responsive SPA theme
  • All app content ported to JSON file
  • AppCache used to download and store static assets, including content JSON
  • Page-load checks for fresher content, downloads if necessary, sets up in-page app navigation
  • Content updates add to history stack, update title, refresh ad, and notify Google Analytics
  • SVG icons for scalability and to reduce network requests
  • Site ported to GoNative app builder for inclusion into Apple & Google app stores
  • Google Analytics tracks in-page events, such as menu opening, Setting updates
  • Anonymized Google Analytics for site flow tracking
  • GDPR compliance

Netbiscuits GmbH

• Company website: netbiscuits.com (version no longer available)

  • WordPress, mobile-first, responsive theme, customized child theme
  • Netbiscuits' Device Detection for server-side adaptive decisions and device-specific modifications
  • Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) WP plugin for custom, reusable content types & layouts
  • jQuery & plug-ins for custom navigation menu and parallax effects
  • LESS for easy, maintainable CSS
  • Grunt for CSS, JS, and SVG minification
  • Grunticon for SVG optimization and PNG fallbacks
  • Git for repo syncing and version control
  • Jenkins for Continuous Integration and Deployment

• Mobile Analytics product website: (resource no longer available)

  • Single-page app
  • Responsive Design techniques for a cross-device, single site
  • jQuery & plug-ins for customized date picker
  • Bootstrap for quick start and consistent UI
  • Customized Highcharts libraries for SVG charts
  • LESS for easy, maintainable CSS
  • Grunt for CSS, JS, and SVG minification
  • Git for repo syncing and version control
  • Jenkins for Continuous Integration and Deployment

• Internal Account Management portal: (resource no longer available)

  • Thymeleaf-based
  • Responsive Design techniques for a cross-device, single site
  • jQuery & plug-ins for customized form validation and copy-to-clipboard capability
  • Bootstrap for quick start and consistent UI
  • LESS for easy, maintainable CSS
  • Grunt for SVG optimization and CSS, JS, and SVG minification
  • Git for repo syncing and version control
  • Jenkins for Continuous Integration and Deployment

People.com

• Tablet-optimized website: (resource no longer available)

  • Incorporate all JS into single file to reduce HTTP Requests
  • Use of image sprites to reduce HTTP Requests
  • Object-oriented JS
  • JSON/P
  • jQuery + plug-ins to integrate custom swipability on touch and desktop devices
  • Tablet-oriented project scope allowed for -webkit-transitions & -transforms in place of JavaScript animations, but also works in desktop WebKit browsers
  • Caching of variables/elements for improved performance
  • Ajax content & images for fast page load
  • Use of "#" for deep-linking
  • Dynamic ad and tracking loading and refreshing on content transitions

• 2011 Academy Awards interactive second-screen trivia game: (resource no longer available)

  • Incorporate all JS into single file to reduce HTTP Requests
  • Use of image sprites to reduce HTTP Requests
  • Object-oriented JS
  • JSON/P
  • jQuery
  • WebKit-only project scope allowed for -web-kit transitions & -transforms in place of JavaScript animations
  • Caching of variables/elements for improved performance
  • Use of cookies to track game status & score
  • Polling feature for syncing of content publishing
  • Use of CSS classes to drive "state" of game, reducing JS/DOM interaction
  • Ajax content
  • Dynamic ad and tracking loading and refreshing, including video ads during commercials
  • Oversaw development of, and integration with, custom CMS

• Photo gallery "Ajaxification": (resource no longer available)

  • Object-oriented JS
  • JSON/P
  • jQuery
  • Caching of variables/elements for improved performance
  • Galleries are build to function without JS, via full page refresh, but progressively-enhanced if JS is available
  • Ajax content & images for fast page refresh
  • Use of "#" for deep-linking
  • Dynamic recirc, ad and tracking loading and refreshing
  • Integration with social linking
  • Implementation of Tagging Tool (see below)

• Photo gallery Tagging Tool: (resource no longer available)

  • Object-oriented JS
  • JSON/P
  • jQuery
  • Caching of variables/elements for improved performance
  • Allow editorial staff to entire gallery slide URL
  • Ajax image from specific slide, displaying in-page
  • Staff can drag over image to create hot-spot
  • Then enter content for that hot-spot to reveal, such as headline, deck, and image URLs
  • Clicking Save creates JSON/P file on server
  • Above gallery JS fetches JSON/P and adds interactivity to page

• Photo gallery "stitching": (resource no longer available)

  • Object-oriented JS
  • JSON/P
  • jQuery
  • Caching of variables/elements for improved performance
  • Ajax content
  • Provide content-aware direction to user regarding upcoming and previous gallery notifications

• Performance optimizations and site enhancements: (resource no longer available)

  • Added HTML5 Boilerplate recommendations, where possible
    • HTML5 DOCTYPE
    • IE-Conditional Comments around html
    • Custom Modernizr
  • Rewrote all site CSS
    Global CSS: (resource no longer available)
    Home-page CSS: (resource no longer available)
    • Researched declarations to determine if still needed and where it is used
    • Removed no-longer-used declarations
    • Moved lesser-used declarations to unique files
    • Introduced CSS reset to global CSS file
    • Rewrote remaining declarations to reduce selector specificity and removed declarations made obsolete by reset
    • Replaced numerous images with CSS3 declarations, retaining image declarations for fallback
    • Converted numerous images to sprites, storing as PNG8s
    • Converted existing GIF sprites to PNG8s
    Sample Results:
    • Reduced Global CSS file size from 70.3kb to 19.6kb
    • Reduced Home-page CSS file size from 43.4kb to 26.4kb
    • Above results were relatively consistent throughout other site CSS files

Responsive Test Environment: https://aarontgrogg.com/rte/

• Developed a responsive development testing environment, allowing developers to check pages in multiple breakpoints with a single click

Practical CSS3: https://aarontgrogg.com/practicalcss3/

• Researched, developed and maintain Practical CSS3, a guide for which CSS3 features you can use today and how to implement them, cross-browser

WordPress Themes & Plugins:

• Developed and maintain a WordPress Theme and Plug-in based on HTML5 Boilerplate
  • https://github.com/aarontgrogg/wp-theme-html5-boilerplate
  • https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/html5-boilerplate/
• Developed and maintain a WordPress Plug-in that cleans extraneous classes and adds semantic IDs and classes to navigation menus
  • https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/navigation-menu-ids-classes/
• Developed and maintain a WordPress Plug-in that, when in Admin, adds classes to the body tag to reflect which Page or Post type you're viewing in Edit-mode
  • https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/add-custom-post-type-slugs-to-admin-body-class/
• Developed and maintain a WordPress Plug-in that takes a page's URL, chops it into pieces, and adds each "piece" as an additional class to the body tag
  • https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/add-url-slugs-as-body-classes/

• Read voraciously on emerging technologies, blogging about items that inspire me:
  • https://aarontgrogg.com/
• Co-founded and co-direct a nonprofit interactive web agency, UX Test Kitchen, developing websites for other nonprofits, for free.
• While living in NYC, coordinated a monthly social gathering of family, friends and friends-of-friends.
• Beyond technology, I love hiking, biking, movies, reading, traveling, learning, and hanging out with my wife, friends and family.