About
I build the systems founders bet the company on
11+ years in production software - from legacy rescues to greenfield AI platforms. Based in Pakistan, working with teams across the US, UK, EU and Gulf.
I started where most good engineers start: inside somebody else's legacy codebase, at 2am, trying to work out why the invoices were wrong. That's the fastest education available in why architecture matters - and why the elegant diagram loses to the data model every time.
Since then I've led platform architecture for enterprise product groups, rebuilt ingest pipelines that were quietly costing customers their SLAs, and founded and shipped my own SaaS and AI products. I've been on both sides of the table: the engineer being asked for an estimate, and the founder living with it.
That's why I work the way I do. Before code, there's a written architecture. Before launch, there are numbers. And before anything gets built, we have an honest conversation about what you are choosing not to build.
Most of my engagements turn into long-term partnerships - not because of a contract, but because two years in I still know the system better than anyone else does.
Principles
Six rules I don't negotiate on
Boring technology, interesting products
The novelty budget goes into the product, not the infrastructure. Proven tools free you to take risks where they actually pay off.
Write the decision down
Every significant choice gets a one-page record: the context, the options, the trade-off. A year later, nobody has to guess.
Ship vertical slices
One thin path all the way through the system beats four half-built layers. It also gives you something to demo every week.
Measure before you optimise
Performance work without a profiler is superstition. I bring numbers before and after, every time.
Say no early
The most valuable thing I do on most projects is talk teams out of building something. Scope discipline is a service.
Own the outcome
I don't hand over a repository and disappear. I care whether it stays up, stays fast, and stays affordable.
Career
Eleven years, in order
2021 - Present
Founder & Principal Engineer
Independent practice · Softedin
Architecture partner for startups and enterprise teams. Building and operating SaaS and AI products end to end.
2018 - 2021
Lead Software Architect
Enterprise product group
Owned platform architecture across multiple products. Led a team of nine, introduced event-driven reporting and cut infra spend by a third.
2015 - 2018
Senior Full-Stack Engineer
Product & agency work
Delivered high-traffic Laravel and Vue applications, payment integrations, and the first large-scale queue systems I shipped.
2013 - 2015
Software Engineer
Early career
Learned the craft on legacy systems - the fastest possible education in why architecture matters.
Taking on 2 new partnerships for Q4
Want the long version over a call?
Thirty minutes, no pitch deck. Bring the problem - you'll leave with an honest read on scope, risk and the fastest credible path to launch.