Senior engineering for your startup, without hiring a team.
I'm Tim Kuo, a former AWS tech lead. I build, fix and scale the software your startup runs on, and I explain every decision in plain English along the way.
Book a free 30-minute callNo prep or spec needed. You'll leave with a rough plan and a ballpark cost, whether or not we work together.
How I can help
Whether you're a non-technical founder with an idea or an engineering team short on senior help, it starts the same way: a conversation about what you need.
You have an idea or a prototype
Build your product
I take you from idea to a working first version, or turn a no-code prototype into real software that can grow with you.
For example: the app, database and integrations behind a marketplace, booking system or internal tool.
A build stalled or feels fragile
Take over or rescue a project
If an agency or freelancer left you with something half-finished, buggy or hard to change, I'll assess it honestly and get it back on track.
For example: an app that breaks every time something new ships, with no one left who understands it.
People use it, and it's straining
Make it fast and reliable
When your product slows down, goes down or gets expensive to run as you grow, I find the cause and fix it.
For example: speeding up slow pages and APIs, cutting cloud costs, or preparing for a big launch.
You need someone to sanity-check
Technical guidance
A senior second opinion on what to build, which tools to use, whether an agency quote is fair, or where AI could save your team real time.
For example: reviewing a proposal before you sign it, or a short assessment of how your team could use AI.
What working with me is like
What you should be able to expect from any developer you hire.
You work with me directly
No account managers or junior handoffs. The person on the first call is the person writing your code.
You know the price before we start
A written plan with clear pricing, agreed before any work begins. Most projects run 2 to 8 weeks.
No jargon
You'll always know what's being built, why, and what it means for your business.
You own everything
The code, the accounts and the documentation are yours, so you're never locked in to me.
Track record
Before Kuova I spent six years at AWS and startups, building systems that handle millions of requests a day.
Requests handled by the backend I led as tech lead, through 13x growth.
SageMaker JumpStart model catalog, AWS
Time to add a new AI model to Amazon Bedrock, after I automated a manual process.
Model onboarding pipeline, Amazon Bedrock
Response times on core Amazon EC2 services, from changes I made.
P99 latency, via in-memory caching
More work handled per day by a lab team, using a tool I built at a health startup.
Lab operations tooling, Color Health
For technical teams: I work mainly in Python, Java and Go on AWS, including SageMaker, Bedrock, Lambda, DynamoDB, SQS, Step Functions and ECS. I also led a monitoring system for 60,000+ EC2 network devices and built a service connecting 5,000+ smart energy devices at EnergyHub.
How it works
Every project is shaped around you, but most follow the same path.
Free intro call
30 minutes on what you're building and where I can help.
Plan and price
A written plan with clear pricing, so you know the cost upfront.
Build
Steady progress you can see, with regular check-ins.
Handoff
Documentation and a walkthrough, so your team can own it.
Questions founders ask
I'm not technical. Is that a problem?
Not at all. That's often where I'm most useful. I translate between your business goals and the technical work, and I'll never assume you know the jargon.
How much does it cost?
It depends on what you need, so I'll give you a ballpark on our first call and a firm price in a written plan before any work starts. Most projects run 2 to 8 weeks.
I only have an idea. Is it too early?
No. Early is a good time to talk. We can figure out the smallest version worth building first, which saves time and money later.
Do you do design and frontend too?
I lead the whole build. Backend and infrastructure are my strongest areas. For a polished customer-facing design, I can bring in a designer or frontend developer and manage them, so you still deal with one person.
We already have engineers. Can you still help?
Yes. I can join your team for a specific project, like a new service or a scaling problem, without you having to make a senior hire.
Tell me what you're building.
Book a free 30-minute call. Bring the problem, not a spec. You'll leave with a rough approach and a sense of cost, whether or not we work together.