Hi, I’m Alex.
I’m your freelance software engineer coder-for-hire, and I’m here to help you build your next big thing, your killer app, your zero to one. I’ve been at this for a long time, twelve years to be exact, and I am ready to meet you where you are and take you where you want to go. Early stage startup or established tech giant, I will work with you and your team to efficiently deliver high-quality results.
I’ve been working with Swift since it was released, and creating interfaces using SwiftUI for nearly two years now. They are essentially my “daily drivers”. Objective-C and UIKit have taken a bit of a backseat for me, but I’ve got loads of experience using both and am quite comfortable with them. Recently, I’ve also worked on and shipped an Android app built with Jetpack Compose. I also have extensive experience with Node.js backends that serve millions of users a month, and know how to deploy and scale these stacks on AWS.
What am I looking for?
I am currently looking for a challenging new project that has real impact. I’m seeking a team that has a great vision with their product, one that I can be a part of and be proud of. Ideally, you’re looking to make something new on iOS using SwiftUI, but I’m flexible on that. I’m also keen to mix it up and work on your APIs or anything infrastructure related. And, if you need a mobile team lead, I’m right there. Currently, I’m based in Berlin. I like visiting an office from time to time, depending on the location, however remote work is a must for me.
Project Work
Founder, Truffle
June 2020 - Present
I created Truffle to solve a problem that I saw often while working at Scout: people ask the same questions over and over in Slack. Truffle uses past Slack conversations and OpenAI’s GPT-4 to build a knowledge base from Slack and answer questions people ask. I’ve gotten great feedback on this project, and I have learned a lot about Elasticsearch, Serverless, and AWS, not to mention tons about marketing, audience-building, and creating customer relationships.
More about building Truffle
Encamera
Released 2022
Privacy-forward, encrypted camera app built entirely in SwiftUI, using Combine and Async/Await. Utilizes StoreKit2 to enable in-app purchases. Core functionality open sourced on Github.
Features:
- Keep private photos safe with industry-strength encryption
- Use Face ID or Touch ID to unlock encryption keys stored in keychain
- Store encrypted media locally on your device, or on iCloud
- Back up keychain items to iCloud, or store in local keychain
- Increase security with multiple encryption keys per photo album
Work History
Mobile Engineer, Freelance
Wayfair USA. Sept 2021 - Dec 2022
This project entailed building the mobile components to Wayfair’s physical store experience that launched in May of 2022. We built several features, including a in-app scanner to allow users to look up items shown on ESLs (electronic shelf labels), the ability to pay in the store using their online balance, and an in-store mode for enhanced the customer’s visit to the store.
Additionally, I was part of a team that built an Android app for the employees on the sales floor to set up and edit ESLs. Written in Jetpack Compose, this app was deployed to the Zebra scanner devices used in the retail locations.
Lead iOS Engineer
Scout24 Group. Berlin, Germany. Aug 2020 - Sept 2021
I worked to support multiple teams and stakeholders with their execution, feature delivery, and onboarding of new hires. I had been the Tech Domain Owner for iOS at Scout24, meaning I helped shape the standards for mobile engineering in the company. In this position, I was the lead engineer for time-sensitive projects related to Scout’s COVID-19 response, where we delivered a working high-quality video chat MVP in under a month. When iOS 14 and Apple’s privacy changes were announced, I had been in charge of leading the migration with many stakeholders and engineers. I had also coded quite a bit, as well, working on internal tools, CI systems, and improvements to our automated testing.
I’ve played an important part in architecting and implementing some key features of the Scout24 iOS app, and in moving our codebase from Objective-C to Swift.
Senior iOS Engineer
Scout24 Group. Berlin, Germany. Nov 2016 - Aug 2020
Freelance Full-Stack Engineer
eHealth Africa. Berlin, Germany. Oct 2015 - Nov 2016
I Maintained several Android apps designed for contact tracing in Sierra Leone during lingering Ebola outbreaks. Helped build backend in Python, using Django that supported data entry for health centers in Liberia. Worked with stakeholders in health centers to deliver backend updates and web form updates.
iOS Engineer
Komoot GmbH. Berlin, Germany. Mar 2014 - Oct 2015
Worked a lot with MapKit, CoreLocation, and offline storage. I worked in a very small team and rewrote main parts of the app in Swift, adding many features that improved the user experience for the overall app.