About Chris Gillis
I'm a remote full-stack engineer with 15 years shipping web platforms end to end — from pixel-tight interfaces to the streaming backends that feed them. I care about speed, clarity, and code that ages well.
What I build
I take products from a blank repo to something real people rely on: SaaS platforms, two-sided marketplaces, and realtime multiplayer systems. Recent work spans a chess-coaching SaaS with live classrooms and Stripe Connect billing, a civic-tech volunteer marketplace with AI-assisted request parsing and geospatial matching, and original realtime multiplayer games with server-authoritative engines.
I'm comfortable across the whole stack — designing the data model and API, wiring up realtime synchronization, and building the polished, accessible front end on top. I've shipped with React, Next.js, and TypeScript on the front end and Laravel, Node, Supabase, and PostgreSQL on the back.
How I work
I work best as an embedded engineer who can own a slice of the product outright — talking to users, making the calls, and shipping in tight loops. I write tests where they earn their keep, keep an eye on performance budgets, and leave behind code the next person can actually read.
I take on a small number of contract and advisory engagements each quarter, and I'm open to the right full-time role. Remote, worldwide.