Josh Tynjala is a frontend software developer, an open source contributor, and a karaoke enthusiast. By day, Josh works on the frontend side of app development — using languages like Haxe and TypeScript. At night, he can be found singing his heart out at the nearest karaoke bar. Josh lives in Seattle with his beautiful wife Kristen, a dog named Ollie, and a cat named Osiris.
Josh works with clients of all sizes to build modern web applications using leading industry technologies. To hire Josh, visit his company website: bowlerhat.dev.
In 2012, Josh created Feathers UI, a cross-platform graphical user interface component framework for creative frontend projects. Feathers UI is especially well-suited for games, interactive data visualizations, and other rich, multimedia experiences. Originally, this open source framework was powered by Starling and Adobe AIR, and its development was sponsored by Adobe Systems for a number of years (both Starling and Feathers were included in the now-discontinued Adobe Gaming SDK). In 2019, Josh launched a successful Kickstarter to transition Feathers UI to the Haxe programming language and OpenFL. This new foundation allows Feathers UI to target a wider range of platforms and devices — including the addition of web browsers and game consoles. Feathers UI has been used in games published by Ubisoft and 2K Games and in mobile apps for cosmetics brand Estee Lauder and Swiss luxury watch designer Jaeger-LeCoultre.
For over a decade, Josh has worked independently on Logic.ly, a simulator for digital logic circuits that is used in classrooms around the world. In 2018, he launched a brand new version of Logic.ly, which he rebuilt from scratch using React, Redux, and TypeScript.
Here’s what one student had to say about the software:
Learning about logic gates in my computer organization class, and Logic.ly has been neat. Love software like this: focused & well-made.
—Ryan Gonzalez, Student
As a committer and member of the project management committee for Apache Royale, Josh contributed a number of enhancements to Royale’s ActionScript compiler — including the ability to target Node.js, support for JSX and React, and the generation of “source maps” to allow developers to debug ActionScript code using web browser developer tools and IDEs. Josh also integrated the Royale compiler into the ActionScript & MXML language extension for Visual Studio Code to support ActionScript projects with full code intelligence. Additionally, he created an implementation of Visual Studio Code’s “debug adapter protocol” to allow debugging apps running on Adobe AIR and Flash Player.
In the past, Josh has spoken at several developer conferences and meetups — including ApacheCon, Adobe MAX, the Haxe US Summit, 360 Flex, and the Silicon Valley Flex User Group. Presentation topics included user interface component architecture, open source best practices, and sessions about building projects with Josh’s own open source libraries.
Josh has shared his experiences as a mobile app developer with the San Francisco Chronicle in a news article about Apple’s App Store policies.
Believe it or not, Josh once appeared on stage in his university’s production of As You Like It, one of Shakespeare’s famous plays. During the same year, he participated in a live broadcast (and a simultaneous live stage performance) of the classic radio drama, War of the Worlds. He’s also listed on IMDB for a role in a short film.