kham.hero — ux engineer · seattle area
I build the components other teams build with.
I design and build component libraries, design tokens, and accessible frontend architecture for game consoles, browsers, and AI developer platforms. I also build full products end to end, from schema to UI.
fig 1 — anatomy of a button. every layer is a decision.
kham.work — selected systems
Systems that outlive the sprint they shipped in.
AI Foundry Design System & Foundry Toolkit
On the CoreAI team I build React + TypeScript components for Microsoft's AI Foundry design system and handle WCAG and ARIA fixes across the platform. I also work with the Foundry Toolkit extension team on vsc-ui-react: an open-source library of VS Code-styled Fluent UI v9 components (Griffel, Storybook, on npm) that ships inside the Foundry Toolkit for VS Code, an extension with 1.2M+ installs.
An open-source design system that began as an internal Microsoft library and is now public: 30+ accessible, headless web components built with Lit. They are framework-agnostic, tree-shakeable, and themed through a dedicated design-token package. I contribute to building its core components. You're looking at it: this portfolio is built on Charm.
The Athletic Advertising independent2026 A production marketing front for The Athletic's advertising platform: a fast, credible place for brands to evaluate ad formats, specs, and proof. Statically generated with file-based routes, Astro Content Collections turning Markdown into case-study pages, mostly static HTML with minimal client JS, keyboard-friendly navigation, and GSAP motion used sparingly.
The Recipe Room independent2025 — present A full-stack recipe management PWA, from Postgres schema to a vintage cookbook-inspired UI. Photograph any recipe and GPT-4o vision extracts it into structured data, and a chef assistant answers cooking questions. Row Level Security keeps every user's collection private.
Microsoft Edge Microsoft Web Platform2017 — 2021 Reusable, performant web components for Microsoft Edge built on FAST, extending Fluent UI Web Components for key browser features: Edge Shopping (coupon, cashback, recommendations), the News Feed's article and ad components, motion prototypes for Vertical Tabs, and DevTools accessibility in Windows high-contrast mode, applied in consultation with the Chromium team.
FAST & Fluent UI Web Components Microsoft Web Platform2017 — 2021 I contributed to Microsoft's open-source FAST framework and Fluent UI Web Components. My biggest piece was the high-contrast work across both libraries. I also built the navigation and section-header components for fast.design while mentoring a few interns, and I'm still on the contributor list.
Xbox One Dashboard Microsoft Xbox2012 — 2017 Helped shape the Xbox One Dashboard across its 2013 launch and the 2015 and 2017 releases, building core UI for the Home, Community, Store, and One Guide panels plus the Collection and Detail pages for games and apps. XAML data binding and MVVM architecture, interactive prototypes that influenced future updates, and performance tuned for the 10-foot TV experience.
kham.approach — how I work
Components are products. Developers are their users.
Accessibility is architecture
I build keyboard navigation, screen reader support, and high contrast in from the start, because bolting them on later never works. I've done the WCAG and ARIA cleanup on products from Edge to AI Foundry, and it's always cheaper to build it right the first time.
Build components developers want to use
When I build a design system, other developers are the users. Developer experience means a clear API, predictable behavior, and examples that cover real use cases. Get that right and teams adopt the system. Get it wrong and they build workarounds.
Live builds beat static designs
Nine years building 3D game worlds taught me to make things you can walk through, not just look at. I bring that same habit to UI — I'd rather code a rough live version and try it than review a static design. AI tools have made that even faster.
kham.experience — the long arc
From game worlds to design systems.
- 2025 —UX Engineer · Microsoft CoreAIAI Foundry design system · contract
React + TypeScript components for AI-powered developer experiences; platform-wide accessibility improvements.
- 2023Software Engineer · Microsoft C+E CX StudioCharm UX design system · contract
Contributed core components to Charm UX, an open-source design system of accessible, headless Lit Web Components with design-token theming, born inside Microsoft and now public.
- 2022Independent Software EngineerClient products, concept → deployment
Accessible, performant web applications built in direct partnership with clients.
- 2021UX Engineer · Microsoft Web PrototypingConcept validation
Interactive prototypes that de-risked product decisions and aligned stakeholders early.
- 2017UX Engineer · Microsoft Web PlatformFAST · Fluent UI · Edge
Core components for Edge, News, and Shopping; accessibility and UI performance initiatives.
- 2012Design Developer · Microsoft XboxXbox Dashboard
Core UI and prototypes for the Xbox One Dashboard across the 2013 launch and the 2015 and 2017 releases, in XAML/MVVM. Preceded by design integration on Windows Phone.
- 20023D Environment Artist · Amaze EntertainmentCross-platform games
Nine years building detailed 3D worlds and interactive assets. That visual craft that still shapes how I build interfaces.
kham.skills — the toolkit