About Alec
I'm a technical architect and AI engineer who has spent the last fifteen-plus years building software, scaling teams, and helping companies figure out what to build — and how to build it well.
My career started in the San Francisco startup scene, where I learned what it looks like when technology and product thinking are firing on all cylinders — and what it costs when they're not. That experience shaped everything I've built since: two revenue-funded consultancies scaled to seven-figure annual revenue, a decade of leading multidisciplinary teams through complex web application challenges in healthcare, finance, education, and beyond.
More recently, I've been building Lando — a developer experience platform built on Docker and Node.js that makes local development dramatically simpler. With over 13,000 active monthly users, it's become a standard part of the development workflow for teams around the world. Building Lando deepened my understanding of developer needs at scale and reinforced something I already believed: the right tooling multiplies what a lean team can accomplish.
Today, my focus is AI-first software development. The tools available to engineering teams have fundamentally shifted, but the strategic question of what to build with them — and where AI actually moves the needle — still requires experienced judgment. I work with early-stage founders and forward-thinking companies as their drop-in technical leader: shaping product decisions, architecting systems, and building alongside teams that are ready to move.
My goal has always been to distribute the lessons of the SF startup world more broadly. The way those teams think about product, speed, and technical leverage shouldn't be locked inside a few zip codes.
Technical Background
I'm fluent across the full stack — Node.js, Python, PHP (Laravel, Symfony, Drupal), and the infrastructure that runs it all (Docker, AWS). I've designed and built HIPAA-compliant systems for healthcare platforms, architected pipelines for AI/ML workloads, and set up DevOps foundations that let small teams punch well above their weight.
I'm deliberately tech-agnostic in my practice. The right stack is the one that fits the team, the constraints, and the problem — not the one that's trending. My portfolio speaks to that range better than any list of logos.
My natural habitat is the Sierra Nevada foothills, where I spend my time trail running, camping with my family, and tending a garden that's always more ambitious than the season allows. The same instinct that draws me to the mountains — knowing when to push, when to rest, and how to read the terrain — shows up in how I work with clients.
Ready to Build Something?
If you need a technical partner who can think strategically and build alongside you, let's talk.
Work with Me