Hey, I'm David.
I write software, and I look after the people who write it with me.
Developer turned engineering manager in Toronto. Still in the codebase most weeks, mostly because I like it there.
A bit about me
I got into this because I liked taking things apart to see why they worked. That hasn't really changed — the systems just got bigger, and now there are people attached to them.
These days I split my time between writing code and clearing the road for a team of engineers. I care less about shipping the clever thing and more about whether the person next to me understands it, can change it, and doesn't dread being on call for it.
I keep a journal, I think better after a long walk than in a meeting, and I'd rather be corrected early than right at the end.
What I keep coming back to
Simplicity
If it needs a diagram to explain, it needs another pass. The best systems I've worked on were ones a new hire could reason about in a week — and the same is true of a good day.
Peace
Quiet pagers, quiet mornings, quiet disagreements that get resolved. I've never seen urgency produce better work than calm did.
The team is the product
Software is downstream of how people feel about their week. Most of managing is removing friction nobody thought worth mentioning.
Outside of that
On from the moment I sit down. Half my taste came from other people's playlists and I'm not sorry about it.
Three going at once, all half finished, all genuinely enjoyed.
Most of my clearest thinking happens on paper before it ever reaches a screen.
There's always one side project I've promised myself I'll finish. There always will be.
I cook most of what I eat. Less discipline than it sounds — I just like the process.
Occasionally, unhurried, usually with people worth staying at the table for.
The professional bit
Mostly backend and platform work — the queues, retries and migrations that quietly decide whether a product feels trustworthy. For the full list of titles and dates, that's what LinkedIn is for.