Backend & systems engineer · Go · Rust · TypeScript

Systems that move money, data and power.

I design and build the backends behind trading platforms, payment flows and energy products, and I lead the team that ships them, from design to production.

See how I build →Start a project

TFLead engineer · TradeFIQNWBackend engineer · Nanowattz

POST /v1/transfers● 201 committed

auth.verify

rate.limit

idempotency.check

ledger.post dr+cr

outbox.write

transfer.settle

webhook.send

One request, traced end to end.idempotent · double-entry · retried safely

7 yrsbuilding and leading tech teams

3countries I've shipped backends for

9libraries and tools I build and maintain

10crypto exchanges behind one Go API

How I work

I'd rather solve your problem than sell you a project.

The first job is understanding what you need. Sometimes that's a new system. Often it's a fix to what you already have, or a small tool that stops a subscription eating your margin.

Understand first

Before I quote, I learn the business, the numbers and what's actually hurting. The brief you send is where we start, not where we finish.

Fix before rebuilding

If what you have can be repaired, I repair it. I only suggest a rebuild when it costs you less over time than keeping the old system alive.

Cut what costs too much

When a third-party service costs more every month than it's worth, I replace it with a lean tool that runs on your own infrastructure, like loggo for logs and alerts, or Juggernaut for cheaper hosting.

Clear ownership. What I build for you is yours. Tools I bring along, like loggo and Juggernaut, stay mine and are licensed to you; if you need to own one outright, we agree that in writing before work starts.

Selected work

Products where getting it wrong costs real money.

Trading, payments, rentals and energy. Each one needed a backend that stays correct when networks fail, users retry and servers restart.

TradeFIQ

Lead engineer · 2025 – now

Algorithmic trading and automation platform

People build trading strategies without code, test them on real market history and run them on their own exchange accounts. The platform never holds their trading money.

GoRustTypeScriptFlutterWeb · Android · iOS

Read the case study →

ThePlugLuxx

South Africa

Luxury rental marketplace

Built and deployed the backend for the mobile app: bookings with no double-booking, payments by region, host wallets and payouts.

Case study →

Shibase

Netherlands

Production-readiness audit

A full review of a freelance marketplace before launch. Found security vulnerabilities, database access problems and deployment gaps, set out the fixes, and signed it off for production.

Case study →

Nanowattz

Backend engineer · 2026 – now

Energy management for homes, estates and utilities

I build backend services for Nanowattz's energy platform, working directly with the CTO and reviewing the frontend team's code.

nanowattz.com ↗

your product

Q1 2027

I take on one or two projects at a time.

If your backend is about to carry real money or real load, that is the right moment to talk.

Start a conversation →

Earlier · Crystal Switch, 2019 – 2025

Juggernaut

Used by clients

Heavy work that never slows a request

My backend framework, in Rust and in TypeScript. CPU-heavy jobs are declared like routes and always run on their own threads, so requests stay fast and clients run on smaller, cheaper servers.

RustTypeScriptWorker threads

Client portal

Crystal Switch

Clients, payments, notices and complaints in one place

The portal the institute used to manage its clients, take payments, send out information and receive complaints.

PythonReact

Bazaarstore

2022

Inventory system for an online store

Stock, products and orders for a retail client, built in Next.js.

Next.jsTypeScript

Experience

Seven years of shipping, leading the people who ship with me.

2026 – now
Nanowattz TechnologiesBackend engineer
Backend services for an energy management platform serving homes, estates and utilities. I work directly with the CTO and review the frontend team's code.
2026
Client work: ThePlugLuxx · ShibaseBackend lead · Auditor
Built and deployed the backend for a South African luxury rental marketplace. Audited a Dutch freelance marketplace before launch: security vulnerabilities, database access and deployment.
2025 – now
TradeFIQLead engineer
Started as AlgoEdger. An algorithmic trading platform on web, Android and iOS that trades on users' own exchange accounts.
2019 – 2025
Crystal SwitchHead of Science & Technology
Led the institute's technology team. Built its client portal, Juggernaut for a client that needed heavy work and fast requests on cheap servers, an inventory system for an online store, and loggo for logs and alerts without a monthly bill.

Libraries

I build the tools, not just the product.

When the popular package wasn't good enough for production, or cost too much to keep paying for, I wrote my own and kept maintaining it. They live under imoaro.

sigil/index.htmlOpen source · 1.5.4

sigil

HTML, upgraded, not replaced. A reactive runtime driven by HTML attributes, with no virtual DOM and no build step required.

<div x-cloak x-app="counter">
  <h1 x-text="count"></h1>
  <button x-on:click="increment()">+</button>
</div>

<script type="module">
  import { createStore, createApp } from "sigil/core";

  const store = createStore("counter", { count: 0 });
  createApp(store, {
    increment: ({ store }) => store.upd("count", (n) => n + 1),
  });
</script>

Small first load; everything else lazy-loads

Zero dependencies

Its own expression compiler, never eval

Router, forms, live feeds and security modules

Services

Bring me in before it breaks, or when it already has.

Start here · fixed scope

Production-readiness audit

Before you launch, raise or scale, I go through your backend, data, infrastructure and deployment and tell you in writing what fails first, what to fix this week and what can wait.

Book an audit →

Code, database and API review
Security, secrets and access
Failure cases: retries, restarts, double charges
Infrastructure, deploys and monitoring
A written report and a walkthrough call

Backend engineering

APIs, services, jobs and integrations in Go, Rust, TypeScript or Python, built so your team can run them after I leave.

Architecture

Service boundaries, data model and a step-by-step plan from what you have to what you need.

Payments & ledgers

Wallets, holds, payouts and reconciliation. Money that still adds up after retries and outages.

Trading systems

Exchange integrations, order execution, backtesting on real data, and risk rules that always run.

Replace costly tools

Lean tools on your own infrastructure in place of subscriptions that grow with your usage: logging, alerts, queues, scaling.

Fix what you have

Slow endpoints, failing jobs, rising cloud bills. Often the answer is a repair, not a rewrite.

01Intro call30 minutes, free. Is this a fit?

02DiscoveryA fixed fee. You get a written plan and a quote.

03BuildWeekly demos, code in your repo from day one.

04HandoverDocs, tests and a team that can run it.

GoRustTypeScriptPythonJavaDart / FlutterNode · BunHonoFastifyNestJSExpressNext.jsPostgreSQLMongoDBRedisSQLiteDockerKubernetes

The team

One accountable lead, with a full team behind me.

I work with a small, long-standing team. You deal with me from first call to handover; the work gets the right specialist. That means I can take on a whole product (design, web, mobile and backend), not only the parts I write myself.

Backend engineeringAPIs, data, infrastructure
Frontend engineeringWeb and mobile apps
Product designFlows, screens, prototypes
Brand & graphicsIdentity, marketing assets
CopywritingProduct, site and launch copy

Contact

Tell me what you're building.

A few lines on the product, where it is now and what worries you about it. The form comes straight to me, and I reply within two working days.

GitHub GitLab LinkedIn X