Back to index

    Projects / 2020 — now

    Selected
    work.

    Seven builds — the platform I led as Head of Engineering, an AI-native MVP I shipped as founding engineer, and five for clients and studios. Each one taught me something concrete about how to ship under constraints.

    ★ Featured

    00Shipped2022 → now

    Pointz —
    safer bike mapping.

    Navigation for cyclists, led end-to-end as Head of Engineering.

    Pointz is a community-powered navigation app for cyclists; I joined a year after launch and grew into the lead role across three titles — frontend → full-stack → Head of Engineering — re-architecting the navigation core, designing the security baseline, hardening the API tier, and slashing infrastructure spend.

    Former Head of Engineering · now on ad-hoc maintenance retainer

    65%

    AWS cost reduction

    3 roles

    FE → FS → Head of Eng

    Retainer

    ad-hoc maintenance today

    Open bikepointz.com
    Pointz app icon
    CTO testimonial
    “Shahil is one of the most talented engineers and people I have met in my life. We have increased our output for our mobile app by 10x solely because of his work.”
    Trisha B. — CTO, Pointz (Verified on Upwork, Jul 2023)

    What I shipped

    • 01Re-architected the on-device navigation system — better TTS, smarter re-routing, smoother turn-by-turn UX.
    • 02Designed crowdsourcing primitives for hazards, shortcuts, and amenities (client + server).
    • 03Migrated payments to In-App Purchases via RevenueCat + Stripe for web — boosting profit per active subscriber.
    • 04Built the platform's security baseline: auth/session tokens, PKCE, SSL pinning, nonce validation, encryption at rest & in flight.
    • 05Reduced AWS spend 65% through EC2/RDS right-sizing and aggressive resource management.

    Stack

    React NativeJava Spring BootPostgreSQLAWS (EC2, RDS, S3)MapboxFirebaseStripeRevenueCatPKCESSL pinningCodePush

    ∴ More builds

    01
    Shipped

    Stealth — AI-native startup

    Founding engineer. Shipped an AI-native MVP with Claude Code.

    I joined as founding engineer and shipped the MVP solo, with Claude Code, custom skills, and subagent workflows sitting at the center of the engineering loop — not bolted on. Exited April 2026 after MVP delivery. Architecture, naming, and details remain private.

    Dec 2025 → Apr 2026Founding Engineer · stealth — Dec 2025 → Apr 2026
    • Founding engineer: owned product, engineering, and AI workflow design from zero.
    • Composed Claude Code skills and subagents into a daily engineering loop that compressed cycle time.
    • Designed the product so AI was a first-class collaborator, not a fallback.
    • MVP shipped; exited April 2026.

    MVP

    shipped solo

    AI-native

    core loop

    Claude CodeCustom skillsSubagent workflowsAI orchestrationTypeScriptPython
    02
    Shipped

    Madina Network Analysis

    Surfacing patterns in network data.

    A completed Python build using the Madina library to study network behavior and pull out structural patterns — explored applications to streets, cyclists, and route choice.

    2024 — 2025Side build · solo
    • Pipeline that ingests graph-shaped data and exposes pattern-level views.
    • Applied the techniques to mobility data — streets, cyclists, route choice.
    • Closed once the experiment delivered its insights; learnings carried into current work.
    PythonMadinaJupyterNetworkX
    03
    Shipped

    Global Surf Club — React Native build

    Mobile build for a community surf brand.

    A React Native build delivered as a fixed-price engagement on Upwork. Closed at 5.0 stars with a 100% recommendation review.

    2022Freelance React Native Developer · Global Surf Club
    • Delivered a fixed-price mobile build end-to-end inside an Upwork engagement.
    • Closed the contract at 5.0 stars — "Lovely guy, 100% recommend" from the client.

    5.0

    Upwork rating

    Fixed price

    engagement

    React NativeiOSAndroidMobile UI
    Verified review
    “Lovely guy, 100% recommend.”
    Global Surf Club — Upwork client, Nov 2022
    04
    Shipped
    MoodMe app icon

    MoodMe — Relationship Mood

    Daily check-ins for couples.

    A mood-tracking app for relationships. I led the messaging + deep-linking work and stabilised the app across a long tail of devices. It crossed 100K downloads across iOS and Android.

    2020 — 2022React Native Developer · Artistry Solutions
    • Wired Firebase messaging with deep links into the right surfaces.
    • Bug-bashed the long tail of device-specific crashes — meaningful stability lift.
    • Helped the app cross 100K+ downloads across iOS and Android.

    100K+

    downloads

    iOS + Android

    shipped on both

    React NativeFirebaseFirebase MessagingDeep Links
    05
    Shipped
    Trace Bust / FakeCallerID logo

    Trace Bust

    Modernised utility app, light & dark.

    Took an aging utility app, refreshed the UI, introduced light/dark theme switching, and rebuilt monetization on react-native-iap. Upgraded the toolchain to support modern devices.

    2021 — 2022React Native Developer · Artistry Solutions
    • Redesigned the UI and introduced robust light/dark theme switching.
    • Modernised the toolchain so new devices were supported cleanly.
    • Wired in In-App Purchase via react-native-iap as the primary monetization path.
    React Nativereact-native-iapDark ModeiOS / Android
    06
    Shipped
    Prank Caller app icon

    Prank Caller

    Custom 60-fps drawer + chat.

    A playful phone-dial app. The brief: a drawer animation that felt buttery. I built a custom drawer hitting a steady 60 fps and added a prank-chat messaging surface.

    2021React Native Developer · Artistry Solutions
    • Custom drawer animation with sustained 60-fps smoothness.
    • Built a prank-chat messaging UI with playful micro-interactions.
    React NativeReanimatedGesture Handler
    07
    Shipped

    Stormglass Weather Integration

    Took over a stalled mobile build.

    Took over the project mid-stream to integrate APIs and design state management. Wired stormglass.io to deliver accurate weather data into a mobile product surface.

    2022Sr React Native Developer · Eglaf Technology
    • Took ownership of a stalled codebase and shipped the integration.
    • Designed state management from scratch around clean API boundaries.
    React NativeReduxstormglass.io API

    ∆ The way I work

    Four things I refuse to compromise on.

    Every project above tested at least one of these. The ones that crossed 100K downloads, ran for years, or cut spend by 65% did so because of them.

    Security as default

    PKCE, SSL pinning, nonce validation, encryption — baked into every product I own, not bolted on after launch.

    Cheaper, by design

    Right-size before you scale. AWS spend dropped 65% at Pointz without sacrificing reliability.

    Ship the rough draft

    Working software beats theoretical software. Then sharpen the edges in the next iteration.

    One owner, full stack

    Best feature velocity comes from one engineer who can move between mobile, backend, and infra without handoff.

    → Next chapter

    Have a hard product waiting for an owner?

    I'm best at being the single engineer who carries a product end-to-end. If you have one of those — or just want to swap notes — let's talk.

    Open a threadHire on Upwork