Fractional Technical Advisor · Backend and Integration Consultant
I help founders and engineering teams build software they can rely on: independent reviews of existing platforms, and hands-on work on the APIs and integrations that hold systems together.
More than three decades of experience building, integrating, and improving software systems. I work in English and Spanish.
An independent look at a platform before you launch it, raise on it, or take it over from an agency: architecture, code, data model, hosting, and delivery plans. You get a written assessment of the risks that matter and what to do about them, in priority order.
I use AI tools such as Claude Code to work through a large codebase quickly, so more of the time goes to judgment: what the system really does, and what it will take to run it.
Use existing APIs and event-driven services, or build new ones, to make disparate systems work as one.
A set number of hours each month for architecture decisions, code reviews, hiring support, and a second opinion before the expensive choices.
A startup asked me to evaluate the platform it was about to pilot, as its technical co-founder. Working through the whole codebase with AI tools, I found the system didn't do what the founders believed it did. I laid out the gaps against their pilot timeline and proposed simpler alternatives they could actually ship.
The company had a grant-management platform built by an outside agency and needed to know whether it could own and run it. I assessed the application architecture and the PostgreSQL/Supabase data model, then delivered a CI/CD and AWS deployment plan, a path off Supabase, and documentation that let the team extend approval workflows without breaking existing ones.
Lead developer of an event-driven service that sent millions of notifications a day, following each order from the warehouse to the customer's door. It turned package lifecycle events from Kafka into email and SMS through SendGrid and Twilio, with templating, throttling, retries, and back-pressure. Before that, built one shipping API over five carriers (USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL, Canada Post).
The association needed an on-court proficiency test for candidates applying for its teaching certification, and asked for two native apps, one for iOS and one for Android. I showed that a single progressive web app could do the job: it keeps working on courts without a connection, then syncs with the association's iMIS membership system through its API, pulling data in and pushing results back. One app instead of two kept the project within its $30K budget.
Built a PunchOut integration (Open Catalog Interface) that let SAP Ariba procurement systems connect to the company's WordPress/WooCommerce catalog and create orders.
Designed and built the system the company used to run company-wide technical conferences, from call for papers through review, agenda, and room logistics. In its first year it saved the company about $250,000 by reducing the time and resources spent on paper selection.
Built the system that controlled engineers' access to the reactor at a nuclear power plant. It pulled each engineer's profile, including radiation exposure and training, from the plant's mainframe.
I've written software professionally since 1993, as an employee and as a consultant, in energy trading (Chevron, Shell Trading, Halliburton), finance (Bank of America Merrill Lynch, LPL Financial, Dimensional Fund Advisors), logistics (Newgistics), education (Eduphoria, Macmillan Learning), and enterprise software (NetIQ, Lifesize).
I still write code every week. That's what keeps a review grounded in what a team can actually ship.
Tell me a little about your system and what you need: a review, a build, or ongoing help.
contact@miguelmartinez.com