I'm a web development & DevOps expert
I have a passion for building advanced technology that creates immense value in peoples' lives. By blending my technical skills with empathy, I'm well suited for complicated projects targeting a diverse set of personas with their own unique requirements. I also have a knack for breaking down complex topics into something more easily digestible for junior developers and non-technical employees.
Work
Here's a selection of cool things I've worked on.
Rye Head of Engineering
Rye is an a16z-backed devtools startup that's building a universal API for eCommerce.
Rye head-hunted me (through this site!) at the beginning of 2024 as a Staff Engineer. A few months later we had scaled the team, and I was promoted to Head of Engineering to drive execution and lead the engineering team.
Rye makes eCommerce APIs to sell anything on the internet, sync product data and programmatically place orders. An integration with Rye enables businesses to instantly sell a billion different product SKUs.
Crimson Education Engineering Manager (AI)
Crimson Education is a global EdTech company that helps students get into the world’s best universities.
At the beginning of 2023 I moved out of Crimson Global Academy to build and manage new AI team inside the parent organization. My team was responsible for a number of high impact features which cut cost and improved quality throughout Crimson's entire consulting business. I worked closely with our CPO to define the team's roadmap and priorities.
Our releases form the backbone of Crimson's AI strategy, and are a key part of the upcoming Flamingo App SaaS offering's value proposition.
After leaving I continued to work in a fractional capacity, to provide ongoing advice and guidance to the team.
Deltaschool AI Faculty
Deltaschool offers an "AI Fellowship" program for audacious high school students. The AI Fellowship teaches a range of machine learning topics over an intensive 4-week program.
I'm AI Faculty at Deltaschool, and gave advice on the program's structure during its formative months. Since Deltaschool got off the ground, I've continued to participate by teaching workshops such as "Advanced Generative AI: Intro to GANs."
Papyrus Founder
Papyrus transforms stale math lessons into rich, digital experiences. EdTech has failed to fully realize the concept of the 'digital classroom', and Papyrus aims to change that by providing powerful technology that comfortably fits around teachers' existing pedagogical methods.
I started Papyrus as a side project during COVID lockdown, in order to investigate ways to make mathematics more engaging. Math is an incredibly useful subject, and mastery of it can have substantial impacts on a person's long-term success. Unfortunately, however, most students dislike the subject—despite educators' best efforts.
Despite US$227B* of EdTech spend, current approaches to digital learning have failed to generate any significant boost to learner achievement. Papyrus seeks to change that by turning dreary math lessons into vibrant, explorative playgrounds which entice students into a growth mindset.
Kwotimation™ Director of Engineering
The average tiler spends 10 hours a week quoting jobs and only manages to convert 33% of them. Kwotimation offers an automated quoting solution for them, saving them time, effort, and money while also bringing them online — unleashing new channels for growing their business.
I helped Kwotimation escape development hell. Kwotimation had previously worked with two other development teams that had failed to deliver a working product for them.
Over the next couple of months, I scoped out the work required to build the MVP of their product and then executed on an aggressive development roadmap. We rebuilt the SaaS application's front-end and built out substantial amounts of new functionality.
Hire me if you need...
💪An organized, efficient developer who won't waste your time
I don't need constant hand-holding to be productive. We'll get together, discuss your requirements, scope them out properly, and then start knocking out items on a roadmap we've agreed to. I'm a big believer in regular progress reports and open communication, but I also know when to make decisions independently and when it is appropriate to ask for further clarification or assistance.
🚀To ship a polished product your users will love
There's a lot going on in modern software products. Users aren't satisified with minimum viable products anymore—they demand products which are slick, lovable, and complete. Getting to that point is a lot of work and requires expertise. I can build you a polished product people will pay money for right from day 1.
💎Added value beyond just code
Software is only one aspect of your success. You also need to understand your target audience, build a great team, crunch your analytics, and distribute your product to end users. I can help fill in the gaps your business might have.
😬To reduce risk
There are a lot of developers who over-promise and under-deliver, or who enthusiastically take on projects which they aren't a good match for. I've worked with a wide variety of different technologies and have a track record of success.
I'm more than happy for you to bring in another third-party to sanity check the work I'm doing, and I prefer signing simple, flexible contracts which you can terminate at any point.
My core principles
💼Practical, business-aligned engineering
Developers can often end up stressing over small technical details and miss the big picture. My primary mission is to help you build a successful business, and I accomplish that through a razor-sharp focus on what matters to your stakeholders.
💎Bring additional value when appropriate
I've worn a lot of hats during my life, and can assist with hiring, user research, competitor analysis, UI/UX design, product analytics, and more. My current day job has me in regular contact with angels, VCs, and development agencies, so I've developed a skillset for communicating with these audiences. I'll do whatever I can to bring additional value to my clients, unless I'm told to do otherwise.
🎤Open, honest, understandable communication
A developer who produces a product 100% to spec is a waste of your money. I'm here to play devil's advocate in order to test your assumptions, and speak up when things seem like they might be wrong. It's so important to catch issues early in the development cycle when they can be easily changed, as opposed to later on down the track.
🏎️Move quickly, and wear a seat belt
Customer expectations and the market are constantly changing—to be successful, you need to be agile and responsive. At the same time, cutting important corners and accumulating unnecessary tech debt can doom you long-term. I always balance short-term milestones against the long-term roadmap in order to make scalable decisions which still get you to market quickly.
🦻Empathy and zero ego
Steve Jobs was on to something when he spoke about flat organizational structures. Nobody has all of the answers all of the time, and sometimes the person in the room with the 'lowest' job title has something utterly brilliant and insightful to say. I also extend this mindset to customers—it's important to hear them out, and meet them where they are.