Senior engineering, from first call
to final handoff.
Discovery, architecture, build, and handoff all run through the same senior engineer. You work directly with the person doing the work, so the plan you approve is the system you receive. All work is remote-friendly.
From first call to working software.
Discovery
I start with your situation: the system, the constraints, what's blocking you, and what a good outcome looks like. Thirty minutes, no commitment. You leave with a clear read on the problem, whether or not we go further together.
Scoping and architecture
Straightforward projects move to a written proposal with scope, timeline, and cost. When the shape needs more thought, a one-week paid discovery and scoping produces the architecture and the statement of work. Either path puts a clear plan in your hands before the build begins.
Build
I architect and implement. The same person who designed the solution writes the code, which keeps the intent intact from plan to production. You see progress as it lands, not all at once at the end.
Handoff
Build projects end with working software, documentation, and a walkthrough your team can act on. The custom work is contractually assigned to you at handoff, and it is built for your team to run, maintain, and extend. Advisory projects end with written findings and decision records.
Two starting points, one path.
Most projects begin one of two ways. Either you have proven the need by hand and want the real system built, or the software already running your business has aged past what it can carry. Both are builds, and both run through the same discovery, architecture, and handoff.
Starting from scratch
- You validated the idea with a spreadsheet, a manual process, or a quick prototype
- A founder has a clear product and needs someone to build it
- An MVP found its customer and needs a real foundation under it
Replacing what aged out
- On-prem infrastructure that needs to move to Azure
- A monolith that blocks your team from shipping independently
- A platform that can't carry the next product built on top of it
For the shapes a build takes (internal apps, process automation, dashboards, and tooling for AI), see What I Build.
Delivery, compressed.
AI accelerates my engineering work. The judgment, the review, and the accountability stay fully mine. Code is understood, tested, and reviewed by a senior engineer before it ships. What changes is the pace.
Proof, not pitch
Before founding Pelican, an extraction that would have taken six weeks took eight days: 14 production endpoints, full test coverage, validated API contracts. Documented results, not a marketing claim.
What this means for your project
- Faster iteration without trading away quality
- More test coverage in less time
- Compressed timelines that translate directly to cost
- A case study with attributed numbers, not marketing promises
Two ways to work together.
A build can run as a fixed-scope project or as an ongoing partnership, shaped to what your team actually needs.
Fixed-Scope Project
A project comes with a fixed scope, a defined timeline, and a clear deliverable. The right shape when you know what needs to be built and want a senior practitioner accountable for the design and the delivery. Build projects end with working software, documentation, and a handoff your team can run with.
When the work is well-defined, a project starts from a written proposal. When the shape needs more thought, a one-week paid discovery and scoping produces the architecture and the statement of work before the build begins.
Good fit when
- A defined initiative needs to ship on a timeline
- An MVP, modernization, or migration has a clear endpoint
- You want a senior practitioner accountable for the outcome
- The scope is ready, or one paid week of discovery and scoping can land it
Ongoing Partnership
A standing technical partnership for teams that want senior architecture and principal-engineer judgment on a regular cadence. Architecture review, code review, roadmap advising, and a set number of implementation hours each month, all from the same senior practitioner. The right shape when a finished project needs ongoing stewardship, or when a team ships continuously and wants senior judgment built into the rhythm.
Good fit when
- A completed project needs ongoing stewardship
- Your team ships continuously and wants senior architecture review built in
- You want architecture guidance available before committing to a direction
- You need a fractional architect on call without a full-time hire
Not sure where to start?
That's what discovery is for.
Thirty minutes. I'll listen to your situation, ask the right questions, and tell you honestly whether I'm the right fit, and what a scoped project would actually look like.