What I bring to your build.

Working with you

Decisions you can understand and act on.

Language

Native English speaker

Based

Toronto, Canada (British Canadian)

Overlap

North American and European working hours

I'm a British Canadian based in Toronto. My working hours overlap with North America and the European afternoon, which makes it practical to work with founders on either side of the Atlantic.

I'll check that I've understood your brief, explain the reasons behind a technical choice, and flag decisions that need your input. Updates cover what's working, what's next and anything that could affect the plan.

Systems architecture

A system that fits the business you are building.

Experience

25+ years

Example

Naberly, full-stack architecture

I designed the full-stack architecture for Naberly, the real estate platform later acquired by Fathom Holdings' subsidiary intelliAgent. Architecture is where we work out how the pieces of your product fit together, and which decisions will be costly to change later.

For your project, that means working through the main workflows, data and integrations, then choosing a structure that fits the first release and leaves room for what comes next.

Rust

When processing speed and resource use matter.

Experience

8+ years

Open source

Vector core contributor, 4+ years

Work

Data pipelines, low-level code and APIs

I've worked with Rust for over eight years, including more than four as a Vector core contributor. That experience is useful when your product needs to process a lot of data or keep resource use under control. My work includes both low-level systems and application APIs.

C#

My usual starting point for business applications.

Chosen for

Type safety, excellent database access, dependency injection

Ecosystem

Commercially supported tooling

I use C# and .NET for business applications, including Howdy. They let me build the rules, database access and APIs behind a product in a stack I know well.

I value the type checking, database tools and established tooling. Those help me spend more of the build on what is specific to your business.

TypeScript & React

The screens your customers spend time in.

React

Since its first release

Framework

TanStack, SSR-first

Client

Fast client-side apps and navigation where needed

I've used React since its first release and write my front ends in TypeScript, usually with TanStack. I generally render the first page on the server, then handle interactions in the browser where that makes sense. The aim is a product that loads promptly and feels responsive as people use it.

I also created ReactQL, an open-source React and GraphQL starter kit, now archived. It brought server rendering, data access and application setup together for developers.

PostgreSQL

Keeping your data in a manageable place.

Role

Main database

Also

Job queues, document-style data

PostgreSQL is usually my main database. I also use it for background job queues and document-style data where it fits. Keeping those jobs in one system can mean fewer services for you to pay for and your team to maintain.

Kubernetes & OpenTofu

Hosting your team can understand and reproduce.

Clouds

Linode, Amazon AWS, Google Cloud

Chosen by

Requirements and what fits the business

I use Kubernetes to run applications and OpenTofu to describe the infrastructure in code, so the setup is recorded and repeatable. I've worked with Linode, AWS and Google Cloud. We choose the hosting around your requirements, running costs and the work involved in maintaining it.

Python & Go

Experience beyond my usual stack.

Experience

5+ years each

Used for

Projects that need either ecosystem

I have over five years of experience in each, including Go work at Timber. They give us more options when your project needs a library, integration or service from either ecosystem.