HELLO, I’M
Donna Peplinskie
Engineer + Product Thinker
About Me
I’m Donna, a Special Projects Engineer at Automattic. I build WordPress sites for Automattic and other interesting people, projects, and organizations.
Before that, I led an engineering team working on Sensei LMS, a learning management system plugin for WordPress, where I learned that building the right thing matters more than building more things. I talk to users and analyze product data to figure out what that right thing is, and then I use AI to build it.
How I Work
How I approach building products
Engineering
Building WordPress block themes, custom plugins, and Gutenberg blocks with PHP, JavaScript, and React.
Product Thinking
Talking to users, analyzing product data, and figuring out what to build before writing a single line of code.
AI-Augmented Workflow
Shipping faster by using AI to think through problems, implement designs, and write code.
Experience
A summary of my professional experience
2025 — PRESENT
Special Projects Engineer · Automattic
Building WordPress sites for Automattic and external partners.
2021 — 2024
Engineering Team Lead · Automattic
Led a team of engineers across Sensei LMS development and WordPress.com migrations.
2017 — 2021
Software Engineer · Automattic
Built and shaped Sensei LMS, Automattic’s Learning Management System plugin.
Featured Work
Recent work highlights
Automattic.com
Lead Developer
Migrated the company’s flagship site from a legacy classic theme to a modern block theme. Converted 30+ templates while maintaining zero downtime.
Impact: Enabled marketing and recruiting teams to ship landing pages independently.
Automattic.design
Lead Developer
Built a new block theme for the Design team, translating Figma designs into a fully functional site. Shipped on deadline for the OFFF design conference.
Impact: Now the primary hub for design recruiting and community engagement.
Sensei LMS
Developer & Team Lead
Drove development and product direction for Automattic’s Learning Management System plugin. Grew from individual contributor to Engineering Team Lead.
Impact: Powers online courses on thousands of WordPress sites.