CX Platform Developer

Kate
Ives

I build the platforms and integrations that make support operations actually work.

3
Years Zendesk platform specialization
7+
Custom Zendesk apps built
4
System integrations shipped
3
Environments managed with Salto
01

About

I build the platforms and AI tooling that make support operations actually work — custom Zendesk apps, system integrations, and increasingly, AI-powered workflows designed around what support agents actually need.

I start with the business problem. Whether that means connecting Zendesk to Slack so field teams can create tickets without a login, wiring up Power Automate to generate SharePoint folders on demand, or replacing a workflow that was drowning agents in repetitive notes — the solution fits the problem, not the other way around.

That same thinking shapes how I'm bringing AI into support ops. I'm building Vaultdesk — a self-hosted MCP server that gives AI assistants like Claude direct access to Zendesk data and workflows — and at work, contributing to AI-powered ticket analysis tooling that surfaces response recommendations to agents per ticket.

Also expanding into Jira Forge and studying prompt engineering, RAG, and LLM workflows through Anthropic Academy.

Location
Baton Rouge, LA · NYC roots
Specialization
Zendesk Platform Development
System Integrations
AI-powered Support Tooling
Industry
B2B SaaS · Customer Support Operations
Currently building
Vaultdesk (MCP server) · Jira Forge
02

Selected work

MCP · Zendesk REST API · AWS · OAuth · Terraform

Vaultdesk | A BYOC MCP server for Zendesk

A Bring Your Own Cloud MCP server for Zendesk — connecting AI assistants like Claude directly to your Zendesk instance through the Model Context Protocol. Built to give support teams a secure, self-hosted path to AI-powered ticket management, Vaultdesk puts your data in your own infrastructure while enabling natural language access to tickets, users, and workflows. Currently in beta.

Model Context Protocol Zendesk REST API AWS Terraform OAuth
Claude API · Netlify Functions · Prompt Engineering

AI-Powered Portfolio Assistant

Built a Claude-powered chat widget that lets visitors ask about my experience and projects. Includes a secure Netlify Function proxy, IP-based rate limiting, conversational contact collection, and Netlify Forms integration for spam-resistant lead capture.

Claude API Prompt Engineering Netlify Functions JavaScript REST API Rate Limiting
Zendesk · REST API

AI Ticket Analysis App

Building a custom sidebar app in Zendesk that surfaces AI-generated ticket analysis from a backend system, delivering custom response recommendations to agents per ticket.

Zendesk Apps Framework JavaScript
Zendesk · REST API · Webhooks

Support Portal Diagnostic Log Integration

Building a support portal integration that eliminates a manual, multi-step log generation process for agents — customers self-select endpoints and log URLs are automatically posted to the ticket, removing agent wait time and manual follow-up.

Zendesk React REST API
Zendesk · Power Automate · SharePoint

B2B Agent Operations App

A multi-feature sidebar app for a 25-person support team. Surfaces ticket age in real time, generates SharePoint folders via Power Automate at a click, and provides a structured action log — replacing a pattern of repetitive templated internal notes that cluttered the ticket UI.

Zendesk Apps Framework JavaScript Power Automate SharePoint API
Slack · Zendesk API · AWS

Slack Ticket Creator

A production Slack app enabling Account Managers and field CSEs to create and escalate Zendesk tickets from Slack. Built the AWS Lambda function and Zendesk API integration, collaborated with the SRE team on infrastructure deployment via API Gateway and Terraform, and managed secrets through AWS Secrets Manager. Closed a real gap in how field teams handed off customer issues.

Slack Bolt AWS Lambda API Gateway AWS Secrets Manager Zendesk REST API Node.js
Jira Forge · Zendesk API · React

Jira → Zendesk Community Bridge

A proof of concept built with Jira Forge that automatically publishes Jira Product Discovery ideas as community posts in Zendesk — bridging the gap between where product teams collect feedback and where the customer community actually lives.

Jira Forge Zendesk Community API React
Salto · Zendesk Admin

Zendesk Instance Migration

Led the migration of a B2C Zendesk instance during a company restructure — moving the entire help center and configuration from sandbox to a new standalone production environment using Salto. Now manages 3 environments for ongoing B2B configuration deployments.

Salto Zendesk Admin Configuration Management
Vue.js · React · Zendesk

Copenhagen Theme Architecture

Built a B2B support portal Copenhagen theme from scratch and maintained a B2C theme across two instances. Designed a multi-template article system for a large-scale knowledge base. Currently migrating the theming layer from Vue.js to React as Zendesk evolves its platform.

Vue.js React Curlybars CSS
Zendesk · REST API

Escalation & Account Sync Apps

Two apps for a B2C support operation: an escalation request tool that streamlined how agents reached L2 and L3, and a customer account sync app that found records in an external system and mapped them to Zendesk users — eliminating manual lookup.

Zendesk Apps Framework REST API JavaScript
03

Experience

April 2023 — Present
Confidential
Remote · HQ California
Web Developer (Support Operations)
  • Contributing to internal MCP server tooling development, building tools that expose Zendesk data to AI assistants
  • Building a Zendesk sidebar app that surfaces AI-generated ticket analysis from a backend system, delivering custom response recommendations to agents per ticket
  • Built a multi-feature internal app for ~25 agents — reduced SharePoint folder creation from a multi-step, multi-platform process to a single click; replaced repetitive uneditable internal note templates with structured, editable action logs that reduced ticket clutter
  • Building a support portal integration that eliminates a manual, multi-step log generation process for agents — customers self-select endpoints and log URLs are automatically posted to the ticket, removing agent wait time and manual follow-up
  • Integrated Ada AI chatbot into the B2B support portal, passing user session metadata to the bot to enable contextual, personalized interactions
  • Designed and configured ticket forms, fields, triggers, and workflow automations
  • Manage 3 Zendesk environments (sandbox, staging, production) using Salto
Content and Media Developer (Support Operations)
  • As sole developer across a multi-brand Zendesk instance supporting ~20,000 tickets/month, managed competing development priorities across B2B and B2C units — including high-stakes theme updates timed around major product releases
  • Built a production Slack app enabling Account Managers and CSEs to create and escalate Zendesk tickets without platform access — iterated from ticket creation to adding escalation of existing tickets based on team needs; deployed on AWS Lambda with API Gateway, secrets managed via AWS Secrets Manager
  • Led migration of B2C Zendesk instance (~1,000 articles) to a new standalone environment during company restructure — coordinated planned downtime and built a custom script to generate internal Zendesk redirects for all article and section URLs
  • Built a customer account sync app used by ~50 agents, automatically syncing internal CRM data to Zendesk tickets and eliminating manual lookup in a separate system
2020-2023
Kate Ives Web Design
Baton Rouge, LA
Freelance Web Developer
  • Built and maintained websites for small businesses and nonprofits; transitioned from no-code to custom development, leading to full-time role in 2023.
04

Skills

Platforms
  • Zendesk (Admin + Development)
  • Jira / Jira Forge
  • Salto
  • Slack
  • Netlify Functions
  • AWS (Lambda · API Gateway · ECS · Secrets Manager)
  • Power Automate
  • SharePoint
Development
  • JavaScript
  • React
  • Vue.js
  • HTML / CSS
  • REST APIs
  • Zendesk Apps Framework
Tools & practices
  • GitHub / Git
  • GitHub Copilot
  • Claude
  • Model Context Protocol (MCP)
  • Configuration management
  • Multi-environment deployments
  • Cross-platform integration
05

Get in touch

Zendesk platform development, support operations tooling, and system integration work.