Mt Maunganui, NZ
Not an agency. Not freelancer roulette. Just the work, done right.
Software builds, technical rescues, and fractional CTO support for growing businesses, plus brand and website work for founders who need to look credible fast — all from one senior person with thirteen years of production experience.
13+ years in production code, across NZ, Australia, the Philippines, and the Middle East
Production experience across these industries
The problem
The usual options don't fit a lean team.
Dev shops move slow and pad scope. Marketplace freelancers disappear mid-project. A full-time hire is a six-figure bet before you know what you need. There's a faster, more cost-effective way to get it right.
- Dev shops quote big retainers and spend the first month in workshops before you see any code.
- Marketplace freelancers disappear mid-project, and you're left debugging someone else's shortcuts.
- A full-time senior hire is a six-figure commitment before you even know the shape of the problem.
Typical dev shop timeline
2-4 months
My Timeline
2-4 weeks
Cost of a full-time senior hire
$120k+/yr
My Fixed-scope work
From $2,500
Why jgfdigital
Built for founders and small-to-medium businesses who need it done right, not just done fast.
Fixed-scope pricing
Know the price and timeline before work starts. No hourly billing, no scope creep.
Working software in stages
You see progress as it happens, not a single reveal at the end.
13+ years of production experience
Energy, workforce SaaS, recruitment, BPO, and e-commerce systems, still running.
Full handover, no lock-in
Documentation and your own repository from day one. No retainer required to keep it running.
Software and design, one point of contact
Build and brand work from the same person who understands both, not two vendors trading blame.
Direct access, no account manager
You're talking to the person doing the work, not a project coordinator relaying messages.
Why this works
Built to hold up, not just launch.
Every engagement runs through the same four phases, in the same order, whether it's a two-day audit or a six-month rescue.
Inspect
Read the code, the infrastructure, and the support history first. No changes until it's understood.
Draft
A short written plan with a fixed scope or a retainer shape, and a real estimate, before any work starts.
Build
Working software shipped in stages, visible to you as it happens, not delivered all at once at the end.
Maintain
Handover and documentation either way, with an open door if ongoing advisory support is useful.
Track record
Systems this experience comes from.
Energy & utilities
Powerco (Solutions Specialist)
1 yr 9 mo
Salesforce-based public customer platform, geospatial SOAP APIs, Sitecore CMS upgrades.
Salesforce · Sitecore · Azure
People Presence SaaS
OnLocation / MRI Software (Full Stack Developer)
5 yr 3 mo
Five years on people-presence tracking, REST APIs, and Outlook/Graph integration.
Node.js · TypeScript · Zend
Recruitment tech
e-Cruitment Australia (Lead Software Developer)
1 yr 6 mo
Custom CRUD applications built around client-specific hiring workflows.
Yii2 · MySQL
Education marketplace
UniTutors (co-founder)
10 mo
Tutoring marketplace grown to 395 tutors and 5,560 members from scratch.
Yii2 · Bootstrap
BPO / enterprise intranet
TaskUs (Mid-level Developer & Project Lead)
2 yr
Intranet for 7,000+ staff and a ticketing system that cut handling time by 75%.
Internal tooling · BI
E-commerce & distribution
4D Systems (Full Stack Developer)
1 yr 1 mo
Centralized multi-role platform: shopping cart, payments, inventory, support.
PHP · MySQL
What I build
Services & specialties. Pick what fits.
Every engagement is scoped individually, but these come up the most. Click one to start the conversation.
Technical Audit & Due Diligence
A structured review of an existing codebase, architecture, and infrastructure before you commit budget to bigger work: what's fragile, what's fine, and what it would actually take to fix.
Legacy System Rescue
Untangling and modernizing ageing websites and web apps into maintainable, well-structured code, in stages, without a risky ground-up rewrite.
Enterprise Platform Integration
Bridging the gap between platform configuration and custom code across Salesforce, Sitecore, and Azure/MS Graph, including REST and SOAP APIs and geospatial data.
Custom Internal Tools
Purpose-built approval flows, ticketing, and intranet applications, shaped around how your team actually works rather than how off-the-shelf software assumes it works.
CI/CD & Deployment Setup
A properly scoped Docker Compose and CI/CD pipeline: build-once-promote-everywhere, SHA-tagged images, managed secrets, set up as a fixed-scope engagement.
Fractional CTO / Technical Advisory
Ongoing architecture and technology decisions on retainer: reviewing plans, unblocking a team, or being the senior technical voice in the room.
Brand & Website Design
A refreshed visual identity and homepage that actually reflects the product: colors, type, imagery, and a structure built to convert, not just look nice.
Product UI/UX Design
Interface design for the product itself, from wireframes to a polished, developer-ready design system, built by someone who also understands what it takes to ship it.
Common questions
Answered straight, before you ask.
Do you only fix legacy websites and apps, or build new things too?
Both. Legacy rescue is the strongest fit for the track record, but a good share of engagements are new internal tools, integrations, or CI/CD setups built from scratch.
Is this more cost-effective than hiring an agency?
Usually, because there's no account manager or bench to cover. You're working directly with the person writing the code, on a fixed-scope or retainer basis.
Do I own the code afterwards?
Yes. Whatever's built is handed over in full, in your own repository, with documentation for anyone who maintains it after me.
What if I don't know what's actually wrong, just that something's off?
That's what the audit is for. It's a structured look at the codebase and infrastructure to name the actual problem before spending on a fix.
Fixed price or retainer, how does that work?
Audits and legacy rescue work are usually fixed-scope. Advisory and ongoing support run on a monthly retainer. Either way, scope and cost are agreed before work starts.
Can you work alongside a team I already have?
Yes, that's common for the integration and advisory work in particular. Just as often, it's taking something over solo where there's no team yet.
Where are you based, and do you work outside New Zealand?
Based in Mt. Maunganui, NZ, and remote-first. Past work has spanned New Zealand, Australia, and the Philippines.
How long does a typical audit take?
Usually one to two weeks depending on the size of the codebase, ending with a written report and a straight answer on what's next.
Do you do branding and design without any code involved?
Yes. A brand and website refresh can stand on its own, though most clients end up wanting the two connected since I can build what I design.
Get in touch
A clear answer, fast.
No sales call needed to begin. Say what's going on and I'll reply with whether it's a quick fix, a bigger rescue, or something in between.
What are we looking at?
- What the system is, and what it runs on if you know it
- What's slow, breaking, or nobody wants to touch
- Rough timeline: this quarter, or just gathering information
- [email protected]
- Phone
- +64 27 580 0991
- Location
- Mt. Maunganui, Tauranga 3116, New Zealand
- Availability
- Audits and fixed-scope work, remote-first