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
Using AI for coding, and setting up codebase-aware workflows like custom Claude skills and automated code reviews.
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. Built with an AI-augmented workflow using Cursor AI and Claude Code, including custom Claude skills for automated browser testing.
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.
Blog
Latest thoughts and articles
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Radical Speed Month
Last week, the company I work for rolled out an initiative called Radical Speed Month. The idea is that every…
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WordPress Block Theme Browser Testing Skill for Claude Code
I share a browser testing skill for Claude Code that is useful when making changes to a WordPress block theme…