Diagnose before prescribing
Map the product, codebase, and constraint before choosing Rails, Next.js, AI, or a combination.
About
Founder-led product engineering.
NextOnRails is a solo studio. I do the senior engineering work myself; Rails modernization, full-stack Next.js builds, Shopify apps, and AI workflows tied to production systems. No agency layers, no handoff to a bench you never met.
How I work
Small by design, senior by default.
Staying small keeps communication direct and quality high. When a scope needs more hands, I add collaborators deliberately.
01
Direct accountability
You work with the person scoping the work, writing the code, and answering when something breaks—not a sales lead who disappears after kickoff.
02
Scoped collaboration
Most work is me. When a project needs design, frontend depth, or extra capacity, I bring in people I have shipped with before.
03
Production over performance
The goal is software your team can run: clearer structure, sensible tests, and delivery paths that survive the week after launch.
What I optimize for
Judgment over jargon.
Ship in slices
Focused improvements with clear finish lines beat big-bang rewrites that stall the roadmap.
AI where the workflow earns it
Models belong inside real permissions, review paths, and product state.
Stack
Tools I reach for in production.
The stack follows the product and not the other way around. These are the systems behind the work on MatchConnector, Product Customizer, and CostumePlay AI.
- Backend
- Ruby on Rails, PostgreSQL, Sidekiq
- Frontend
- Next.js, React, Remix, Tailwind CSS
- Commerce
- Shopify APIs, webhooks, app extensions
- AI
- LLM APIs, retrieval, pgvector, job orchestration
- Infrastructure
- Hetzner, Coolify, Cloudflare, Render, Vercel
Start
Tell me what is stuck.
Bring the product context, the constraint, and what has to keep moving. I will tell you honestly whether I am the right person for it.