# Al Abbas Product Engineer - Full-stack Product Systems, Mobile & Applied AI Auckland, New Zealand Site: https://www.alabbas.dev | GitHub: https://github.com/al-abbas-nz | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/al-abbas-14401b1b8/ ## Profile I build product software by understanding the workflow first, then using code and AI to make the better version real. Recent work spans demo-generation systems, React Native iOS/Android credential tutorials, documentation chat, trust tooling, and agentic commerce. The useful pattern is consistent: spot the gap, understand the real workflow, prototype the thing, align the right people, then carry it through implementation, security review, testing, release, and presentation. ## Focus ### Product engineering - TypeScript, React, React Native, Node.js, API/SDK integration, and deployment. - Web and mobile product surfaces across internal tools, product prototypes, demo platforms, dashboards, and developer-facing experiences. - Comfortable moving from discovery to implementation, testing, release work, and stakeholder presentation. ### Agentic AI - Agentic workflows, LLM tool orchestration, RAG, and production-facing assistants. - Practical guardrails: source handling, rate limiting, feedback loops, security review, and clear boundaries around what the model should do. - Grounded AI work in existing product workflows rather than isolated experiments. ### Digital identity - Mobile driver license (mDL), mobile documents (mDocs), ISO 18013-5, OpenID4VP, verifiable credentials, verifier flows, and trust-list tooling. - React Native holder and verifier sample apps, iOS/Android mobile credential tutorials, relying party demos, and standards-facing inspection tools. - Strong interest in making cryptographic and protocol-heavy systems understandable without flattening the technical detail. ### Technical communication - Developer education, tutorials, public notes, internal briefings, webinars, and customer-facing technical presentations. - Ability to turn research into a working artifact and explain the tradeoffs to engineers, product people, senior stakeholders, and external audiences. ## Selected work ### Fern - AI demo generation platform Designed and built Fern, an agentic AI platform that lets non-engineers generate SDK-backed credential verification demos from natural language briefs. Demo work that used to require hand-coding and deployment by a product engineer can now be created in a few prompts, usually within minutes depending on complexity. ### Trust tooling Developed ISO 18013-5 tooling across the Verified Issuer Certificate Authority List (VICAL) Viewer, PEM utilities, and IACA validation. The tools were used by MATTR engineering and QA, and by external ecosystem participants including the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) stakeholders, Austroads, New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), Digital Identity Services Trust Framework contributors, jurisdictions, and digital identity specialists. ### MATTR Learn mobile tutorials and documentation chat Built React Native iOS/Android holder and verifier tutorials and sample apps for mobile credential workflows. Also productionised the documentation site chat: an AWS RAG implementation using S3-backed content ingestion, vector knowledge bases, source-aware answers, feedback routing, and operational guardrails. ### Agentic commerce webinar Delivered an executive-facing webinar on agentic commerce, explaining how businesses can prepare for agent traffic, credential-backed delegation, and agent-friendly digital experiences. Built and presented a working grocery-shopping demo using Android Digital Credentials API, OpenID4VP transaction_data signing, mobile documents (mDocs), and AP2-style mandate concepts. Recording available on request. ### Agentic commerce research Identified the EMVCo digital payment credential format early while exploring AP2 and raised it internally at MATTR. That discovery became part of a larger strategic direction around agentic commerce, trust, and delegation. ## Experience ### Product Engineer - MATTR 2024 - present Digital identity, mobile credential apps, trust infrastructure, developer experience, and applied agentic AI. - Designed and built Fern, an agentic AI product that turned hand-coded Web Verifier SDK demo work into a self-service generation flow for commercial and product teams. - Developed standards-facing trust tooling across the VICAL Viewer, PEM utilities, and IACA validation, used by MATTR engineering and QA as well as external ISO 18013-5 implementers and ecosystem participants. - Wrote MATTR Learn tutorials and React Native iOS/Android sample applications for mobile credential holder and verifier use cases. - Productionised the MATTR Learn documentation chat, an AWS RAG implementation with S3-backed content ingestion, vector knowledge bases, source-aware responses, feedback routing, and operational guardrails. - Created chat-based agentic exploration surfaces for demo generation, verifier workflows, UCP demos, and custom agent work. - Worked across product discovery, platform APIs, stakeholder alignment, SDLC, implementation, security review, testing, and presentation on initiatives that started as ambiguous opportunities. - Delivered an agentic commerce webinar for CEOs and senior leaders across identity, travel/tourism, and grocery, explaining how businesses can prepare for bot and agent traffic, agent-friendly sites, UCP, AP2, mandates, and credential-backed delegation. - Presented a working agentic grocery-shopping demo using legitimate protocol machinery: Android Digital Credentials API, OpenID4VP transaction_data signing, mDocs, intent mandates, payment mandates, and cryptographic verification. - Identified the EMVCo digital payment credential format early while exploring AP2, raised it internally, and helped turn the finding into a strategic conversation around MATTR and agentic commerce. - Prepared and delivered agentic AI presentations for internal, executive, partner, and customer-facing audiences, translating emerging standards into practical product direction. - Managed verifier and point-of-sale demo work for strategic customer contexts, including white-label and custom builds. Stack: TypeScript, React, React Native, iOS, Android, Node.js, Next.js, TanStack Start, AWS, Vercel AI SDK, MATTR APIs, mDL/mDocs, OpenID4VP ### Full-stack Engineer - Catalyst IT 2021 - 2024 Client delivery, front-end leaning product engineering, platform work, and mentoring. - Delivered full-stack product work across React, TypeScript, Node.js, Python, PHP, and Drupal. - Worked across client platforms, integrations, maintainability, code review, and delivery support. - Built a strong base in pragmatic consulting: understanding the system, shipping the work, and leaving it in better shape. Stack: TypeScript, React, Node.js, Python, PHP, Drupal ### Web Developer - Rhythmethod 2020 - 2021 E-commerce and artist-facing web experiences. - Built and tailored Shopify and headless React experiences. - Worked close to the front end of commerce: product pages, content, integrations, and the details that affect how people actually use a site. Stack: React, Shopify, JavaScript, front-end development ## Background Independent practice at alabbas.dev: selected work, notes, technical writing, and public CV. Current technical interests: agentic AI for real product workflows, digital identity, mobile credential UX, agentic commerce, developer education, and tools that make complex systems easier to inspect. Outside software: music, dance, calisthenics, cooking, and baking bread.