Hello! I’m David Francisco, a designer and engineer.

I’ve spent more than a decade making web products, including programming tools for children, platforms for startups, and digital experiences for cultural heritage. The work I enjoy most starts while the problem is still open, then moves into designing and building the interface that people need.

Work experience

  1. Jul 2024 – Jul 2026

    Full-stack engineer at Complear

    Complear builds AI-powered compliance software for highly regulated industries. I helped design and develop the platform, originally built for medical device companies. I built interfaces for exploring and editing quality management data, including an interactive graph editor. I also helped define the platform’s design system and implemented its components. My work spanned frontend and backend development using TypeScript, Elixir, Phoenix, LiveView, and Apache AGE.

  2. Apr 2022 – Present

    Founder, designer and engineer at Oficina do Património

    I founded Oficina do Património, where I work alongside two architects on cultural heritage projects. I designed and built Azulejo Digital, a system that combines glazed ceramic tiles with IPFS, PURLs, and IIIF for longevity in both the physical signage and its digital content. We were selected for the Região de Coimbra Empreende+ entrepreneurship program. It was supported by a young entrepreneurs’ grant and won second place in the general category of its regional business ideas competition.

  3. May 2018 – Apr 2022

    Full-stack engineer at Tynker

    Tynker helps children learn to code through creative projects. I built tools for drawing, animation, and music, and led development of its text-based programming editors and the software supporting its AP Computer Science courses. My work spanned the learning interfaces and the backend systems that let students run Python and Java projects and interactive code notebooks in their browsers. By its acquisition by BYJU’S in 2021, Tynker had reached over 60 million children and 100,000 schools worldwide.

  4. Apr 2015 – Apr 2018

    Full-stack engineer and designer at 1776 and Union

    At 1776, a startup incubator, I helped develop Union, a platform connecting startup founders, mentors, investors, and corporate innovation teams around the world. I helped design and implement its design system and introduced Storybook for developing and documenting reusable UI components. I continued working on the platform as it spun off into an independent company in October 2017.

  5. Sep 2014 – Apr 2015

    Full-stack engineer and designer at Disruption Corp

    Worked on Hubble, a platform that allows venture capitalists, fund managers and innovation groups to seamlessly compile, evaluate and stay up to date on current private market investments and companies of interest. Disruption was acquired by 1776 in April 2015.

  6. Apr 2013 – Apr 2014

    Full-stack engineer and designer at Cliplaw

    Helped create a startup that aimed to simplify access to legislation and other government-related information in Portugal.

  7. Mar 2010 – Apr 2013

    Full-stack engineer at IPN LIS

    Designed and developed a platform for interoperable web applications as part of two government-funded projects regarding transportation and health. The platform was mainly based on the W3C Widgets specification and relied on open source projects such as Apache Wookie and Google Caja. I started at IPN LIS as an intern while studying at the University of Coimbra.

Education

  1. 2010 – 2012

    Universidade de Coimbra

    Masters, Computer Science

  2. 2007 – 2010

    Universidade de Coimbra

    BSc, Computer Science

Side projects

  1. Browserslist-GA

    2018
    Tool that helps developers tailor browser support to their audience. Has over 4.5 million npm downloads.
    Open websiteView source

  2. List.community

    2018
    An easy way to browse curated lists on GitHub. Built with create-react-app, react-snap and Tailwind CSS.
    Open websiteView source

  3. JS.coach Reborn

    2017
    Search for packages related to React, Babel, Webpack and PostCSS. Rewrite and redesign that lives as a static app on GitHub Pages.
    Open websiteView source

  4. create-react-video

    2017
    NPM package to program simple videos with React. Based on react-scripts and powered by Electron.
    Read notesView source

  5. Disionáriu

    2017
    Type in english or tetun and get definitions and common phrases. Simple Ruby on Rails app with Postgres. Sponsored by DigitalOcean.
    Open websiteView source

  6. Pixel Glasses

    2016
    Hackathon app that describes your surroundings using audio. Built using Microsoft Cognitive Service APIs and React Native.
    Read notes

  7. JS.coach Classic

    2016
    Search for packages related to React, Babel, Webpack and PostCSS. Built with React, PostCSS, Node.js and Ruby on Rails.
    Open websiteRead notesView source

  8. React.parts

    2015
    A catalog of React components for both web and native. Built using React and PostCSS with help from Hubot and Dokku.
    Open websiteView source

  9. Space Horse

    2015
    Web and desktop application for organizing knowledge. Written in JavaScript with React, Flux and NW.js.
    View source

  10. Jonymockup

    2015
    Simple tool for sharing mockups. Built with Polymer, uses shadow DOM and HTML imports.
    Read notesView source

  11. SpaceJunk

    2014
    An opinionated cloud-based TiddlyWiki setup. This is a proof-of-concept that uses Heroku and Dropbox.
    Read notesView source

  12. Gideo

    2014
    Minimal video player that loops and autoplays. Built on top of MediaElement.js.
    Open websiteView source

  13. Blocks

    2014
    App for people interested in gathering self-knowledge. Built with AngularJS and Cordova.
    Read notesView source

  14. k▥

    2013
    Command-line tool for collaborative task boards that works offline. Uses Git as a database.
    Read notesView source

  15. Pomada

    2012
    Simple tool for the pomodoro technique. Can be used on the web, desktop and Chrome App.
    Read notesView source

  16. Appbase

    2012
    Web Platform for User-Centric Interoperable Applications. Uses Apache Wookie and Google Caja.
    Read notes

  17. Pagehub

    2011
    Proof-of-concept app to generate short URLs. Explores a redirection technique using iframes.
    Read notes

  18. slideshow.html

    2011
    Tool for creating presentations with HTML, JS and CSS. Written in Ruby.
    Open websiteRead notesView source

  19. Escrito

    2011
    A collaborative writing tool that supports Markdown and Textile. Powered by Node.js and ShareJS.
    Read notesView source

  20. Desligado

    2011
    Support for disconnection and deferred updates for web apps. Uses Cache Manifest, WebSQL, Local Storage and Web Sockets.
    Open websiteView source

  21. Scurry

    2010
    Toy programming language. Written with Python, PLY and LLVM.
    View source

  22. Activo

    2010
    A theme for data-driven, admin-like applications. Written in SASS for Ruby on Rails.
    Open websiteView source