# Engineer > Universal Master Engineering Craftsmanship, UI/UX Architecture, Zero-Trust Security & Search Engine Optimization Standard. Synthesizes deep module architecture, TDD discipline, 6-phase bug diagnosis, frontier grilling, spec slicing, two-axis code review, 17-category vibe-check defensive security audits, multi-platform packaging, upstream open-source RFC & maintainer collaboration protocols, high-performance canvas & viewport rendering, contract-first API governance, zero-downtime database migrations, token & context budgeting, adversarial dual review loops, pre-push CI/CD workflow simulation & GitHub Actions remote verification, technical search architecture (Technical SEO, Schema.org JSON-LD graphs, GEO/AI search citability, pSEO topic clusters, CI/CD SEO drift gates), and deterministic LLM evals & 4-pillar candidate/portfolio assessment rubrics, alongside 74 production design systems across 8 archetypes, OKLCH token engines, Tailwind v3/v4, component blueprints, fluid layout architecture, spring motion phys - Skill: `kk376/engineer` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 43 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add kk376/engineer` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/kk376/engineer/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Marketing & Growth - Author: kk376 (https://skillmd.com/u/kk376) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/kk376/engineer --- # Universal Master Engineering & Design Skill A unified, production-grade standard for software engineering craftsmanship, deep system architecture, defensive zero-trust security, upstream open-source maintainer collaboration, high-performance canvas/document viewing, contract-first API design, zero-downtime database migrations, and UI/UX design excellence. Synthesizes decades of software design principles (Ousterhout, Beck, Evans, Pragmatic Programmer) with **74 real-world production design systems** across 8 archetypes, the **17-category Vibe-Check defensive security standard**, and high-leverage agent operating patterns from **ECC Universal**. --- ## The Master Engineering & Design Lifecycle Every feature, interface, and system follows a disciplined, traceable progression: ``` ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ THE UNIFIED MASTER WORKFLOW PIPELINE │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ 1. Discovery, Council & Alignment ▼ [Concept / Feature] ─────► [grill-with-docs / council] ────► [design-archetype / prototype] │ │ ├────────────────────────────────────┘ 2. Architecture, Contracts & Slicing ▼ [contract-first / tokens] ───────► [to-spec / spec-mine] │ ▼ [to-tickets] (Vertical Tracer Bullets + Blocking DAG) │ 3. Execution, TDD & De-Sloppify ▼ [db-migration] ──────────────────► [implement] ◄───────► [tdd] (Red-Green-Refactor) │ │ │ ▼ │ [de-sloppify] (Purge Test Slop) ▼ │ [diagnosing-bugs] ◄──────────────┘ │ 4. Defensive Security & Auditing ▼ [security-audit / vibe-check] ───► [silent-failure] (17 Guardrails + Zero Swallowed Errors) │ 5. Review, Adversarial Gate & Polish ▼ [code-review] ───────────────────► [santa-review] (Independent Dual-Review Pass) │ ▼ [improve-codebase-architecture] (Deep Modules) │ 6. CI/CD Simulation, Release & Remote ▼ [packaging / release] ──► [ci-simulation] ──► [signed-push] ──► [gh-ci-watch] ──► [Ship / Merge] ``` --- ## Quick Reference & Skill Router Route incoming requests to their targeted operational discipline: | Trigger / User Intent | Target Discipline | Core Command / Flow | Reference File | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | "Design a UI / Build a dashboard / Design system" | UI/UX Archetypes & Tokens | `design-system` / `tokens` | [`15_design_brand_index_and_archetypes.md`](./references/15_design_brand_index_and_archetypes.md) | | "Help me plan a feature / I want to build X" | Discovery & Grilling | `grill-with-docs` / `grilling` | [`02_grilling_and_discovery.md`](./references/02_grilling_and_discovery.md) | | "Ambiguous trade-off / Monorepo vs polyrepo / Decision" | 4-Voice Decision Council | `council` | [`02_grilling_and_discovery.md`](./references/02_grilling_and_discovery.md) | | "I'm not sure which workflow to use" | Workflow Router | `ask-matt` | [`01_lifecycle_and_routing.md`](./references/01_lifecycle_and_routing.md) | | "Let's turn this conversation into a spec" | Formal Specification | `to-spec` | [`05_spec_and_ticket_slicing.md`](./references/05_spec_and_ticket_slicing.md) | | "Mine specs from existing codebase / Brownfield repo" | Brownfield Spec Mining | `spec-mine` | [`05_spec_and_ticket_slicing.md`](./references/05_spec_and_ticket_slicing.md) | | "Break this spec/plan into tickets" | Tracer-Bullet Slicing | `to-tickets` | [`05_spec_and_ticket_slicing.md`](./references/05_spec_and_ticket_slicing.md) | | "API design / OpenAPI / Event schema / Contract first" | Contract-First Governance | `contract-first` | [`32_contract_first_api_and_event_schemas.md`](./references/32_contract_first_api_and_event_schemas.md) | | "Database migration / Table lock / Zero downtime schema" | Zero-Downtime Migrations | `db-migration` | [`33_zero_downtime_database_migrations.md`](./references/33_zero_downtime_database_migrations.md) | | "Implement ticket #N / Build this feature" | Implementation Loop | `implement` + `tdd` | [`06_tdd_and_implementation.md`](./references/06_tdd_and_implementation.md) | | "Remove test slop / Compiler tests / Clean code" | De-Sloppify Pass | `de-sloppify` | [`06_tdd_and_implementation.md`](./references/06_tdd_and_implementation.md) | | "There is a bug / Test failing / Heisenbug" | 6-Phase Bug Diagnosis | `diagnosing-bugs` | [`08_bug_diagnostics_protocol.md`](./references/08_bug_diagnostics_protocol.md) | | "Run security audit / Vibe check / Security check" | 17-Category Security Audit | `security-audit` / `vibe-check` | [`29_security_vibe_check_and_defensive_engineering.md`](./references/29_security_vibe_check_and_defensive_engineering.md) | | "Silent failure / Swallowed error / Fake fallbacks" | Silent Failure Audit | `silent-failure` | [`07_two_axis_code_review.md`](./references/07_two_axis_code_review.md) | | "Review this PR / Review git diff" | Two-Axis Code Review | `code-review` | [`07_two_axis_code_review.md`](./references/07_two_axis_code_review.md) | | "Dual independent review / Santa review / Mission critical" | Adversarial Dual Review | `santa-review` | [`07_two_axis_code_review.md`](./references/07_two_axis_code_review.md) | | "Context window heavy / Token usage / MCP overhead" | Context Budgeting | `context-budget` | [`34_context_budget_and_token_efficiency.md`](./references/34_context_budget_and_token_efficiency.md) | | "Analyze architecture / Clean up ball of mud" | Deep Module Survey | `improve-codebase-architecture` | [`04_deep_module_architecture.md`](./references/04_deep_module_architecture.md) | | "Git merge conflict / Rebase conflict" | Primary Source Resolution | `resolving-merge-conflicts` | [`11_merge_conflicts_and_git_guardrails.md`](./references/11_merge_conflicts_and_git_guardrails.md) | | "Component recipe / Button / Card / Modal" | Component Blueprints | `components` | [`25_design_component_blueprints_and_recipes.md`](./references/25_design_component_blueprints_and_recipes.md) | | "Animation / Spring physics / Microinteraction" | Motion Physics | `motion` | [`26_design_motion_and_microinteractions.md`](./references/26_design_motion_and_microinteractions.md) | | "Terminal UI / CLI formatting / ASCII layout" | TUI & CLI Geometry | `cli-geometry` | [`28_design_terminal_ui_and_cli_geometry.md`](./references/28_design_terminal_ui_and_cli_geometry.md) | | "Upstream RFC / Open source PR / Maintainers" | Upstream RFC & Maintainer Protocol | `upstream-rfc` / `open-source` | [`30_open_source_upstream_and_maintainer_collaboration.md`](./references/30_open_source_upstream_and_maintainer_collaboration.md) | | "Canvas engine / Document viewer / Viewport LRU" | High-Performance Canvas & Viewport | `canvas-viewport` / `document-viewer` | [`31_canvas_document_viewer_and_viewport_rendering.md`](./references/31_canvas_document_viewer_and_viewport_rendering.md) | | "Package release (PPA, Copr, AUR, Brew, WinGet)" | Multi-Platform Packaging | `packaging` / `release` | [`14_packaging_and_distribution_pipelines.md`](./references/14_packaging_and_distribution_pipelines.md) | | "CI/CD check / Pre-push test / GitHub Actions / Remote CI" | CI/CD Simulation & Remote Verification | `ci-check` / `gh-verify` | [`14_packaging_and_distribution_pipelines.md`](./references/14_packaging_and_distribution_pipelines.md) | | "Handoff to next agent / Compact context" | Context Serialization | `handoff` | [`12_productivity_and_communication.md`](./references/12_productivity_and_communication.md) | | "Explain / Re-pitch confusing concept" | Cognitive Reset | `wait-what` | [`12_productivity_and_communication.md`](./references/12_productivity_and_communication.md) | | "Interactive manual steps (OAuth, CI, AWS)" | Bash Wizard Generator | `wizard` | [`13_interactive_wizards_and_scripts.md`](./references/13_interactive_wizards_and_scripts.md) | | "Technical SEO / Schema markup / JSON-LD" | Search Architecture & Schema | `seo-architecture` / `schema-graph` | [`35_search_architecture_seo_and_geo.md`](./references/35_search_architecture_seo_and_geo.md) | | "Optimize for Perplexity / ChatGPT Search / GEO" | Generative Engine Optimization | `geo-optimize` / `ai-search` | [`35_search_architecture_seo_and_geo.md`](./references/35_search_architecture_seo_and_geo.md) | | "SEO drift / Regressions in PR / SEO check" | CI/CD SEO Drift Gate | `seo-drift` | [`35_search_architecture_seo_and_geo.md`](./references/35_search_architecture_seo_and_geo.md) | | "Evaluate resume / Score candidate / Interview rubric" | Technical Talent & Resume Evaluation | `candidate-eval` / `score-resume` | [`36_evals_rubric_engineering_and_candidate_assessment.md`](./references/36_evals_rubric_engineering_and_candidate_assessment.md) | | "LLM Evals / Prompt rubric / Structured extraction" | LLM Eval & Rubric Engineering | `evals-rubric` | [`36_evals_rubric_engineering_and_candidate_assessment.md`](./references/36_evals_rubric_engineering_and_candidate_assessment.md) | | "Verify GitHub profile / Audit portfolio" | External Signal Verification | `github-audit` / `portfolio-audit` | [`36_evals_rubric_engineering_and_candidate_assessment.md`](./references/36_evals_rubric_engineering_and_candidate_assessment.md) | --- ## The 8 Design Archetypes & 74 Production Brands Match the aesthetic and visual soul of your product to battle-tested design systems: | Archetype | Key Vibe & Atmosphere | Representative Brands (74 Total) | Reference File | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **1. AI & DevTools** | High-efficiency dark mode, precision monospace, command palettes, subtle glowing borders | `linear.app`, `raycast`, `cursor`, `claude`, `warp`, `mintlify`, `ollama`, `replicate`, `together.ai`, `x.ai`, `mistral.ai`, `nvidia`, `cohere`, `lovable`, `minimax`, `opencode.ai`, `voltagent` | [`16_design_ai_and_devtools.md`](./references/16_design_ai_and_devtools.md) | | **2. Big Tech & Enterprise** | Structural clarity, clean hierarchy, universal accessibility, rock-solid typography | `apple`, `meta`, `ibm`, `hashicorp`, `hp`, `mastercard`, `uber`, `vodafone` | [`17_design_big_tech_and_enterprise.md`](./references/17_design_big_tech_and_enterprise.md) | | **3. Cloud, Infra & DB** | Dense data tables, metric charts, log consoles, glowing telemetry, dark theme precision | `vercel`, `supabase`, `sentry`, `posthog`, `resend`, `mongodb`, `clickhouse`, `sanity`, `expo`, `webflow`, `composio` | [`18_design_cloud_infra_and_databases.md`](./references/18_design_cloud_infra_and_databases.md) | | **4. Fintech & Commerce** | Trustworthy neutrals, tabular financial data, secure payment flows, crisp micro-borders | `stripe`, `wise`, `revolut`, `shopify`, `coinbase`, `binance`, `kraken` | [`19_design_fintech_and_commerce.md`](./references/19_design_fintech_and_commerce.md) | | **5. Productivity & SaaS** | Warm paper neutrals, modular block cards, drag-and-drop surfaces, delightful ergonomics | `notion`, `figma`, `framer`, `miro`, `slack`, `airtable`, `clay`, `cal`, `intercom`, `superhuman`, `zapier` | [`20_design_productivity_and_saas.md`](./references/20_design_productivity_and_saas.md) | | **6. Media & Creative** | Bold editorial type, high-contrast imagery, dark immersive media canvases, audio waveforms | `theverge`, `wired`, `spotify`, `elevenlabs`, `runwayml`, `pinterest` | [`21_design_media_and_creative.md`](./references/21_design_media_and_creative.md) | | **7. Consumer & Culture** | Human-centric layouts, warm vibrant accents, lifestyle cards, fluid touch-friendly UI | `airbnb`, `nike`, `starbucks` | [`22_design_consumer_and_culture.md`](./references/22_design_consumer_and_culture.md) | | **8. Automotive, Aero & Retro** | Aerospace HUDs, race telemetry dials, carbon minimalism, luxury metallics, 90s/2000s retro | `tesla`, `spacex`, `ferrari`, `lamborghini`, `bugatti`, `bmw`, `bmw-m`, `renault`, `nintendo-2001`, `playstation`, `dell-1996` | [`23_design_automotive_aerospace_and_retro.md`](./references/23_design_automotive_aerospace_and_retro.md) | --- ## Core Pillars of Master Craftsmanship ### 1. Grilling, Alignment & 4-Voice Council (`grill-with-docs`, `council`) - Never start implementing on vague specifications. Conduct numbered interview rounds. - Map the decision tree. Ask the entire **frontier** (decisions whose prerequisites are resolved) in one round. - Always provide your **recommended answers** with clear technical rationale. - When resolving ambiguous architectural trade-offs, convene the **4-Voice Council** (Architect, Skeptic, Pragmatist, Critic) to eliminate conversational anchoring. ### 2. Token-Driven Design & Modern Layout Geometry - **Semantic Tokens**: Perceptually uniform OKLCH scales with functional bindings (`--bg-canvas`, `--bg-surface`, `--text-primary`, `--border-subtle`, `--accent-primary`). - **Auto-Fit Grids (Zero Media Queries)**: `repeat(auto-fit, minmax(min(100%, 300px), 1fr))`. - **Container Queries**: Components adapt to their immediate parent container (`container-type: inline-size`). - **5 Essential UI States**: Every component implements *Idle*, *Loading (Shimmer Skeleton)*, *Populated*, *Empty (with CTA)*, and *Error (with Retry)*. ### 3. Deep Module Architecture & Anti-Speculative Simplicity (`codebase-design`) - **Deep Modules**: Substantial functionality accessible through a small, simple interface at a clean seam. High leverage for callers, strong locality for maintainers. - **Anti-Speculative Simplicity**: Solve today's problem simply, not tomorrow's problem prematurely. Ban single-use abstraction patterns, speculative configurability flags, and over-defensive branches for impossible states. - **The 200-to-50 Rule**: If a proposed module takes 200 lines to express what 50 lines achieves cleanly without loss of correctness, write the 50 lines. - **The Deletion Test**: If deleting a module makes complexity vanish, it was pass-through. If complexity reappears across callers, it was earning its keep. - **The Interface is the Test Surface**: Tests live at public boundaries, never inspecting private internals. ### 4. Vertical Tracer-Bullet Slicing & Brownfield Mining (`to-tickets`, `spec-mine`) - Break specifications into thin, end-to-end vertical slices touching all layers (schema, domain logic, API/CLI, UI, tests). - Every ticket must be independently verifiable and sized to fit a single clean context window (~100k tokens). - Maintain an explicit dependency DAG (`Blocked by: #ticket`). Enforce the **Expand–Contract pattern** for wide refactors. - For brownfield codebases, use the **Sample and Expand** protocol to extract flat Requirement and Invariant assertions anchored by code identifiers. ### 5. Test-Driven Development & De-Sloppify Pass (`tdd`, `de-sloppify`) - **Strict Red-Green-Refactor**: Write a failing test first at a public seam, write minimal code to pass it, then refactor. - **Two-Pass Quality Separation**: Never suppress tests via negative prompts during generation. Allow thoroughness, then run a dedicated **De-Sloppify Pass** to strip compiler assertions, framework checks, and debug debris before review. ### 6. Disciplined Bug Diagnostics (`diagnosing-bugs`) - **Phase 1 (Tight Feedback Loop)**: Refuse to hypothesize until you have **one fast, deterministic, agent-runnable command** that goes red on this exact symptom. - **Phase 2 (Minimization)**: Strip away extraneous code until only the load-bearing reproduction remains. - **Phase 3 (Falsifiable Hypotheses)**: Formulate 3–5 hypotheses: *"If X is the cause, changing Y will make symptom Z disappear."* - **Phase 4 (Targeted Instrumentation)**: Tagged logs with unique markers (`[DEBUG-3a7b]`) at architectural boundaries. - **Phase 5 & 6 (Fix, Regression Test & Clean)**: Write regression tests, fix root cause, and purge debug markers. ### 7. Motion Physics, Accessibility (WCAG AAA) & Core Web Vitals - **Spring Physics**: Fast snappy spring response (`stiffness: 400`, `damping: 30`, `mass: 1`). - **GPU Acceleration**: Animate only `transform` and `opacity`. Wrap in `@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)`. - **Accessibility & Web Vitals**: Contrast $\ge 7:1$, focus-visible rings, LCP $< 1.2\text{s}$, INP $< 100\text{ms}$, CLS $= 0.00$. ### 8. Two-Axis Code Review, Surgical Diffs & Adversarial Dual Review (`code-review`, `santa-review`) - **Two-Axis Review**: Standards Axis (cleanliness, code smells) + Spec Axis (acceptance criteria verification). - **Surgical Diff Traceability**: Every modified line must map 1:1 to an explicit acceptance criterion or bug fix. Zero style drift, zero whitespace churn, zero touching of pre-existing dead code. Clean up only your own orphans. - **Silent Failure Elimination**: Hunt down empty catch blocks, deceptive `.catch(() => [])` fallbacks, unchained causes, and missing transaction rollbacks. - **Adversarial Dual-Review Pass ("Santa Method")**: Two independent parallel reviewers with identical rubrics and zero shared context. Both must pass before high-stakes code ships. - **Mandatory SSH-Signed Commits**: All commits across all repositories must be cryptographically signed using SSH (`git commit -S`, `gpg.format = ssh`, `user.signingkey = ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub`). Unsigned commits or history rewriting are prohibited. ### 9. Defensive Zero-Trust Architecture & Vibe-Check Security Standard (`vibe-check`) - **Fail-Closed by Default**: All access paths, middleware pipelines, and database endpoints must deny access unless explicitly granted. - **The 17 Defensive Invariants**: Zero committed secrets, Row-Level Security (RLS default-deny), early fail-closed auth middleware, IDOR/tenant boundary verification on all CRUD routes, client bundle secret isolation, SSRF pre-flight DNS filtering, SameSite/Anti-CSRF protection, mandatory security headers (CSP/HSTS/X-Frame), explicit CORS allowlists, auth rate limiting, 100% SQL parameterization, DOMPurify XSS defense, Stripe webhook cryptographic signatures & idempotency, magic-byte file upload validation, generic production error contracts, Argon2id/bcrypt password hashing, and supply chain slopsquatting auditing. ### 10. Open Source Upstream Collaboration & Prototype Maturation (`upstream-rfc`) - **Creativity Proves Feasibility, Engineering Ensures Longevity**: Embrace rapid prototypes and creative spikes ("vibe coding") to demonstrate UX value; partner with upstream maintainers to shape the underlying architecture. - **RFC Over Monolithic PR**: Pivot early from exploratory PRs into canonical community discussions and RFCs before creating review debt for maintainers. - **Consolidate, Never Fragment**: Discover and contribute to existing canonical discussion threads; close duplicate threads with polite redirects. - **Maintainer Mentorship & Human Etiquette**: Treat maintainer reviews as invaluable mentorship; write direct, warm updates stripped of robotic filler and compound hyphens. - **Monorepo Build Guardrails**: Run targeted checks (`cargo test -j 2 -p `) and maintain 100% clean git trees. ### 11. High-Performance Canvas, Viewport & Document Architecture (`canvas-viewport`) - **Viewport On Demand Rendering**: Calculate geometric viewport intersections and render only visible pages/nodes with bounded memory LRU caching (`PageLruCache`). - **O(1) Intermediate Mouse Drag Selection**: Store lightweight numeric coordinate ranges during active dragging; defer text string extraction and allocations until mouse-up or copy. - **Instanced GPU Quad Rendering**: Paint selection boxes and overlays directly via instanced GPU draw calls (`paint_quad`), bypassing layout node churn. - **Geometric Proximity Snapping**: Enforce distance thresholds to prevent selection jumping across margins or whitespace. ### 12. Contract-First API & Event Schema Governance (`contract-first`) - **Authoritative Machine-Checkable Artifacts**: Define OpenAPI 3.1, AsyncAPI, or Protocol Buffers *before* code is written. - **Consumer-First Task Modeling**: Design endpoints around what the client renders or executes, rather than exposing storage tables. - **Generated Types & Valid Mocks**: Generate client types and unblock frontend development with contract-valid mocks immediately. - **Breaking Change Detection**: Enforce schema diff verification in CI on every PR. ### 13. Zero-Downtime Database Migrations & Schema Evolution (`db-migration`) - **Expand-Contract Parallel Run**: Add column $\to$ dual-write application code $\to$ batch backfill $\to$ cutover reads $\to$ drop column. - **Non-Blocking Operations**: Always create indexes `CONCURRENTLY` in Postgres; add foreign keys as `NOT VALID` with subsequent concurrent validation. - **Chunked DML**: Batch backfills using `LIMIT batch_size FOR UPDATE SKIP LOCKED` to prevent lock pile-ups. - **Forward-Only Migrations**: Rollbacks in production are always forward migrations. ### 14. Context Window Budgeting & Operational Efficiency (`context-budget`) - **Tool Overhead Audit**: Recognize that MCP tool schemas consume ~500 tokens each upfront. Favor shell CLI tools (`git`, `gh`, `cargo`, `npm`) over redundant MCP wrappers. - **Tiered Response Depth**: Calibrate output depth (Essential 25%, Moderate 50%, Detailed 75%, Exhaustive 100%) to user intent. - **Working Memory Hygiene**: Target precise line ranges, grep before reading, and serialize state before context compaction. ### 15. Zero-Red-Pipeline CI/CD Simulation & Remote Verification (`ci-check`, `gh-verify`) - **Pre-Push Workflow Mirroring**: Never push code or open pull requests without simulating the entire remote CI pipeline locally. Read `.github/workflows/*.yml` (and Makefiles/scripts) to identify all matrix runner environments, targets, and checks: - **Cross-Platform Matrix Checks**: For compiled codebases (Rust, Go, C/C++), cross-compile locally against all matrix targets (e.g. `cargo check --target x86_64-pc-windows-gnu --all-targets` and `cargo check --target x86_64-apple-darwin --all-targets`) to prevent platform-specific standard library or FFI mismatches. - **Script & Automation Linting**: Run `shellcheck` across all shell scripts, installer scripts, and test suites with zero warnings. - **Strict Linting & Formatting**: Enforce zero warnings with `-D warnings` or strict linter error flags (`cargo clippy`, `cargo fmt --check`, `eslint`, `prettier --check`). - **Full Test Execution**: Execute all unit, integration, and CLI test suites locally before committing. - **Post-Push Remote Verification Invariant**: Never report a task complete, close an issue, or declare success after `git push` without verifying remote CI pipeline status. Use `gh run list --repo /` and `gh run watch ` to confirm that all triggered GitHub Actions workflow runs have completed with `✓ completed success`. - **P0 Remote Failure Triage Protocol**: A failing CI job on GitHub is treated as an active build break. Immediately inspect logs using `gh run view --log --job=`, reproduce the exact step locally, implement the root-cause fix, verify locally across the full matrix, and push an SSH-signed commit. ### 16. Search Architecture, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) & SEO Drift Gates (`seo-architecture`, `geo-optimize`, `seo-drift`) - **Dual Discovery Spectrum**: Build for traditional search engines (status code contracts, deterministic canonical URLs, dynamic XML sitemaps) and AI answer engines (Perplexity, ChatGPT Search, Claude, Google AI Overviews). - **JSON-LD Semantic Graphs**: Connect application entities (`Organization`, `SoftwareApplication`, `TechArticle`, `BreadcrumbList`, `FAQPage`) within a unified `@graph` schema. - **Passage-Level Citability (GEO)**: Inverted-pyramid passage structures, self-contained atomic definitions in the first 40–60 words, tabular data presentation, and explicit AI bot policies (`GPTBot`, `ClaudeBot`, `PerplexityBot`). - **Pre-Push SEO Drift Invariant**: Enforce automated CI/CD testing against the 17 SEO Drift Rules to prevent accidental drops of canonical tags, OpenGraph metadata, schema syntax, or heading hierarchies. ### 17. LLM Evals, Rubric Engineering & 4-Pillar Candidate/Portfolio Assessment (`evals-rubric`, `candidate-eval`, `portfolio-audit`) - **The 4-Pillar Candidate Evaluation Model**: Objective 100-point rubric assessing Open Source & Upstream Impact (0–35), Self Projects & Systems Complexity (0–30), Production Engineering (0–20), and Technical Skills (0–15). - **Unbiased Rubric Engineering**: Strictly decouple evaluations from candidate demographics, university brand prestige, and GPA; require extracted code evidence for all score awards and itemized deduction citations. - **External Signal Ground-Truth Verification**: Cross-verify self-reported claims against the GitHub API (stargazer tiers, commit velocity, external PR contributions vs self-forks) to eliminate inflated claims and cloned tutorial spam. - **Adversarial Document Sanitization**: Defend evaluation pipelines against prompt injection attacks (invisible white text, zero-font coordinates, delimiter smuggling) in user-submitted PDF/markdown documents. --- ## Detailed Reference Catalog Explore the full 36 operational references in the [`references/`](./references/) directory: ### Engineering, Security & Workflow Protocols - [`01_lifecycle_and_routing.md`](./references/01_lifecycle_and_routing.md) - Master lifecycle, triage router, and setup. - [`02_grilling_and_discovery.md`](./references/02_grilling_and_discovery.md) - Grilling methodologies, frontier discovery, 4-Voice Decision Council, and prototyping spikes. - [`03_domain_modeling_and_adrs.md`](./references/03_domain_modeling_and_adrs.md) - Domain glossaries, `CONTEXT.md`, and 3-gate ADR rules. - [`04_deep_module_architecture.md`](./references/04_deep_module_architecture.md) - Deep vs shallow modules, seams, and adapters. - [`05_spec_and_ticket_slicing.md`](./references/05_spec_and_ticket_slicing.md) - Formal specs, tracer-bullet tickets, DAG dependencies, expand-contract, and brownfield spec mining. - [`06_tdd_and_implementation.md`](./references/06_tdd_and_implementation.md) - Red-green-refactor, seam testing, implementation loop, and the De-Sloppify cleanup pass. - [`07_two_axis_code_review.md`](./references/07_two_axis_code_review.md) - Standards & Spec code review rubrics, 17-category security gate, Fowler smells catalog, silent failure audit, and adversarial dual review ("Santa Method"). - [`08_bug_diagnostics_protocol.md`](./references/08_bug_diagnostics_protocol.md) - 6-Phase systematic bug diagnosis and Heisenbug resolution. - [`09_architecture_survey_and_refactoring.md`](./references/09_architecture_survey_and_refactoring.md) - Architecture hotspot scanning and deletion tests. - [`10_wayfinder_and_triage.md`](./references/10_wayfinder_and_triage.md) - Wayfinding through foggy initiatives and issue triage state machines. - [`11_merge_conflicts_and_git_guardrails.md`](./references/11_merge_conflicts_and_git_guardrails.md) - Hunk-by-hunk conflict resolution and git safety guardrails. - [`12_productivity_and_communication.md`](./references/12_productivity_and_communication.md) - Handoffs, questionnaires, wait-what, teaching, and humanizer writing. - [`13_interactive_wizards_and_scripts.md`](./references/13_interactive_wizards_and_scripts.md) - Interactive bash wizards, secret entry, toolchain automation. - [`14_packaging_and_distribution_pipelines.md`](./references/14_packaging_and_distribution_pipelines.md) - Multi-distro release pipelines (PPA, Copr, AUR, Homebrew, WinGet), pre-push CI/CD simulation, and GitHub Actions remote verification. - [`29_security_vibe_check_and_defensive_engineering.md`](./references/29_security_vibe_check_and_defensive_engineering.md) - Defensive zero-trust engineering, 17 vibe-check security invariants, automated audit loop, and manual penetration verification. - [`30_open_source_upstream_and_maintainer_collaboration.md`](./references/30_open_source_upstream_and_maintainer_collaboration.md) - Open source upstream RFCs, maintainer collaboration, prototype maturation, thread consolidation, and monorepo guardrails. - [`31_canvas_document_viewer_and_viewport_rendering.md`](./references/31_canvas_document_viewer_and_viewport_rendering.md) - High-performance canvas and document viewer architecture, viewport on demand rendering, bounded LRUs, zero-allocation drag selection, and instanced quad painting. - [`32_contract_first_api_and_event_schemas.md`](./references/32_contract_first_api_and_event_schemas.md) - Contract-first API & event schema governance, consumer-first task modeling, OpenAPI/Protobuf typegen, and breaking change detection. - [`33_zero_downtime_database_migrations.md`](./references/33_zero_downtime_database_migrations.md) - Zero-downtime database migrations, Postgres non-blocking DDL, concurrent indexing, expand-contract schema evolution, and chunked DML backfills. - [`34_context_budget_and_token_efficiency.md`](./references/34_context_budget_and_token_efficiency.md) - Context window budgeting, MCP tool schema costs, CLI-first execution, tiered response depth, and memory compaction. - [`35_search_architecture_seo_and_geo.md`](./references/35_search_architecture_seo_and_geo.md) - Search architecture, Technical SEO, Schema.org JSON-LD semantic graphs, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) for AI search, programmatic topic clusters, and CI/CD SEO drift gates. - [`36_evals_rubric_engineering_and_candidate_assessment.md`](./references/36_evals_rubric_engineering_and_candidate_assessment.md) - Deterministic LLM evaluation pipelines (Evals), unbiased rubric engineering, 4-pillar candidate/portfolio scoring, GitHub API external signal harvesting, and adversarial document prompt injection defense. ### Design Systems, UI/UX & Frontend Architecture - [`15_design_brand_index_and_archetypes.md`](./references/15_design_brand_index_and_archetypes.md) - Comprehensive index and matrix of all 74 design systems across 8 archetypes. - [`16_design_ai_and_devtools.md`](./references/16_design_ai_and_devtools.md) - AI & DevTools design systems (Linear, Raycast, Cursor, Claude, Warp, etc.). - [`17_design_big_tech_and_enterprise.md`](./references/17_design_big_tech_and_enterprise.md) - Big Tech & Enterprise systems (Apple, Meta, IBM, HashiCorp, etc.). - [`18_design_cloud_infra_and_databases.md`](./references/18_design_cloud_infra_and_databases.md) - Cloud & DB design systems (Vercel, Supabase, Sentry, PostHog, etc.). - [`19_design_fintech_and_commerce.md`](./references/19_design_fintech_and_commerce.md) - Fintech & Commerce design systems (Stripe, Wise, Revolut, Shopify, etc.). - [`20_design_productivity_and_saas.md`](./references/20_design_productivity_and_saas.md) - Productivity & SaaS systems (Notion, Figma, Framer, Slack, etc.). - [`21_design_media_and_creative.md`](./references/21_design_media_and_creative.md) - Media & Creative systems (The Verge, Spotify, Wired, ElevenLabs, etc.). - [`22_design_consumer_and_culture.md`](./references/22_design_consumer_and_culture.md) - Consumer systems (Airbnb, Nike, Starbucks). - [`23_design_automotive_aerospace_and_retro.md`](./references/23_design_automotive_aerospace_and_retro.md) - Automotive & Retro systems (Tesla, SpaceX, Ferrari, Nintendo, PlayStation, Dell-96). - [`24_design_universal_token_and_tailwind_engine.md`](./references/24_design_universal_token_and_tailwind_engine.md) - OKLCH formulas, CSS Variables, and Tailwind v3/v4 configurations. - [`25_design_component_blueprints_and_recipes.md`](./references/25_design_component_blueprints_and_recipes.md) - Production-ready component recipes (Buttons, Inputs, Cards, Modals, Navbars). - [`26_design_motion_and_microinteractions.md`](./references/26_design_motion_and_microinteractions.md) - Spring physics, easing curves, and Framer Motion code. - [`27_design_accessibility_and_performance.md`](./references/27_design_accessibility_and_performance.md) - WCAG AAA rules, contrast verification, and performance checklist. - [`28_design_terminal_ui_and_cli_geometry.md`](./references/28_design_terminal_ui_and_cli_geometry.md) - Terminal UI, ANSI visible width calculations, 2-column layout engines, and zero-fork kernel probers. --- ## Acknowledgements & Upstream Attribution The `engineer` standard synthesizes foundational protocols, design systems, and security guardrails from the open-source community: - **[VoltAgent/awesome-design-md](https://github.com/VoltAgent/awesome-design-md)** (MIT License) — Design system archetypes, brand tokens, and OKLCH palette formulas. - **[mattpocock/skills](https://github.com/mattpocock/skills)** (MIT License) — Engineering lifecycle workflows, deep module discipline, frontier grilling, and two-axis code review. - **[benavlabs/vibe-check](https://github.com/benavlabs/vibe-check)** (MIT License) — 17-category zero-trust defensive security invariants and automated audit loops. - **[affaan-m/ECC](https://github.com/affaan-m/ECC)** (MIT License) — Silent failure hunting, adversarial dual review ("Santa Method"), contract-first workflows, and context budgeting heuristics. - **[forrestchang/andrej-karpathy-skills](https://github.com/forrestchang/andrej-karpathy-skills)** (MIT License) — Surgical diff invariants, anti-speculative simplicity heuristics, line traceability discipline, and proactive confusion management. - **[AgriciDaniel/claude-seo](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-seo)** (MIT License) — Technical SEO architecture, Schema.org semantic graphs, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and CI/CD SEO drift monitoring. - **[interviewstreet/hiring-agent](https://github.com/interviewstreet/hiring-agent)** (MIT License) — 4-pillar candidate scoring rubrics, unbiased LLM evaluation pipelines, GitHub external signal harvesting, and adversarial document sanitization.