Dive Club 🤿 Tommy Smith - How side projects can land you a dream job
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Feb 16, 2026 Tommy Smith, a design engineer and product designer known for Chrono, walks through making a side project the centerpiece of a portfolio. He discusses mastering micro-interactions, using Rive for motion experiments, claiming the design engineer title, and building Figma-to-code pipelines. Short videos, custom icons, and a minimalist, interaction-first portfolio shape his growth and career direction.
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Showcase Side Projects Upfront
- Put side projects front and center if they showcase what you want to be hired for.
- Don't bury proud work; side projects reveal capabilities that contracted work often can't.
Building Chrono To Learn Complex Front Ends
- Chrono began as frustration with calendar apps and became a hands-on learning project.
- Building it taught Tommy front-end nuances like drag-to-create and time handling.
One Polished Interaction Scales Widely
- Nail one interaction and you can reuse its easing and timing across many screens.
- That foundational work lowers marginal cost for future interactions.