gordon fontenot

Summary

I'm a polyglot software developer that enjoys solving interesting problems using interesting languages and frameworks. I have extensive experience in Objective-C and Swift, but I've also enthusiastically taken on personal and professional projects in other languages and frameworks such as Elixir/Phoenix, Javascript, Haskell, Rust, and Lua.

I'm a Staff iOS engineer, starting to work on the platform in iOS 3. I've worked as a consultant on large teams, as a solo engineer on greenfield projects, and as a core systems engineer responsible for foundational technology stacks for millions of daily active users.

Finally, I'm a life-long learner, and a passionate educator. I started my career by teaching myself Objective-C in order to scratch my own itch, and that drive to learn new languages/frameworks/patterns/techniques/tools has never gone away. I've also tried to share that love of learning with others by writing blog posts, giving talks at conferences, speaking on podcasts, and providing mentorship to my friends and coworkers.

Experience

Cash App (Block, Inc) Staff iOS Engineer, October 2017 - February 2026

After a brief stint working on internationalization, I transitioned into more of a platform role and spent the bulk of my time owning core systems such as the iOS networking stack, encrypted communication methods between the client and server, and the core data transport pipeline for all critical application data.

  • Worked alongside the International team and shipped Cash App for a new market in the UK
  • Designed and shipped an entirely new networking stack for iOS, modernizing the core of the client/server interaction for the app as a whole.
  • Owned and maintained the core data transport mechanism for iOS, and was a core team member for the system across the whole ecosystem.
  • Identified security vulnerabilities and helped to implement an encryption mechanism to allow for secure data transfer between the client and the server.
  • Ran multiple mentorships with engineers from various disciplines, both as a part of the official engineering mentorship program as well as unofficially on request.

thoughtbot Senior Developer, September 2013 - October 2017

I was hired at thoughtbot as part of their initiative to expand into the iOS space. Over the years I worked as a consultant on projects in Swift, Objective-C, and React Native for iOS. Additionally, I spent time to get up to speed with Elixir and Phoenix and billed on projects using those technologies as well.

  • Worked with clients to determine the best product needed to fit their needs
  • Designed application architectures and built custom visual components, using a test-first methodology
  • Designed and maintained tooling to improve the development experience
  • Designed and maintained open source libraries to improve the development experience

thoughtbot Mobile Development Director, April 2015 - August 2017

In April of 2013, I was promoted to the position of Mobile Development Director. I stepped down from the role in August of 2017. During this time, I continued my work as a developer along with additional responsibilities.

  • Managed a team of up to 10 developers across the globe
  • Worked as a team advocate
  • Assisted in the sales process on behalf of the mobile team
  • Performed quarterly reviews with mobile team members
  • Performed bi-weekly one on one meetings with mobile team members