Production code in your first sprint. Architectural clarity by your sixth month.
I'm Ronald, a fractional principal engineer based in South Korea. I embed with your team, accumulate deep context on your codebase, and make the architectural calls that AI tools and short-term contractors can't.
Case study
Ghost is one of the most popular open-source publishing platforms. I joined as an embedded engineer and stayed for three years, working across the entire codebase.
Rebuilt the rich text editor from scratch using LexicalJS. Migrated the entire frontend Settings UI from Ember.js to React. Improved test coverage, CI/CD pipelines, and developer experience across the project.
On-call rotations where Customer Support knew to come to me first, because I could diagnose and fix production issues fast. Not because I'm quick, but because I already understood the whole system.
How an engagement works
Most contractors ramp up, ship, and leave. I ramp up, ship, and stay. Every month I understand your system better. By month six, I'm making decisions your full-time team trusts implicitly.
Month 1
I pick up tickets, read the codebase, and ship features. You see output immediately.
Month 3
I understand the patterns, the tech debt, and the tradeoffs. I start suggesting what to build next, not just executing.
Month 6
I'm the person who knows why things were built that way. Migrations, refactors, system design decisions flow through me.
Month 12+
I'm effectively a principal engineer on your team. The context I hold is irreplaceable and compounds every month.
Pricing
I work on a monthly retainer because the value compounds over time. Month one, you get a fast engineer. Month six, you get someone who understands your system well enough to make the hard calls without slowing your team down.
My hours line up nicely with teams across Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the US West Coast. For the right team and project, I'm always happy to make it work.
Just need help with a Ghost blog? I run PixelGlass for that. Custom themes, integrations, and ongoing support for Ghost publishers, without the full retainer.
Portfolio
A few repos I've built and contributed to.