AN INDEPENDENT PRACTICE
Andreas Wagner

An independent maintainer and second-opinion engineer for Rails applications already in production.

I am a software consultant based in Tallinn, Estonia. I have spent the past decade working with existing systems — reading other people's code, inheriting half-documented infrastructure, and being the person clients call when they need an honest answer about software they already own.

My background is in system administration, and I moved toward development the way many people do: by needing to change the software I was operating. That history shows in the work. I think in stacks rather than layers.

I work alone on purpose. When you hire me, you talk to me.

THREE DOORWAYS
WHERE & HOW
Based in Tallinn. Eastern European time zone, year-round.
Remote by default. On-site visits when the work calls for it.
German, English. Working French.
Rails, PostgreSQL, Docker, Linux. The shape of the work I take on.
HOW TO ENGAGE
Estonian OÜ. Direct contracting anywhere in the EU and beyond.
Partial employment. Also available under standard EU arrangements.
From single reviews to long retainers. Engagement length scales to the work.
One-person shop. No subcontracting, no handoffs.
HOW I WORK
Same level. Not the agency above, not the subcontractor below.
Writing first. Every engagement starts with a report.
Time-based billing. Transparent for both sides.
Ownership. I treat the work as mine while it is in my hands.
WHAT I BELIEVE
Vanilla Rails over clever Rails, almost always.
Features have a life cycle, and retiring them is real work.
Full-stack means from business conversation to operation, not just frontend plus backend.
Good cooperation with designers and marketers is part of the craft.
WHERE TO START

Begin with a system review.

A one-to-two-week engagement that produces a written report on your code base and infrastructure. Clear scope, fixed price. You decide what happens next.

View a sample →
ELSEWHERE

I sometimes write.

Notes on software, operations, and the work — published on my personal site.

www.whysthatso.net →