Charlotte, NC

Sarah
O'Keefe

Engineer by trade, writer by habit, learner by default.

Front-end work, mostly React and TypeScript — I'm drawn to the seam between design and code.

About

Music → law school → video → code.

Sarah O'Keefe — portrait

I'm a front-end software engineer based in Charlotte, NC, most recently building things at iHeartRadio with React and TypeScript. I care a lot about the craft of the interface — the small decisions that make an experience feel alive and intentional rather than just functional.

Before I was an engineer, I studied music business at Belmont University (I'm a classically trained pianist, also trumpet), spent a year in law school, worked in video production, and found my way to Nashville Software School. The circuitous path left me with an unusual mix: I think like a systems designer, I write like a storyteller, and I build like someone who's genuinely delighted by the web.

Outside of work, I'm in the middle of countless side quests: attempting to learn jazz piano, diving deep into the rabbit hole that is Formula 1, birdwatching with way more enthusiasm than I expected, learning German (mostly via Duolingo), meditating, and reading everything I can. I'm also a mom — my daughter Hollis, my husband Drew, and our dogs Sammy and Ty keep things lively.

This site is a small corner of the internet where I keep my work, my writing, and the occasional overshare. Welcome.

Currently into

  • Classical piano & trumpet
  • Reading
  • Running
  • Rock climbing
  • Formula 1
  • Birdwatching
  • Language learning (German)
  • Meditation
  • Volunteer: Guardian ad Litem
  • Wine — WSET Level 2

Projects

A selection of things I've built — at work, for fun, and for learning.

Cadence

2026

A gamified music theory study app for beginners through AP Music Theory. Learn notation, rhythm, scales, intervals, and chords through bite-sized lessons, instant feedback, and a progression system that keeps you coming back.

React TypeScript Tailwind CSS

Formula One Data Visualization

2026

An interactive data visualization app exploring F1 race and driver statistics. I built this to dig into a dataset I found genuinely interesting and to practice building something visually expressive — charts that reward curiosity rather than just display numbers.

React TypeScript D3.js

Dashboard UI — Design Study

2025

A CodePen dashboard component that's less about functionality and more about aesthetic: how data-heavy UI can still feel calm, considered, and human. This is the kind of design work I enjoy most — opinionated, detail-forward, and with a clear point of view.

HTML CSS JavaScript

More experiments on CodePen →

Writing

Thoughts on code, music, and whatever I'm obsessed with this month.

All posts
Medium

How to Render Music Notation in React Without Breaking on Mobile

I built a music theory app with VexFlow and Capacitor. Here's what only works on desktop by default - and how to fix it.

Read more
Substack

The Mercedes Garage

The first installment of a new series on Chart Position substack: The Garage. It is a series that looks at F1 teams through their birth charts: drivers, team principals, race engineers, and how all of it fits together (or doesn't).

Read more
Medium

Claude Is Making Our Jobs Lonelier. Here's What I'm Doing About It.

On the quiet cost of replacing collaboration with AI, and what I did about it.

Read more

Get in touch

Whether you're curious about my work, want to collaborate, or just want to talk about birds or climbing — I'm easy to reach.

hello@okeefesarah.com