Hi
I fix technology problems and see them through to a working result.
Twenty years managing platform and technology work in companies big and small, on budgets big and small. I get stuck into whatever the actual problem is, work within what the organisation can afford, and stay on it until it works as everyone wanted it to, not just settling for "good enough".
Alex · Technology & Platform Management · Birmingham, UK · remote-first across the UK
What that means in practice
Three things that come up in almost every project I take on.
End to end, not just help in part of the solution
Give me a problem and I'll get stuck into it, work out what's actually going on, and stay with it through to a working result. Sometimes that means writing code myself, sometimes it means building a small tool with AI to save your team hours, sometimes it's calling a supplier to help solve an issue. Whatever actually moves it forward.
Working with what you've actually got
I work within the means of the organisation I'm in. I won't suggest an unusual technology because it's interesting, or an expensive one because it's impressive. I use what's already there wherever I can, and only bring in something new when it genuinely earns its place.
Cloud costs, sorted
My specialism is DevOps and FinOps: knowing where cloud costs accelerate and bringing them back under control without breaking what your team depends on. I try and apply the same principles of cost effectiveness to all my dev work.
Why this, why me
I've spent most of the last decade managing platform and technology teams, most recently as Platform Engineering Manager at EVORA Global. Before that, I was involved in hands-on development and operations, and I still write code today. I've managed budgets, vendors and people, and adapted to whatever technical problem was actually in front of me rather than the one I'd have preferred.
- Delivered a 30% cost reduction (~$48K/year) for a 25+ person engineering org
- 10+ years as an Engineer Lead, managing infrastructure and how devs interact with it
- Working through problems systematically and finding practical solutions.
- Comfortable being the only technical person in the room, and translating for everyone else in it.
What's your problem?
Pick whichever's closest. It opens an email with the subject already filled in.
"If you want a long technical proposal, I'll write one. If you want fifteen minutes to work out whether this is even worth doing, that's usually more useful, and it's free."
Recent work
Timesheets & reporting
Staff timesheets that fit the existing setup
A UK charity needed a straightforward way for staff to log hours. Instead of asking them to buy new software, I built it on the Excel, SharePoint and Power Apps they were already using.
Case study coming soonCase management
Case management system for a small charity
A small charity in Sutton Coldfield needed a case management system on a limited budget. This is yet to be built but will involve a postgresql database, python backend, and a simple web interface.
Case study coming soonPersonal project
Cadence: AI-built running workouts
A side project built with assistance from Claude Code: it generates running workouts from your own heart rate data and fed through Claude API so the training is more tuned to your fitness level, instead of a generic training plan.
Case study coming soon