Barrett
Long

Product Architect and Principal Software Engineer

I build useful software and the systems behind it. My background spans design, UX, full-stack development, product architecture, and engineering leadership. Most recently, I helped grow COM•MU•NI•KIT from a single community application into a SaaS platform serving thousands of users every day.

Profile

I started my career in visual design and gradually moved deeper into software because I wanted to build the complete experience, not just the interface. At Aivia, I joined as a part-time web developer and designer. As the company began exploring mobile and custom software, I took on more of the work—first the admin interface and mobile applications, then the backend, architecture, product decisions, and eventually the engineering team. That work became COM•MU•NI•KIT. Over nearly a decade, I helped turn it from an early community application into a white-label SaaS platform supporting more than 260 communities. I led the redesign of the platform, worked closely with clients and designers, hired and mentored developers, and remained hands-on throughout its development. I do my best work where product, UX, and engineering overlap: taking something complicated and making it useful, understandable, and sustainable.

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Experience

2017 - 2026

Aivia Inc.

Software Engineering Manager and Lead Full-Stack Developer

Progressed from web developer and designer to product architect and engineering leader

I joined Aivia when it was still primarily a small digital agency. My initial work included design, HTML email, and web development, but I gradually took ownership of the company’s growing software initiatives. That included building the administrative platform, backend, and native mobile applications for what became COM•MU•NI•KIT. As the product grew, I became responsible for its architecture, technical direction, development standards, hiring, mentoring, and delivery. My most significant work was leading the ground-up redesign of Version 2. We moved away from one-off customer implementations and built a unified, configurable platform that could grow without fragmenting the product or codebase.

Selected impact

Built the original platform across web administration, backend services, iOS, and Android.
Architected Version 2 around a unified content feed, extensible content types, targeted publishing, scheduling, push notifications, and analytics.
Helped scale the product from one community to more than 260 deployments and over a hundred thousand users.
Built and mentored a multidisciplinary engineering and design team while remaining hands-on in development.
Helped shift the company from custom development toward a sustainable SaaS business.

2015 — Present

Freelance

Full Stack Web Developer · Designer

Coordinates with freelance clients to plan web, mobile, and software projects from initial concept through completion using a broad range of development tools, languages, and technologies.

2014 — 2016

Trickster Theatre

Content Creation Manager · Designer · Developer

Managed online digital content creation, videography and video editing; designed print and online promotional materials; and served as an in-house web developer and server administrator.

2012 — 2014

Alfred University

Teaching Assistant

Assisted undergraduate classes in print media, design, 3D sculpture, and digital media through demonstrations, lectures, critiques, and student support.