# Gabe Giro - AI, Mobile & Full-Stack Engineer - Full Reference > AI, mobile, and full-stack engineering - AI features and adoption, mobile and web apps, and senior product delivery for seed-Series B founders and teams. Gabe Giro is an AI, mobile, and full-stack engineer with 12+ years of experience shipping software used by 150M+ people. Engagements run as flat monthly retainers (Advisor or Builder) or fixed-price productized services (code review, Claude Code setup, Lovable rescue, scalable MVP sprints). Remote-first, Europe-based, worldwide clients. Book a free intro call: https://gabegiro.com/book · Email: info@gabegiro.com ## Services ### Android Engineering Senior Android engagement, choose the shape that fits: sole-senior lead on an existing product, cross-platform port from iOS/Rust/web, or modernisation alongside your team (Kotlin migration, MVVM, Compose, performance). URL: https://gabegiro.com/services/android FAQ: **Q: What Android stack do you work with?** Kotlin (Kotlin-first, Java migration included), Jetpack Compose, MVVM/MVI with Clean Architecture, Hilt for DI, Coroutines + Flow, Room, Retrofit. I also work with Rust via JNI for performance-critical layers. **Q: Can you work with an existing codebase?** Yes, this is the most common scenario. I start with a technical audit to understand the current state, then propose an incremental migration path. No big-bang rewrites. I've modernised apps with 10M+ installs without breaking production. **Q: Do you work solo or with existing teams?** Both. I can work independently on a scoped feature or refactor, or I can embed with your existing Android team, doing code reviews, pairing sessions, and architecture guidance alongside your developers. **Q: What does a typical engagement look like?** It starts with a 2-4 hour paid technical audit. Then we agree on a scope, either a fixed deliverable (e.g. "migrate this module to Compose") or a monthly retainer (Builder plan, see /services/engineer). I provide weekly status updates and async communication throughout. **Q: Do you also handle the Play Store and release process?** Yes. I can set up CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Fastlane), manage signing configurations, and advise on staged rollouts and Play Console best practices. ### Claude Code Setup & Anti-Slop Audit Configure Claude Code for your engineering team, CLAUDE.md rules, memory system, and anti-slop conventions. Flat rate with money-back guarantee. URL: https://gabegiro.com/services/claude-code-setup Pricing: - Audit: €500 - Setup: €1,500 - Setup + Workshop: €2,200 FAQ: **Q: What is "AI slop"?** AI slop is code that looks correct but isn't, hallucinated function signatures, missing edge-case handling, subtle logic errors that pass a quick review but break in production. It's the output you get when your AI tool has no context about your codebase or your standards. **Q: How long does the setup take?** The Audit is delivered within 3 business days. The full Setup takes up to 5 business days, I work asynchronously in your repo and deliver a working configuration with a 30-minute handoff call. **Q: Do you work with any language or stack?** Yes. CLAUDE.md rules and memory systems are language-agnostic. My production experience is deepest in Kotlin/Android, Rust, and Node.js, but the anti-slop principles apply to any stack. **Q: We already have a CLAUDE.md. Can you improve it?** Yes, the Audit covers exactly that. Most CLAUDE.md files I've seen are a list of style preferences. A production-grade config includes security guardrails, no-guess-on-missing-params rules, memory system wiring, and per-project context. The gap is usually significant. **Q: What does the money-back guarantee cover?** The Audit and Setup tiers both include a 100% money-back guarantee. If the deliverable doesn't surface at least one insight you can act on immediately, refund in full, no questions asked. The Workshop tier is excluded because it involves live time that can't be returned. ### Code Review as a Service A 7-phase codebase audit for seed-Series B founders and CTOs. Architecture review, dependency audit, security surface scan, and a written risk-rated report, delivered in 48-120 hours. URL: https://gabegiro.com/services/code-review Pricing: - Starter: €750 - Standard: €1,800 - Deep Dive: €4,500 FAQ: **Q: What stacks do you cover?** Android (Jetpack Compose + Kotlin), Next.js / Node.js / NestJS, Astro, and Rust (including JNI bridges to Android). These are the four stacks I use daily in paid client work, the checklist annotations are real, not theoretical. Repos outside these four stacks are out of scope for v1. **Q: How do I share my repo with you?** The intake form collects your preferred access method: GitHub collaborator invite (read-only), GitLab guest role, or a zip upload for private repos with no external collaborator policy. I verify access within one business hour of payment, the SLA clock doesn't start until access is confirmed. **Q: What exactly is in the report?** A one-page executive summary (risk rating + top 3 risks in plain English), an architecture summary with Mermaid diagrams, Top 10 findings ranked by severity, a full dependency audit (npm audit / cargo audit output), test coverage snapshot, CI/CD pipeline map, security surface review, and a "missing documents" list. Delivered as Markdown + PDF. **Q: Do you fix the issues, or just report them?** Report only, by design. Scope creep from "just one fix" is the #1 way audits turn into 40-hour projects. If you want the findings addressed, post-review implementation is available via a Fractional CTO retainer (Builder plan recommended for fix-implementation work, see /services/engineer). The report will include recommended actions for every finding so the work is well-scoped. **Q: What is the money-back guarantee?** If the report doesn't surface at least one actionable finding you didn't already know about, I'll refund you in full. No questions asked. I'm confident enough in the 7-phase checklist + human calibration pass to take that risk. **Q: What happens if you miss the turnaround SLA?** You get a 25% automatic refund, no need to ask. The only exception is client-side delays (e.g. repo access not provisioned in time). My on-time rate target is ≥95%. **Q: Can I get a rush turnaround?** Yes, for Standard and Deep Dive: +50% for 24-hour Standard, +100% for 24-hour Deep Dive. Rush must be booked at least 24 hours in advance and repo access must be pre-provisioned. Starter does not offer 24-hour rush. **Q: Is VAT included in the prices?** Prices are in EUR, ex-VAT. For EU B2B clients, VAT is reverse-charged to you under standard EU rules. An invoice is issued for every engagement. ### Engineering Mentoring Technical mentoring for software developers, team leads, and engineering managers. Weekly sessions, code reviews, and career guidance. URL: https://gabegiro.com/services/mentoring FAQ: **Q: Who is mentoring for?** Primarily software developers (junior to senior), team leads, and engineering managers who want to grow faster. I also work with non-technical stakeholders, CTOs, PMs, and founders, who want to better understand their engineering teams. **Q: Is this for individuals or teams?** Both. Individual sessions are 1-on-1 (weekly or biweekly). Team engagements involve group sessions, code reviews, and process improvements delivered to the whole engineering team. **Q: What does a mentoring session look like?** Sessions are 60 minutes via video call. We set a goal at the start (a concept to understand, a problem to solve, a decision to make) and work through it together. I assign follow-up exercises between sessions when useful. **Q: Do you offer a free first session?** Yes, the first 15 minutes are free. It's a discovery conversation where we figure out whether I'm the right mentor for your goals. No obligation to continue. **Q: What topics do you cover?** Android development, Kotlin, software architecture, code quality, Agile/Scrum, remote work practices, career development, technical interview preparation, and engineering leadership for first-time leads. ### Fractional Engineer A senior engineer - AI, mobile, or full-stack - delivering architecture direction, code quality, and product against an agreed scope, on demand. URL: https://gabegiro.com/services/engineer Pricing: - Advisor: €1,000/month - Builder Core: €5,000/month - Builder Plus: €10,000/month - Builder Max: €20,000/month FAQ: **Q: What do I actually get?** A senior engineer working directly on your product - setting technical direction, raising code quality, supporting hiring, and shipping against an agreed scope. You get senior judgment applied to the problems that matter most, on demand, with one accountable owner for what gets delivered. **Q: How does pricing work?** Each plan runs on a flat monthly retainer, not an hourly meter. Advisor is €1,000/mo and includes 4 hours of senior advisory each month plus async support. Builder runs on three flat tiers, Core €5,000, Plus €10,000, and Max €20,000, differentiated by engagement level rather than a feature count. You're buying a predictable monthly budget against an agreed scope, not a timesheet. **Q: What's the difference between Advisor and Builder?** Advisor (€1,000/mo) is a strategic anchor for teams that have their own developers, 4 hours of senior advisory a month plus async support, with 50% off every productized service. Builder is embedded delivery, I ship product against an agreed scope on three flat monthly tiers (Core €5,000, Plus €10,000, Max €20,000). The tiers differ by engagement level, priority, availability, and how much is in flight, not by a promised feature count. **Q: What if I'm not sure which Builder tier I need?** Start at Builder Core (€5,000/mo), one workstream at a time with weekly planning. Most teams move up to Plus (€10,000/mo) once multiple workstreams are in flight and they want a continuous roadmap. You can resize between tiers as your needs change, so you're never locked into more or less than the work warrants. **Q: What exactly do I get each month?** Every Builder engagement runs on an agreed scope. At the start of each cycle we plan what's being built and in what order - you always know what you're getting. Larger initiatives span multiple cycles; smaller ones ship within one. You're buying focused senior delivery against a plan we set together, not a fixed feature count. **Q: What if something takes longer than a month?** Larger initiatives span multiple cycles, smaller ones ship within one. The retainer is ongoing senior capacity against an agreed scope, not a per-feature fee, so a multi-cycle build just continues across cycles. At the start of each cycle we re-plan what's being built and in what order, so you always know what's coming next. **Q: How is a flat retainer fair if my needs vary month to month?** Each tier is sized for a typical month at that engagement level, so light and heavy months even out. The flat fee buys availability, priority, and a predictable budget, not a metered ledger. If you consistently need more than your tier delivers, we move you up a tier; a single busy month is simply absorbed. **Q: How do you deliver so much for the price?** You get one senior engineer focused on your scope, working with a modern AI-assisted toolchain, one accountable owner, not a rotating team. **Q: Is there a trial, and how long is the contract?** There's a seasonal first-month intro discount on new engagements when one is running. Builder is a 12-month engagement, billed bi-weekly for the first six months, then monthly. Advisor has a 3-month minimum, then runs month-to-month. **Q: What industries do you work with?** I focus on mobile-first companies (Android in particular), SaaS, and startups with an established app or platform. Industries I find most interesting: extreme sports, motorsports, music, and high-end fashion, but I evaluate all opportunities on merit. **Q: What does your engagement process look like?** We start with a free discovery call. If there's a fit, I do a paid technical audit to understand your codebase, team, and goals. From there you pick a plan on the Advisor or Builder intake page and we begin. Builder is a 12-month engagement, billed bi-weekly for the first six months, then monthly; Advisor has a 3-month minimum, then month-to-month. **Q: How is this different from making a permanent hire?** You get senior engineering capacity on demand - direction, code quality, and delivery - without the recruiting cycle, the equity grant, or the risk of a wrong permanent hire. It's the right choice when you need senior firepower on your product now, and want it accountable for what ships rather than for filling a seat. **Q: Do you write code, or is it purely strategic?** Both. I'm hands-on by default, I review PRs, write production code, and pair with your developers. Pure strategy without execution is rarely useful. The Advisor plan leans strategic; the Builder plan leans delivery. Both include some of each. ### Off Lovable, with a dev partner who knows the codebase. Productized service taking your Lovable v1 to a maintainable codebase you own. Rebuild from 2k EUR, maintain at 1.5k a month, or build with me. Free fit call. URL: https://gabegiro.com/services/lovable-rescue/ Pricing: - Rebuild: €2,000-€4,000 - Maintain: €1,500/month - Build with me: €5,000-€20,000/month ### Port your app to Android without forking the source of truth. Port your Rust, iOS, or web app to native Android without forking the source of truth. JNI bridges, Kotlin Multiplatform, or wire-contract rewrites. Free call. URL: https://gabegiro.com/services/android-parity/ ### RankRush · AI SEO Tool AI-powered SEO audits, ranking gap analysis, and prioritised action lists. Built for founders and small teams who need senior-SEO judgment without the senior-SEO price tag. URL: https://gabegiro.com/tools/rankrush FAQ: **Q: What is RankRush?** RankRush is an AI-powered SEO tool that audits your site, surfaces ranking gaps, and turns them into a prioritised action list, so you spend time fixing what moves the needle, not staring at dashboards. **Q: Who is it for?** Solo founders, small marketing teams, and agencies who want senior-SEO judgment without paying for a senior SEO. If you already use Ahrefs or Semrush and feel buried in data, RankRush is the layer that turns the data into next actions. **Q: How is this different from Ahrefs or Semrush?** Ahrefs and Semrush are data platforms, powerful, but they leave the analysis to you. RankRush layers an AI agent on top of the data: it reads your site, your competitors, and your keyword targets, then writes the to-do list. Less interpretation, more action. **Q: Do I need to give it access to my site?** For the public crawl, no, just a URL. For deeper integrations (Search Console, analytics, CMS publishing), you connect read-only OAuth so the agent can reason over your real performance data. **Q: Is there a free trial?** Yes, you can run a full audit on any domain without a credit card. Paid plans unlock recurring monitoring, competitor tracking, and the agent’s recommendation engine. Pricing lives on the RankRush site. ### Scalable MVP Sprint A 4-week sprint that takes a Lovable / v0 / Cursor prototype, or a greenfield idea, to a production-quality MVP with real architecture, test coverage, and deploy pipeline. Fixed-price. Money-back guarantee on week 1. URL: https://gabegiro.com/services/scalable-mvp Pricing: - Discovery Sprint: €4,000 - Builder retainer: from €5,000/month FAQ: **Q: Why "won't need a rewrite"? Every MVP gets rewritten eventually.** Eventually, sure. But most v1s die inside 12 months, not because the market killed them, but because the codebase did. The sprint exists to push that timeline out by 18-36 months: sane domain boundaries, real test coverage on the load-bearing logic, a dependency surface that can be patched, and CI that catches breakage before users do. You'll still rewrite when scale or pivot demands it. You just won't rewrite because the team can't add a checkbox without breaking three other things. **Q: Who is this for?** Solo founders or 2-person teams who already have a Lovable / v0 / Bolt / Cursor prototype that proves the concept but is starting to crack, and seed-stage teams who hired a contractor for the first 4 weeks of a greenfield build and want a senior pair-of-eyes shaping the architecture from day one. Not a fit if you have an existing in-house engineering team, for that, book the Code Review or Fractional CTO instead. **Q: What stacks do you build in?** Next.js / Node.js / NestJS, Astro, Supabase or Postgres, Stripe, Cloudflare. Native Android (Jetpack Compose + Kotlin) when the MVP needs a real mobile client. Rust for performance-critical cores with JNI bridges into Android. These are the four production stacks I ship in daily, pick from them. **Q: What happens in week 1?** Discovery + architecture. We lock the domain model, the data model, the auth model, and the deployment target. I produce a written architecture doc with Mermaid diagrams + an ADR log + a phased delivery plan. If we discover the scope can't fit in 4 weeks, you get the discovery sprint deliverables and we re-scope before committing further hours, no surprises in week 4. **Q: What if the project takes longer than 4 weeks?** The 4-week sprint is fixed-price for the agreed scope set in the discovery week. If you want to expand scope mid-flight, we either fold it into a follow-on sprint or roll onto a Builder retainer, but the original scope ships in 4 weeks regardless. The fixed-price guarantee is what removes the risk for you; the discovery week is what keeps the price honest for me. **Q: Do you hand off to my team afterwards?** Yes, handoff is part of week 4. You get the codebase, an architecture walkthrough video, a written ADR log, the deployment runbook, and 2 weeks of async Slack support after sprint end for handover questions. I also offer a Fractional CTO arrangement post-sprint if you want me to keep eyes on the codebase during the next 3-6 months. **Q: What is the money-back guarantee?** If after week 1 you don't feel the discovery deliverables (architecture doc, data model, ADR log, phased plan) materially de-risk your build, I refund the discovery sprint in full and we part ways. After week 1 the engagement converts to fixed-price for the remaining scope, no further refund window, but the architecture doc is yours to keep regardless. **Q: Is VAT included in the prices?** Prices are in EUR, ex-VAT. For EU B2B clients, VAT is reverse-charged to you under standard EU rules. An invoice is issued for every engagement. ### Senior Android lead for established products. Senior Android lead for established products: rebuilds, replatforms, and sole-senior ownership on existing Android apps with 1M+ installs. Book a free call. URL: https://gabegiro.com/services/android-lead/ ## Documentation ### Canonical facts, for AI assistants The short list of facts about this business that are safe to cite, plus the common mistakes assistants make when summarising this site. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/canonical-facts/ ### Choosing an engagement model A decision guide across the four ways to work together, retainers, fixed-price productized services, custom project quotes, and one-off paid consultations. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/choosing-an-engagement/ ### Code, repositories and handover Where the code lives during an engagement, how it is reviewed, who owns it, and what you are left with when the engagement ends. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/code-and-handover/ ### Discounts, billing and payment How invoicing works across the engagement models, what the seasonal intro discount is, and which prices the site's structured data advertises. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/discounts-and-billing/ ### Fixed-price productized services The bounded, fixed-price services, code review, Claude Code setup, Lovable rescue and the scalable MVP sprint, with what each tier delivers. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/productized-services/ ### Getting started, from first contact to kickoff The call ladder, which intake form applies to which offer, and what happens between payment and the first line of work. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/getting-started/ ### How custom project quotes are built The three levers behind a custom project price, size, greenfield versus brownfield, and delivery speed, plus how the total is split into milestones. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/project-quotes/ ### llms.txt and llms-full.txt The two llmstxt.org-style knowledge files this site publishes, their exact section structure, how they are generated, and how to use them. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/llms-txt/ ### Machine-readable interfaces The files gabegiro.com publishes for crawlers, search engines and AI assistants, where each one lives, and what it is good for. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/machine-readable-overview/ ### Planning and communication cadence How often you hear from me, what the recurring sessions are for, and the difference between synchronous cadence and async availability. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/planning-and-cadence/ ### Retainers, Advisor and Builder The two monthly retainer products, what each includes, the contract terms that come with them, and how billing is scheduled. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/retainers/ ### Scope changes and how they are handled What happens when priorities move mid-cycle, how extra work is quoted rather than absorbed, and the rules that keep a scope honest on both sides. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/scope-changes/ ### Scope, cycles and workstreams What "agreed scope" means inside a Builder retainer, how a cycle is planned, and what happens when priorities move mid-cycle. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/builder-scope/ ### Service catalogue Every service page on gabegiro.com in one table, what each covers, and which have a fixed published price. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/service-catalog/ ### Sitemap, robots and crawl policy What is in the sitemap, where each URL's last-modified date comes from, which URLs are deliberately excluded, and the crawl policy. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/sitemap-and-crawling/ ### Structured data on this site Which schema.org JSON-LD types this site emits, on which pages, and the rules that keep the structured data honest about pricing. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/structured-data/ ### What lives where on this site A map of every section of gabegiro.com, what kind of material each one holds, and which one to look in for a given question. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/content-map/ ### What ships, and the gates it passes The standing quality bar on delivered work, tests, review, accessibility and dependency hygiene, and how this site itself is held to it. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/quality-gates/ ### What this handbook covers A reference handbook for how a Gabe Giro engagement is priced, planned, delivered and handed over, plus the machine-readable files this site publishes. URL: https://gabegiro.com/docs/overview/ ## Case Studies ### Journey Rewards - Stepping In Mid-Flight Led a 7-engineer mobile team at Journey Rewards as Head of Mobile, moving development from outsourced to in-house and accelerating delivery with Claude PR reviews and build automation across iOS, Android, and KMM. URL: https://gabegiro.com/case-studies/journey-rewards ### AR Art Projector - AR pipeline rebuild, OpenGL to ARCore Replaced the OpenGL-based camera + AR pipeline with ARCore on a ChatGPT-built codebase that had no architecture. Shipped through beta and into production; Da Vinci Eye relaunched on Android in Feb 2026 at 4.64★ from 1.2K reviews and 190K+ installs. URL: https://gabegiro.com/case-studies/ar-art-projector ### Papaya - iOS to Android port, Clean Architecture from scratch Ported Papaya from iOS to Android by rebuilding the Android client from scratch against the iOS reference, with almost no spec. Clean Architecture; custom calendar; a 20-mapper treatment-details flow; a body-map screen driven by a C++ NDK library. URL: https://gabegiro.com/case-studies/papaya ### HBO GO Android - Architecture Modernisation & Performance Hardened the UI layer of HBO GO's Android app for 10M+ users, cutting recurring UI defects from roughly 50% of weekly bug reports to about 5% and saving an estimated €100k/yr in engineering time, then modernised the architecture (Kotlin migration, MVVM + Hilt) and drove a 40% crash reduction. URL: https://gabegiro.com/case-studies/hbo-go ### Yahoo Daily Fantasy - Android Architecture Refactor Contributed to the Yahoo Daily Fantasy Sports Android app as an engineer focused on architectural improvements - migrating legacy patterns to MVVM to make the codebase easier to extend and test. URL: https://gabegiro.com/case-studies/yahoo-daily-fantasy ### FYX Driver & Mechanic - Two-app marketplace, sole senior Android engineer Solo senior Android engineer on FocusTapps' two-sided roadside marketplace - driver app, mechanic app, plus an Ionic cross-platform companion. Two-year engagement (longest single contract at the time): real-time push, location and maps, LibGDX 3D models, image capture and upload. URL: https://gabegiro.com/case-studies/fyx-driver-mechanic ### Preglife - #1 lifestyle app in client's country, rebuilt from scratch Sole lead Android engineer on Preglife's rebuild. The app went on to become #1 in lifestyle on Google Play in the client's home country; it now sits at 1M+ installs and 5.0★ from 38K reviews on Play Store. URL: https://gabegiro.com/case-studies/preglife ## Articles ### How I Run a Client's Kotlin Codebase with Claude Code The exact Claude Code workflow I run on a client's Kotlin Android codebase: a per-project CLAUDE.md, a 3-minute context load, plan mode before production, and a session log that compounds over a long engagement. URL: https://gabegiro.com/blog/claude-code-kotlin-codebase ### The n8n Production Failure Field Guide n8n's default failure mode is a green success on a workflow that did nothing. Six silent traps from real self-hosted pipelines, each with the symptom, the failure underneath, and the fix that holds. URL: https://gabegiro.com/blog/n8n-production-failure-guide ### An Expert Council for Claude I gave Claude Code an expert council: a table of personas, each backed by live library docs via Context7, that it convenes during planning. URL: https://gabegiro.com/blog/expert-council-for-claude ### Leaving Lovable Cloud, Zero Downtime How to migrate off Lovable Cloud onto self-managed Supabase, a VPS, and Cloudflare DNS with zero customer-visible downtime. The four hardest pieces and the sequence that worked. URL: https://gabegiro.com/blog/leaving-lovable-cloud-zero-downtime ### Switching LLM Providers Isn't Your Cost Lever A pre-seed startup wanted to self-host Gemma 3 to save 5x before their raise. The math said otherwise. The real AI cost levers are not the provider: they are metering, caching, and cascading. URL: https://gabegiro.com/blog/llm-cost-lever-not-providers ### Claude Code Skills Eat Tokens Every Turn Every Claude Code skill costs tokens on every turn, even ones you never invoke. The router pattern that cut my catalog from 78 to 40, losing no workflows. URL: https://gabegiro.com/blog/claude-code-router-pattern ### Android Architecture 2024-2026: A Stable Stack The Android stack converged on Compose, MVVM and Hilt. A practitioner's guide to the three layers, one UiState per screen, and migrating off Fragments. URL: https://gabegiro.com/blog/android-architecture-2025 ### Fractional CTO vs Full-Time CTO: How to Choose Fractional CTO vs full-time CTO: compare cost, commitment, and coverage, then use a 5-question decision framework to pick the right model for your stage. URL: https://gabegiro.com/blog/fractional-vs-full-time-cto ### What Is a Fractional CTO? A fractional CTO is a senior engineering leader who works part-time with your startup. Here's when to hire one, what they do, and what to expect to pay. URL: https://gabegiro.com/blog/what-is-a-fractional-cto ### Don't Make AI Your Crutch AI-written code is efficient, but treating it as a magic bullet erodes skills and ships bugs. When to use AI, when to skip it, and how to keep it an assistant, not a crutch. URL: https://gabegiro.com/blog/effective-use-ai-written-code ### Work Without Pull Requests Pull requests can become a bottleneck in closed-source teams. Here is why, when to keep them, and how to move to code discussions without losing quality, speed, or trust. URL: https://gabegiro.com/blog/work-without-pull-requests ### How to Build 10x Developers Exceptional engineers can multiply a team's output. Here's what defines a 10x developer, and how to build and keep them through hiring, momentum, trust, and autonomy. URL: https://gabegiro.com/blog/build-10x-developers ### Spot and Fix Messy Code Messy code creeps in as teams and projects grow. Here are the warning signs that your codebase is deteriorating, and the concrete ways to get your developers back on track. URL: https://gabegiro.com/blog/spot-and-fix-messy-code ### Kotlin Over Java for Android Java on Android is a red flag: it signals outdated practices and pushes good engineers away. Why Kotlin wins, and how to migrate to it incrementally without a risky rewrite. URL: https://gabegiro.com/blog/kotlin-over-java-android ## General FAQ **Q: Who do you typically work with?** Four kinds of client, each with a dedicated page: VC funds (technical due diligence and portfolio engineering support), established companies adopting AI coding agents or auditing their architecture, teams of 100+ that need senior engineering capacity without a full-time hire, and distributed teams setting up async-first tooling. I work remotely, Europe-first, with scheduled syncs across timezones. **Q: What services do you offer?** AI, mobile, and full-stack engineering and technical due diligence for funds, IT consulting (AI adoption and architecture audits) for established companies, embedded senior engineering for larger teams, and async-environment setup for distributed teams. Underneath sit productized offers, retainers, Code Review, Scalable MVP Sprint, Lovable Rescue, each with its own page, scope, and intake form. **Q: How do engagements start?** Most engagements start with a free discovery call to confirm fit. If we move forward, you book the relevant intake form and a paid scoping call follows, ending with a written plan, a price, and a start date. **Q: Do you write code or only set strategy?** Both. I review PRs, write production code, and pair with your developers. Pure strategy without execution is rarely useful in early-stage companies. The Advisor plan leans strategic; the Builder plan leans delivery; one-off services like Code Review and Scalable MVP Sprint are delivery-first. **Q: How are you different from an agency or a generalist consultant?** You get one senior engineer with 12+ years of experience and 150M+ users impacted at Telegram and Recall, working directly on your codebase: no account managers, no hand-offs, no junior staff billed at senior rates. One accountable person who writes the code, reviews the PRs, and stays on the hook for the outcome. **Q: How fast can you start?** Discovery calls are usually scheduled within a few business days of you reaching out. Once an engagement is agreed, retainer work starts the following week and fixed-price sprints (Scalable MVP, Lovable Rescue) start on the next available sprint slot. Active sprint capacity is listed on each service page.