Who I Am
I'm Brad Simon. I've been writing code for 30+ years - everything from enterprise applications to SaaS platforms. I've built systems from scratch, inherited technical debt disasters, and watched architectures drift from their original purpose in slow motion.
These days I focus on what I'm actually good at: analyzing complex systems and helping engineering teams make better architectural decisions.
What I've Done
- Started coding before Y2K was a problem
- Built enterprise systems, web applications, and SaaS platforms
- Worked on medium and large teams in enterprise environments
- Led engineering teams and consulted for startups to enterprises
- Shipped my own products (some succeeded, some failed - both were instructive)
- Spent enough time in production to know where systems actually break
What I Don't Do
I don't write production code for clients anymore. I don't manage teams. I don't sell frameworks or methodologies.
I analyze your specific system, document what's actually there versus what people think is there, and help you understand the trade-offs you're facing.
Why This Works
Most architectural problems aren't technical - they're about incentives, signals, and second-order effects. I've seen the same patterns repeat across decades: systems optimized for the wrong metrics, architectures that made sense at the time but don't scale, decisions that seemed obvious until they weren't.
Experience matters because it means I've already made most of the mistakes you're trying to avoid.