Product foundations and the first engineering team
Responsibility Backend, frontend, realtime workflows, deployment, and product foundations. Built and led an early engineering team of five.
Nikolay “Nik” Shurkalin / Warsaw, Poland
I’m Nik.I make complex software legible.
I’m a software architect and hands-on engineer. For 13+ years, I’ve built products, led teams, and stayed responsible when systems reached production. Today I work across backend systems, production AI, connected products, and the decisions that hold them together.
For founders, product leaders, and engineering teams facing a costly architecture decision, a fragile production workflow, or the need for senior hands-on ownership.
- Experience
- 13+ years building and operating software
- Built & led
- An early engineering team of five
- Production scope
- 20+ APIs maintained and extended
- Based
- Warsaw, Poland
01 / EXPERIENCE
SELECTED EXPERIENCE
Experience tied to responsibility.
A concise public record of responsibility, scope, and evidence. Client-confidential details stay private.
APIs, integrations, and high-load backend systems
Evidence Maintained and extended 20+ production APIs and delivered 10+ new APIs in one global product environment.
From architecture decisions to runtime behavior
Scope Architecture, backend, cloud, CI/CD, reliability, AI-assisted workflows, and connected-product boundaries.
02 / WORK
THREE WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER
Where is the
expensive uncertainty?
Two fixed-scope engagements address a consequential build or production workflow. For a small number of early-stage products, I am also open to a longer founding relationship.
Not sure which path fits?Build a private decision mapFive questions. Nothing is sent or stored.↗Architecture Decision Sprint
Turn a validated idea or difficult workflow into a buildable system, with tradeoffs and sequence made explicit.
Production Systems Review
Map a fragile production workflow, expose the real risks, and decide what the next 30-60 days should contain.
Build the product with me
For founders with a real problem, market access, and the commitment to build a durable software product together.
DIRECT
You work with me, not a delegated delivery team.
ACCESS
NDA, evidence, and access boundaries are agreed before work begins.
TEAM TIME
A 45-minute scope call, focused evidence access, and a Day 5 readout.
NEXT STEP
Send one decision or workflow. I reply with fit, no-fit, and the next useful step.
03 / EVIDENCE
ANONYMIZED CLIENT WORK
What changed after the decision.
Real systems, findings, initiatives, and outcomes. Client identities and sensitive implementation details are removed. See all evidence
01 / PRODUCTION AI
Reliability became a release property.
Quality gates, a recoverable recording pipeline, AWS operating controls, and content-free usage telemetry.
Read case 02 / GLOBAL APIsThree streams became one delivery system.
Shared templates, CI/CD, automation, and mentoring replaced duplicated release work and unclear ownership.
Read case 03 / ANALYTICSA fragile platform became changeable.
TypeScript, pipelines, cloud and database discipline, and a maintainable integration boundary.
Read case 04 / CONNECTED PRODUCTA working product received a trust boundary.
An evidence-backed review separated immediate containment from structural remediation without recommending a rewrite.
Read report 05 / DEVICE SCALEPlatform scale stopped limiting device growth.
A rounded historical signal of approximately 10,000 one-star iOS reviews informed a redesign that removed the practical fleet ceiling.
Read case 06 / SERVERLESS PLATFORMOne catalog, built from an empty repository.
A greenfield AWS application core uses Lambda, on-demand DynamoDB, Terraform, and CI/CD, with a separate containerized proxy for large-file delivery.
Read case04 / WRITING
WRITING
Notes from production.
Ideas and operating notes on architecture, reliability, and delegated work. Browse all writing
NOTE.01
How I use AI agents without outsourcing engineering judgment
A practical AI-assisted architecture workflow using Codex, Claude Code, independent reviewers, evidence, and explicit human decision points.
OPEN NOTE.02A practical AI coding workflow with Codex, Claude Code, and reusable skills
How reusable skills, repository guidance, specialized agents, and review gates make AI-assisted engineering repeatable rather than improvisational.
OPEN NOTE.03From demo to production: what usually breaks first
A practical map of the first reliability, workflow, and observability gaps I look for.
OPEN05 / CONTACT
OPEN CHANNEL
Choose the path that matches the relationship: a focused architecture engagement, a conversation about building a product together, or a senior role with real product ownership.
I will reply with fit, no-fit, and the next useful step. LinkedIn and GitHub remain available for professional context and public work.
Make the system
legible.
01 / SERVICEHire me for an architecture engagement
Bring one expensive build decision or one production workflow that has become difficult to trust.
Send the context ↗02 / FOUNDINGExplore building a product togetherBring a specific problem, evidence of demand, your unfair access, and the role you want to own.
Start a founding conversation ↗