•Strong TypeScript, React, and Next.js, with depth and repeated use.
•Node / TypeScript backend services. This is where most of the backend work sits.
•Backend fundamentals: data modeling, API design, async jobs, queues, background processing.
•Agentic engineering: fluent with coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex). We want to leverage AI without shipping slop.
•Comfortable reading and writing Python.
None of these are required.
Consumer products with real usersMedia, streaming, entertainment, games, creative tools, marketplaces.
Subscription businessesBilling, paywalls, entitlements.
Realtime systemsReactive backends (Convex, Firebase, Supabase), SSE, websockets, live-updating interfaces.
Audio or video pipelinesEncoding, storage, CDN, playback.
Analytics and experimentationEvent tracking, funnels, A/B testing, feature flags (PostHog, Amplitude, Mixpanel, Segment).
Early hire at a company that then grewOr small teams with broad ownership.
Polished, design-led interfacesSend links or screenshots.
Side projects that show initiativeOpen source, game jams, interactive fiction.