Hi, I'm
Forrest

Forrest Dodds

Full stack software engineer. I like building things that are reliable, well-designed, and worth maintaining. Most of my career has been on large-scale platforms where good architecture and usability matter.


Where I've shipped

2021 — 2024
Workday Extend
Full Stack Software Engineer · Pleasanton, CA

Workday Extend is a developer platform that lets customers build custom applications on top of Workday. Thousands of developers use it daily and the product sees millions of visits a year. I was on the full stack team, which meant owning backend APIs and infrastructure while also shipping customer-facing UI in React.

A lot of my work touched the developer experience directly: improving tooling, cleaning up API contracts, and building UI that made the extension-building process less painful. I worked closely with product and design, and cared a lot about keeping the codebase maintainable as the platform scaled.

React Node.js Java REST APIs PostgreSQL Docker CI/CD
2018 — 2021
Workday
Software Engineer · Pleasanton, CA

On the core accounting team building the financial layer that powered Workday's invoice, lease, and financial products, I worked full stack work across the whole thing: designing UXs, owning SOAP and REST APIs, and modeling the underlying data. The accounting domain meant correctness was non-negotiable and the systems had to hold up at enterprise scale.

Accounting Object Oriented Principles Database Design
How I work
Full stack ownership

I think about how systems are used, not just how they're built. That means caring about API ergonomics, writing code the next person can actually read, and staying curious about the product side of what I'm building.

API Design UX Systems Thinking Code Review Code Ownership

Things I've built

View all repositories →


What drives me

Sustainability & the Environment

I care a lot about how we treat the planet. Spending time outside makes that pretty hard to ignore. I try to live with a lighter footprint where I can, and I'm drawn to problems where technology and environmental thinking overlap. It's a big part of why I love the places I hike and want to keep them around for a long time.

Climate Leave No Trace Conservation Low Impact
🏔
Nature & Hiking

When I'm not writing code I can be found outside. There's something about being outside that resets my brain in a way nothing else does.

Green Mountains Adirondacks Sierras Rockies National Parks
Sports

I play and follow a bunch of sports. Soccer and disc golf are my main outlets right now. Hockey and skiing scratch a different itch in the winter. I like sports that mix individual skill with team dynamics, and I'm always up for a pickup game of just about anything.

Soccer Disc Golf Hockey Skiing

Let's connect

Open to new opportunities, interesting projects, or just a good conversation. Find me on GitHub or LinkedIn.