Senior product engineer + AI
Senior product engineering,
start to finish.
I help established businesses turn messy workflows, aging tools, and half-working systems into software their teams can actually use. You work directly with the person shaping and building the system — from the first conversation through launch.
The person who learns the business is the person making product and engineering decisions.
You get the senior product engineer from day one. That doesn’t change.
I’m Diana Lopez. I started Pixelswithin in 2015, and I’ve been writing production software since 2009 — first building ecommerce systems for an industrial manufacturers group, then taking on client work across legal, nonprofit, education, and healthcare. Over time that work shifted toward what it is now: software modernization, custom platforms, and operations engineering for established businesses that need systems their teams can actually depend on.
My role is part product judgment, part engineering execution: define what the software needs to become, design how it should work, and build it carefully enough that the business can rely on it.
Along the way I’ve worked inside teams at Gusto, built a consumer product from scratch that reached Barnes & Noble and 100K users, and taken on contract engineering work that required shipping fast in high-stakes environments. That range matters because established businesses need someone who understands both the operational side and the product engineering side — not just one or the other.
What that means for you: I own the whole engagement. Discovery, product definition, architecture, build, training, handoff — all of it. I’ll talk to your team, map the real operational problem, and build something that fits how your business actually works. You get the senior engineer from day one. That doesn’t change.
How I work
Every engagement starts with understanding how the business actually runs — the official workflow, the workarounds, the parts only one person knows. That map comes before product decisions, screen design, or code.
The person who hears the brief is the person who writes the code. No account managers, no junior developers on your project. What gets communicated to me is what gets built.
Design decisions are conversations. Development decisions are expensive. I front-load the hard thinking — scope, product shape, architecture, interfaces — so there are no surprises mid-build.
A system that works on day one and breaks six months later isn’t finished work. I stay available as the business grows into the software and the team learns to rely on it.
Why direct access matters
The person who understands
your business builds the system.
When clients ask whether Pixelswithin is a team or a solo practice, the honest answer is: intentionally solo. I’ve worked inside agencies. I know what gets lost in the handoff from senior to junior, from strategy to execution, from the person who heard the brief to the person who ships the code.
When you work with me, the person who understands your business is the same person shaping and building the system. That’s not a limitation — it’s the entire point.
How I run a project“Diana was our sole point of contact, which was fine because she was always very responsive. I was blown away by how quickly and efficiently she could make changes.”
John G. McCabe · Senior Consultant, Decision Analysis Inc.Proof
Clients notice the difference when the work stays close to the problem.
“Diana fixed issues within 24 hours. She was also willing to guide me through pricing, paywalls, and optimization. I can’t think of any areas for improvement.”
Adriani Coleman · Lead Digital Learning Specialist“Diana would ask the right questions, which helped us reevaluate some of our ideas. We got the impression that she loved what she did — it’s not just code for her.”
Krishna Somandepalli · PhD Researcher, USCClient and collaborator experience includes
Start a conversation
Drop me a line.
If the tools aren’t keeping up with the business, let’s talk. A real conversation about what you’re trying to fix.