I scale codebases, teams, and engineering orgs with clean code, clarity, and 18 years of Rails experience.
Principal Engineer, Senior EM, or CTO’s right hand — I lead where impact matters more than process, and where AI amplifies good judgment, not noise.
What sets my work apart is a balance of architectural thinking, hands-on delivery, and human awareness. I care about outcomes, but never at the expense of people. My leadership style combines high expectations with real support — I listen closely, give clear feedback, and help engineers grow in ways that align with who they are and what the product needs.
Over the years, I’ve built and scaled backend systems, led distributed teams, and modernized legacy-heavy applications without slowing the pace. From performance bottlenecks to product architecture, I enjoy navigating complexity and bringing focus, quality, and momentum to engineering efforts. Whether building a monolith that stays lean or untangling years of shortcuts, I work deliberately and with long-term clarity in mind.
Autonomy, ownership, and product-context drive how I operate. I do best in environments where engineers are trusted to think, not just execute — where direction is clear but not prescriptive, and where decisions are made close to the problem. I don’t believe in bloated processes or performative work. I believe in building systems and cultures that work for humans.
Engineering is a craft, not a checklist. I ask questions. I challenge vague thinking. I push for naming things well, testing the things that matter, and removing the things that don’t. I’ll protect a team when needed and challenge it when it drifts. That mix of empathy and edge is where I thrive — and where I try to help others do the same.
AI is part of my toolkit, not my identity. I use it to reduce noise, boost clarity, and sharpen decisions. Done right, it gives small teams leverage — not distractions.
If you’re looking for someone who combines technical depth with clear thinking, empathy, and bias for action — let’s talk.
Specialties
Engineering leadership, system architecture, Ruby on Rails, PostgreSQL, REST and GraphQL APIs, performance optimization, team scaling, product-minded engineering, test automation with RSpec and TDD, distributed teams, Shape Up, CI/CD, mentoring, hiring, and remote collaboration.
