Brian Stoner
Head Of Product at Cape
New York, New York, United States
Summary
🤩
Rockstar🎓
Top SchoolBrian Stoner is an experienced software engineering leader with 16 years building consumer-facing products and scalable web experiences, currently serving as Interim VP of Engineering at Cape. He helped grow DuckDuckGo from niche search to a privacy app used by over 100M people, progressing through roles from Senior Frontend Engineer to VP of Search and Head of Product. Brian blends hands-on front-end and full-stack engineering—contributing to DuckDuckGo’s Instant Answers, privacy browser extensions, and even web audio tooling—with strategic product leadership. He co-founded a music education startup that reached 100k+ users, reflecting a knack for combining interactive UX, audio tech, and real-time feedback systems. Known for pragmatic engineering management, he frequently ships improvements that quietly boost user experience (e.g., state-preserving cheatsheets, audio playback fixes, and HTTPS upgrade handling). Based in New York, he’s seeking the next challenge where product-first engineering and privacy-conscious design intersect.
16 years of coding experience
12 years of employment as a software developer
Drexel UniversitySyracuse University
Github Skills (22)
duckduckgo10
javascript10
handlebars10
browser-extension10
css10
http10
chrome-extension10
midi10
midi-instrument10
web-audio-api10
front-end-development10
html10
opera-extension10
webextension10
instantsearch10
Programming languages (8)
Github contributions (5)
duckduckgo/zeroclickinfo-spice
Jan 2014 - Jun 2020
DuckDuckGo Instant Answers based on JavaScript (JSON) APIs
Role in this project:
Front-end Developer
Front-end DeveloperContributions:326 commits, 147 PRs, 107 pushes in 6 years 6 months
Contributions summary:Brian primarily contributed to the `zeroclickinfo-spice` repository by updating and maintaining the dictionary spice. They modified the JavaScript and Handlebars templates for the dictionary, implementing features such as audio playback and pronunciation display. The user also refactored and improved the recipe spice, fixing bugs, refining styling, and enhancing the user interface for recipe display.
apijsjavascriptduckduckgoinstant-answers
duckduckgo/zeroclickinfo-goodies
Apr 2014 - Mar 2019
DuckDuckGo Instant Answers based on Perl & JavaScript
Role in this project:Full-stack Developer
Full-stack DeveloperContributions:19 commits, 18 PRs, 19 pushes in 4 years 11 months
Contributions summary:Brian made several contributions to the DuckDuckGo Instant Answers (IA) project, primarily focusing on front-end and minor backend enhancements. They fixed a class collision and updated styling related to calendar displays. The user also implemented features to preserve and restore the state of the cheat sheets on page load, improving user experience. Furthermore, the user updated the DuckDuckGo goodie structure and format, adding image support for dax and adjusting conversion defaults.
javascriptduckduckgoinstant-answersperlinstant
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