Architecture review
I review your system, codebase or AWS setup against where the business is heading.
- Length
- Fixed scope, 1–3 weeks.
- You get
- A written report with risks and recommendations ranked by impact, and a walkthrough with your team.
Services
Software architecture consulting for SaaS teams.
I design systems, review them and lead the teams that build them. Most of my work is in fintech and proptech, where the numbers have to be right. Remote across Australia and New Zealand, on-site in South East Queensland.
Start with your situation
Four situations I’m asked about most, each with its own page.
You need senior technical leadership, but not a full-time CTO
I own the architecture, set engineering direction and back up your developers a few days a month.
Fractional CTO and tech leadYou want an outside view before you scale, raise or rebuild
I review the system, code and AWS setup, then tell you plainly what will hurt first and what to do about it.
Architecture reviewYour software holds client money in trust
Ledgers, bank feeds and reconciliation that stay correct under retries, failures and audits. I’ve built one from scratch.
Trust accounting softwareYou’re adding payments or another gateway
Gateways behind one interface, card data kept out of your PCI scope, and payments that can’t be taken twice.
Payments integration
What I work on
Six areas I’ve worked in hands-on, in production, for years. Most engagements touch two or three of them.
Solution architecture
System shape, domain boundaries and a delivery plan your team can execute. Event-driven and serverless designs on AWS, defined as code.
Architecture review- Domain-driven design of APIs and data models (GraphQL, REST)
- Event-driven processing with EventBridge, SQS and Lambda
- Multi-tenant SaaS: schema-per-tenant PostgreSQL, isolation and scaling
- Infrastructure as code with AWS CDK, CI/CD and environment strategy
- Legacy modernisation: replacing monoliths service by service
Financial & trust accounting systems
Ledgers and money movement built so the numbers are right, auditable and safe under failure.
Trust accounting software- Double-entry ledgers, accounting periods, reversals and charge rules
- Idempotent deposits, transfers and withdrawals that are safe to retry
- Bank feeds via CDR / Open Banking and automated reconciliation
- Disbursement batches, bank payment files, statements and trial balance
- Australian property trust accounting: rent, bonds and sale proceeds
Payments & integrations
Reliable connections between your platform and the systems around it, synchronous and asynchronous.
Payments integration- Payment gateways behind one provider interface, with a separate PCI vault
- OTA and channel integrations (Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia and others)
- Accounting and business APIs: Xero, WorkflowMax, Zoho, PayPal, Google, Apple
- Payroll integrations (KeyPay, SimplePay)
- Partner APIs with scoped permissions and event delivery
AI in business workflows
Practical AI that removes manual work from existing operations, not demos.
- Mapping business processes to find where automation pays off
- Document intake and OCR pipelines that pre-fill and route data
- LLM-assisted steps wired into your existing systems through APIs
- Human-in-the-loop approval where accuracy matters
Security & access design
Security designed in from the start, and independent reviews of what already exists.
- Identity and access: Cognito, AWS SSO and IAM across accounts
- Handling sensitive financial and banking data, keeping it out of logs
- Architecture, code and cloud configuration reviews
- Security standards and practices for engineering teams
Technical leadership
Hands-on leadership for small teams: direction, standards and mentoring.
Fractional CTO and tech lead- Fractional architect or tech lead for startups and scale-ups
- Engineering process, code review and test strategy
- Agile delivery; Scrum Master and SAFe experience
- Mentoring engineers through new technology and patterns
Engagement models
Three ways to work together, from a short review to ongoing leadership. You work with me directly in all of them.
Design and build
I work alongside your team, own the architecture and build the critical parts myself: ledgers, integrations, infrastructure and APIs.
- Length
- Typically 2–6 months.
- You get
- The architecture designed and the critical parts built, with your team working on them from day one.
Fractional architect or tech lead
Ongoing architectural ownership and technical leadership, without a full-time hire.
- Length
- 2–8 days a month. Three-month minimum, then month to month with a month’s notice.
- You get
- A senior lead in your planning, design and code reviews, and on Slack or Teams between days.
Every engagement starts with a short call about the problem. I quote once we’ve agreed the scope.
Let’s discuss your platform.
Whether it’s a review, a new build or ongoing technical leadership, a short conversation is the best place to start.