# Lee Cattarin

he/him or ze/hir • Vashon, WA 98070
lee.cattarin@gmail.com • this very website • linkedin.com/in/lee-cattarin

## Platforms Engineer

Design-oriented platforms/infrastructure engineer with a well-rounded background in algorithms, UI/UX, observabilty, databases, and accessibility. Consistent customer focus with strong communication skills and a passion for sharing knowledge.

## Toolkit

- Git, bash, and the terminal
- Containers and Kubernetes
- Terraform, Bicep, and infrastructure deployment
- GitHub Actions and other pipelines
- HTML, CSS, and Javascript
- Languages like Go, C, and Python
- Accessibility knowledge and thoughtful design

## Experience

### Freelance Web Developer

January 2026 – Present

Creates and maintains websites for clients based off their concepts and ideas.

- My Liberation Work Has Been Damn Ableist: A Landworker Memoir (maze-pants.codeberg.page): a web-friendly version of Maze's ~70 page zine, built as a single-page static site.

  > ...a pleasure to work with. Ze pays close attention to detail, and truly cares about making his creations accessible, including aspects that I didn’t even know to ask for. As a bonus ze is extremely quick and responsive!

- Gryphon's Roost (gryphonsroost.xyz): a major redesign and port of Gryphon's Wix site to an Eleventy and TinaCMS blog.

  > I really appreciate your willingness/ability to meet me where I was at as far as communication and such was. I feel a lot more comfortable asking clarifying questions than I have with others.

- Mari Hsu (marihsu.com): a redesign of Mari's existing site and full port from pure HTML/CSS to Eleventy-based blog.

  > Having participated in a few tangible projects that Lee has run online I have admired hir clean, effective, and attractive websites for a while. When Lee announced ze was taking on more work, I jumped at the chance to have someone else rebuild my old handcoded one. My new website from Lee is fantastic! Super easy to customize and update on my own, which is what I have wanted for a long time. Ze was easy to work with, very communicative about details of the process, and well aligned with what I wanted from my site. I would not hesitate to recommend Lee to anyone, at any technical comfort level, who wants a nice website.

- Spoonfairies (spoonfairies.help): an Eleventy-based website for a just-launching project, designed and built from the ground up.

  > ...the site dev of my dreams -- ze brought my vision from a PowerPoint to a webpage with clarity and a focus on accessibility that made me feel real hope for the future. I am grateful for his thought partnership and ongoing site support!

- Beall Greenhouses (beall-greenhouses.com): a website for the Beall Greenhouses artist studios and markets, originally pure HTML/CSS/JS before porting to Eleventy for longevity and ease of maintenance.

  > ...an absolute delight to work with. His communication is efficient and timely, and his considerations in design are impeccable. When I asked him if he could do this project, he came in on a level that I had not anticipated. His contributions to my event have been immeasurable. It’s exciting to continue to work with him, as we are constantly finding new ways to upgrade our interface with the public. The possibilities that he brings to the table are astounding.

Microsoft, Redmond, WA

August 2018 – July 2025

### Software Development Engineer I & II

Worked on green- and brown-field projects with customers, solving emerging problems in infrastructure, devOps, and LLM/human interaction. Wrote reports on product feedback to relay to product teams and improved documentation.

- Contributed UI/UX, algorithm, and database design to a new human-in-the-loop approach to LLM form automation, ensuring both that content was effectively reviewed and that auditing was smooth.
- Deployed and configured Kubernetes for many scenarios, handling monitoring and observability, scaling, traffic routing, security and policy, Windows container support, and more.
- Maintained team working agreements to ensure team unity and consistency. Shaped team processes and documentation to improve clarity and speed up onboarding.
- Improved Azure and open source documentation with new, updated, and corrected information.
- Coached multiple learning-oriented hackathons to ensure broader community understanding and adoption of Azure services.
- Presented to groups of 10–100 on backend accessibility and queer/trans education.

Riverside Refuge Studio, Vashon, WA

October 2023 – Present

### Co-owner and artist

Maintains website, storefront, and inventory for a diverse set of artistic goods. Communicates with a range of customers, both digitally and in-person.

- Designs and creates art/crafts in a variety of mediums ranging from visual to functional.
- Presents work in art shows in and around Seattle.
- Runs booths or studio space at art fairs and markets.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY

September 2015 – December 2017

### Undergraduate Programming Mentor

Helped students debug and develop in Python and learn core programming concepts. Created daily quiz material and graded exams.

Microsoft, Redmond, WA

June 2017 – August 2017

### Software Development Engineering Intern

Developed a chatbot add-on for the Azure Android application.

## Projects

### FediLearns (fedilearns.fyi)

April 2026 – Present

Designs, develops, and maintains website for learning and skill-sharing listings for the fediverse (Mastodon). Manages all data and incoming listing requests.

### Siblinghood of the Traveling Greeting Card (siblinghood.quest)

November 2025 – Present

Designs, develops, and maintains website. Manages communication and logistics for a ~40 person global community building project.

### leecat.art (you are here!) (leecat.art)

October 2022 – Present

Designs, develops, maintains, and creates all content.

### FediZineFest (fedizinefest.fyi)

December 2023 – July 2025

Created and ran a global event for zine artists on the fediverse for two years. Coordinated website, physical material shipping and logistics, payment, and marketing for a 40–50 person project.

### Rescue Trans Rescue (rescue-trans-rescue.quest)

2024

Created a digital art exhibit and sale to raise money for charity. Coordinated ~30 artists to contribute physical and digital work as well as a collaborative sticker sheet. Raised ~2.3k for Trans Rescue.

## Education

Bachelor of Science — Computer Science
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY