Founding Engineer at Speakeasy, an API Experience company. Specializing in high-performance backend systems, distributed architectures, and enterprise-grade platforms.
Expert guidance for building production-ready applications and platforms. I help teams design, architect, and implement robust software - whether it's web & mobile apps, cloud platforms, or AI solutions.
Principal Software Engineer, Consultant & Freelancer specializing in Backend Systems, Cloud Architecture, and Applied AI
Based in
Cairns, Australia
Where the 🌴 Rainforest meets the Reef 🐠
I'm a Principal Software Engineer, Consultant, and Freelancer based in Cairns, Australia, helping companies build high-quality applications and platforms. From web and mobile apps to complex backend systems and AI solutions, I deliver production-ready software for businesses across Queensland and worldwide.
With 17+ years of professional software development experience across Developer Experience, FinTech, gaming, and online advertising, I help organisations move from ideas and experiments to production-ready software that delivers real business value. Based in tropical North Queensland, I work with clients locally in Cairns and remotely around the globe.
17+
Years Experience
5+
Industries
6
Teams Led
How I can help you build better software and systems
Remote & On-site Available
Strategic consulting for software development, cloud platforms, and AI implementations. Helping teams build better systems faster.
Expert guidance on building websites, web applications, backends, and APIs. Helping teams choose the right technologies, patterns, and approaches.
Practical AI implementation guidance, agent architectures, LLM integrations, and automation strategies that deliver real business value.
Comprehensive system assessments, code reviews, and technical roadmap planning to ensure you're building on solid foundations.
AWS, GCP, Azure architecture guidance, infrastructure planning, and cost optimization strategies.
Technical coaching from students to CTOs - level up skills, establish best practices, and grow your engineering capabilities.
Remote & Flexible Engagement
Hands-on development and technical services. When you need expert implementation, not just advice.
Cairns-based freelance software engineer offering full-stack development expertise for short or long-term projects. Golang, TypeScript, React, Next.js, and more.
Custom web applications, APIs, and platforms built with modern technologies and best practices.
Migrate and modernize aging systems to cloud-native architectures without disrupting your business.
Technical troubleshooting, infrastructure management, and ongoing support for businesses.
Strategic technical guidance for founders - from MVP planning to scaling decisions and hiring your first engineers.
Interested in working together? Let's discuss your project.
Worked with me before? I'd love to hear your feedback!
Write a Review on GoogleFrom game engines to cloud platforms - building software at scale
Tools and technologies I work with daily
10+
Companies
5+
Industries
18+
Team Size Led
3
Cloud Platforms
Technical insights on software engineering, AI development, and building production systems
OpenAPI is often dismissed as just documentation. But teams that treat it as infrastructure unlock automation, consistency, and scale across SDKs, docs, testing, and platform tooling.
Vibe coding has taken hold, but it's not how I get consistently high-quality results. Here's the workflow I use to get the best from AI agents while avoiding the slop.
After years of procrastination, I finally built and launched tristancartledge.com using AI-Directed Development. Here's how modern tooling made it possible.
Whether you need help building robust backend systems, implementing AI solutions, or modernizing your legacy systems - I'd love to hear from you.
Based in Cairns, I'm available for worldwide remote consulting and development projects. Let's discuss how I can help.
