Backend architecture, and the hands to build it
I work with engineering teams on backend systems that have to stay correct under load, audit, and growth - modernizing what exists, reviewing what is about to be committed to, and writing the code either way.
Legacy modernization
Aging systems taken forward without a rewrite gamble: strangler migrations, framework and runtime upgrades, data model repair, and a path your team can keep shipping on.
Architecture and code review
A senior second opinion on the design, the codebase, and the scaling plan - with the trade-offs, the risks, and what I would do first, written down.
Contract development
Senior capacity for an existing team. I take real tickets, review pull requests, and ship in your process rather than alongside it.
AI integration
LLM features built into systems that already exist: retrieval over your own data, evaluation before rollout, cost and latency budgets, and a fallback for the day the model is wrong.
How the work is bought
Three arrangements. Which one fits usually becomes obvious on the intro call. Rates on request.
Day rate
Booked by the day for focused work: an assessment, a migration spike, a design that has to be settled this week. Invoiced monthly for days used.
Best for: a bounded problem with an unclear shape.
Monthly retainer
A fixed number of days per month, reserved in advance. Ongoing architecture ownership, review, and escalation for a team that does not need a full-time architect.
Best for: continuity - design review, on-call judgment, and a second pair of eyes over months.
Fixed-scope project
A defined deliverable, a fixed price, and a written scope with acceptance criteria. Scoped from a paid assessment first, never from a guess.
Best for: work both sides can describe precisely up front.
A typical engagement
Intro call
You walk me through the system, the constraints, and what success looks like. 30 minutes, no charge.
Assessment and plan
I map the design, the risks, and a concrete delivery plan with sequencing and estimates. You own the document and can act on it with or without me.
Delivery
Hands-on build or ongoing review, shipped in small verifiable steps, with your team in the loop and code review throughout.
One architect, accountable
I work as an independent consultant. When a project needs more hands, I bring in specialists I have worked with before and stay accountable for delivery.
You deal with me for the whole engagement. The design decisions, the code review, and the status you get on a Friday all come from the person who did the work.
Half your working day
Based in Belgrade (CET). Overlapping 9am - 3pm ET.
That covers stand-ups, design sessions, and incident calls for East Coast teams, and the first half of the day for the West Coast. Written updates land before your morning either way.
Who I am not a good fit for
Cheaper to read this now than to find out on the third call.
- × Greenfield mobile apps, game development, and pure data science. Not my work.
- × Staff augmentation billed through a vendor management system with no direct line to the engineering team. I need contact with the people who own the code.
- × Fixed-price bids on a specification I have not assessed. I will quote after an assessment, not before one.
- × "Rewrite it from scratch" as the starting position. If a rewrite is genuinely right I will say so, but it is a conclusion, not a premise.
- × Engagements under a week. There is not enough time to understand the system, and advice without understanding is worth nothing.