Four ways to work together, and honest pricing for each.
Every engagement starts with a free conversation and ends with something you own outright. No lock-in, no proprietary platform, no surprises on the invoice.
Product build
Zero to launched product. You have a thing that needs to exist and a date it needs to exist by.
I take ambiguous requirements to a running, maintainable production system — architecture, build, infrastructure and the engineering standards that stop it rotting six months later. Typically Next.js, TypeScript and Node on AWS, but the stack follows the problem rather than the other way round.
What you get
- Technical discovery and architecture decision records
- Full-stack build: web app, API, database, auth, payments
- CI/CD, infrastructure as code, observability
- Handover documentation your next engineer can actually use
Scale & rescue
It works in staging and falls over in production. Or it works now and you know it won't in three months.
Performance archaeology, load testing, and the structural fixes that follow. I have taken a platform through a national television advertising spike to 175,000 concurrent users, which is a very specific kind of education. Most scaling problems are architectural, not a bigger instance.
What you get
- Load testing against realistic traffic models
- Bottleneck analysis: database, cache, render path, cold starts
- Prioritised remediation plan with effort and impact estimates
- Hands-on implementation of the fixes that matter
Fractional technical lead
You have engineers. You do not have someone senior enough to make the expensive decisions.
Architecture ownership, code review, technical direction and mentoring, one or two days a week. I have led and mentored teams of five across frontend and full-stack while remaining hands-on in production code. Useful when hiring a full-time Staff engineer is six months and £100k away.
What you get
- Architecture and technical strategy ownership
- Code review and engineering standards
- Mentoring and delivery planning for your team
- Honest reporting to founders or the board
Technical due diligence
You are about to spend money on a codebase, a team, or a supplier. You would like to know what you are buying.
A structured review of architecture, code quality, security posture, delivery process and key-person risk — written for people who make funding decisions, not just for engineers. Delivered as a report you can put in front of an investment committee.
What you get
- Architecture and scalability assessment
- Code quality, test coverage and security review
- Team, process and key-person risk analysis
- Written report with a clear risk register
What actually happens.
The same four steps whichever service you pick.
Conversation
Thirty minutes, free, no deck. You describe the problem. I tell you honestly whether I am the right person for it — and if I am not, who might be.
Scoping
A short paid discovery where the real requirements surface, the risks get named, and you get a fixed price with a fixed scope. No open-ended day rates disguised as a project.
Build
Weekly demos of working software, not status reports. You see progress in the client portal, and you can talk to the person writing the code, because that is the same person.
Handover
Documentation, infrastructure as code, and a system your own team can own. The goal is that you stop needing me, and come back because you want to.
The things people ask first.
Who actually does the work?
I do. Paddy Systems is deliberately small — you talk to the engineer who writes your code. For larger builds I bring in trusted specialists I have worked with before, and I tell you when I do.
What does it cost?
Projects typically run from £8,000. Fractional technical leadership starts at £3,200/month. Diagnostics and due diligence are fixed fee. You get a written price before anything starts.
Do you work with agencies?
Yes. White-label delivery and contract engineering for agencies is a regular part of the work, under your brand and your client relationship.
Are you insured?
Paddy Systems LTD carries professional indemnity and public liability cover. Certificates are available on request for procurement.
What if we already have engineers?
Good — that is often the better engagement. Fractional technical leadership makes an existing team faster without adding headcount, and mentoring is part of the deal rather than an extra.
Where are you based?
Bradford, West Yorkshire, working remotely with clients across the UK. Happy to travel for kickoff and for the meetings that genuinely need a room.
Not sure which one you need? That is what the first call is for.
hello@paddy.systems