About
Engineering leader and builder
I like building things that actually work
Hi, I'm Justin.
I am an Engineering Manager and Senior Backend Engineer who still genuinely enjoys writing code. I have been working in consulting for more than ten years, which basically means I have seen a lot of architectures, a lot of opinions, and a lot of creative ways to break production.
Most of my work revolves around backend systems, distributed architectures, and event driven platforms. Think Java, Kafka, domain modeling, validation rules that grow out of control, and the kind of systems that cannot go down because real money is involved.
I like turning messy complexity into something structured and understandable. Not perfect. Just clean enough that the next engineer does not panic.
I still build things with my hands
Outside of enterprise systems, I run what is essentially a permanent technical playground.
I operate my own infrastructure stack. Kubernetes at home. Self hosted GitLab. Monitoring. Logs. Backups that I test. Yes, I actually restore them sometimes just to be sure.
I build custom mechanical keyboards. I design small electronics. I 3D print parts that solve problems nobody asked me to solve. I automate things in my house that were perfectly fine before I touched them.
I like understanding systems all the way down. From distributed services to solder joints.
How I think about engineering
I care about clarity.
- I prefer simple solutions over impressive ones.
- Observability should be part of the design.
- Ownership matters, if we build it we understand it, if we run it we monitor it.
Architecture should make sense. Code should tell a story. Infrastructure should not feel mysterious.
And if something breaks at 2am, it should at least break in a predictable way.
Leadership for me
As an Engineering Manager, I focus on helping engineers grow without losing their technical edge.
I still enjoy deep technical discussions. I still review code. I still care about design decisions. My goal is to create teams where strong technical thinking is normal and where people feel safe to challenge ideas.
Even mine.
Why this site exists
This site is my lab notebook.
It is where I document systems I build, lessons I learn, and experiments I run. Some are production grade platforms. Some are hobby projects. All of them taught me something.
If you like scalable systems, clean architecture, self hosted infrastructure, or building things just because you can, you will probably feel at home here.
Welcome.