VP of Engineering · Giphy
Josh
Kopman
Engineering leader. Builder of teams and software. Brooklyn-based, Giphy-stationed.
VP of Engineering · Giphy
Engineering leader. Builder of teams and software. Brooklyn-based, Giphy-stationed.
About
I spent my first eight years in tech heads-down as an individual contributor, writing .NET, JavaScript, and REST APIs at Everyday Health, XO Group, and Huge. That was nearly a decade ago.
Since then, I've led engineering teams at Shutterstock and now serve as VP of Engineering at Giphy, where I oversee the website, apps, search, APIs, partnerships, and infrastructure across an org of up to 50 people. My approach: high standards, honest feedback, leading with empathy, and only as much process as needed.
I studied Computer Science and Psychology at George Washington University and stuck around for my Master's in CS, which probably explains why I care as much about the people on my team as the systems they're building.
I live in Brooklyn with my wife. Outside of work I'm an amateur genealogist, an even more amateur Rocket League player, and a collector of records and vintage baseball cards. I have strong opinions about oysters and whiskey, though not usually together.
And yes, I have my own gifs.
Experience
Projects
I haven't written production code since 2017, but I've kept my skills fresh with personal projects, most recently with AI.
Codex
Grouping and sorting data insights and photo mosaic of my family tree.
JavaScript · API
Sort PSA (a baseball card grading service website) collection tables by Collectible, Grade/Cert, or Price. Works with infinite scroll and no flicker.
Starlark · Tidbyt SDK
Got a Tidbyt as a Christmas present. Based on my previous project, Pandemic Pictures, it randomly cycles through every Academy Award Best Picture nominee and shows the title, IMDB rating, year, and movie poster.
Node · JavaScript · Handlebars · Docker · AWS
A movie tracker built during the pandemic to document a personal mission: watch every Best Picture nominee ever made. While I handled the backend, my wife PMed, designed, and coded the frontend—because why just make a spreadsheet when you can build an app?
JavaScript · API
A fun Chrome extension to randomize TV episodes of any show. Also released one for Prime Video. Got a combined 38 users and 3 ratings.
Node · WebSockets · JavaScript · API · Docker
An app that dynamically creates chat rooms based on your GPS location in the browser. When the room hits capacity, it splits and gets more granular.
JavaScript · API
A tool to scan your LinkedIn inbox and quickly decline any messages from recruiters.
Node · MongoDB · JavaScript · Docker · API
Phillips Hue iOS app was too clunky, so I built a single screen dashboard to control the lights and colors of the bulbs in my apartment based on room.
C# · .NET · MVC · SQL Server · JavaScript · API
A .NET app that aggregates movie ratings across IMDB, Netflix, and Rotten Tomatoes at a time where that didn't exist! My friend built the corresponding mobile app.
Email
