I help companies use AI where it actually matters — not where it's trendy.
Rafael Fischer, PhD
AI Software Engineer
Building new products, automating expensive manual work, or becoming AI-native from the inside out.
Same engineering rigor. Different starting point.
Turn your idea into a real product
For founders and early-stage teams who need more than a demo. I design and build systems that scale, survive scrutiny, and support real business growth.
Fits you if you have a validated idea or investor pressure to ship something real, and want a technical partner — not just someone who builds what you ask.
Build my productStop paying for work a workflow could do
Manual processes that eat hours every week aren't a headcount problem — they're an automation problem. I find the expensive manual flows in your operation and replace them with AI-powered workflows that just run.
Fits you if your team spends hours weekly on repetitive tasks and you want ROI measured in hours and cost.
Find what I can automateBecome AI-native, without the chaos
Most companies don't have an AI problem — they have an adoption problem. I help teams that aren't AI-friendly today build the workflows, guardrails, and habits to actually use AI well.
Fits you if your team still treats AI as an isolated experiment, and you want real adoption — not another tool nobody opens twice.
Talk about where to startProof, not promises
Co-author of "Prompt Engineering in Practice"
Published by Manning Publications, with Richard Davies. A practical guide to prompt design used by engineering teams internationally.
Guest on Hipster Ponto Tech podcast, talking automation and n8n →
"His deep understanding of integration with LLMs and generative AI added immeasurable value to our projects. Rafael led our website re-brand — for a company serving clients like TikTok, BBC, and Michael Kors — with real creativity and technical expertise."
Head of Marketing, Guildhawk
"Rafael has an excellent eye for UI and UX, especially in data-heavy and AI-driven products — striking a rare balance between clean design and technical depth. Someone you can trust with challenging front-end problems."
Software Developer
"He's clearly experienced and self-sufficient, able to take ownership of features and deliver high-quality work without needing direction at every step. An absolute pleasure to work with — I'd happily work with him again."
Delivery Director, AI-XON
"His passion for designing and delivering high-quality SaaS services has digitally transformed how the business delivers value for its customers. I'd happily recommend Rafael for his technical acumen and professionalism."
Founder, CEO & CTO, Meridias
"Rafael's standout quality is his exceptional ability to smoothly integrate cutting-edge technologies into frontend solutions — he effortlessly incorporated LLMs and generative AI into projects, showcasing a holistic approach to problem-solving."
Software Developer
"Rafael is supremely agile and hard-working — able to pivot at a moment's notice when project direction changes, always delivering top quality. Technically brilliant, leadership-minded, and refreshingly personable."
Founder, White Forge Ltd
What this looks like in practice
As part of a small, cross-functional team, helped architect and build a Web3 treasury platform letting users invest stablecoins into DeFi and Real World Asset strategies through self-custody smart contract wallets — across frontend, backend, APIs, and blockchain integrations.
Working alongside a distributed engineering team, helped engineer AI agents and orchestration services (OpenAI, LangChain, Pydantic AI) that automated back-office workflows for accountants and SMBs.
Helped build AI-native engineering infrastructure for the team — MCP servers, developer tooling, context engineering, and guardrails — turning Claude Code and Cursor into a reliable agentic development workflow.
Working with AI engineers and data scientists, helped architect the frontend of an AI-native analytics platform for a global pharma consultancy — configurable dashboards turning explainable-AI outputs into decision-ready visualizations.
As an independent AI engineering consultant, helped founders take AI prototypes to production — architecting full-stack apps with Next.js, Python, and LangChain, and transforming vibe-coded MVPs into tested, CI/CD-backed, maintainable products.
As part of the team building a project management system for architecture firms, helped automate the budget-creation workflow, cutting the time spent on budgeting tasks.
Why most AI initiatives stall
Works for a demo, breaks with real users
The product looks great until real traffic and real data hit it — then architecture shortcuts become blockers.
Automation that only covers the happy path
The workflow works until the first edge case — then someone's back to doing it by hand, quietly, every time.
Tools get adopted, habits don't change
Everyone has access to the AI tool. Nobody actually changed how they work. Nothing really improves.
Rafael Fischer, PhD
I am a software engineer and researcher with over 10 years of hands-on experience in software architecture, engineering, and AI-driven products.
My goal is to simplify complex technical topics, prioritizing value and clarity. I believe in understanding trade-offs, mastering the fundamentals, and growing with more maturity and clear thinking.
I enjoy sharing what I know in a practical way, helping developers who are already past the basics to keep evolving with greater maturity and clarity.
No black box
Diagnose
A short, focused look at what's slow, manual, or fragile — and whether AI is actually the right fix.
Propose
A clear scope: what gets built, what it costs in time, and what it takes to ship.
Build
Short, focused cycles. You see progress every week, not just at the end.
Handoff
Documentation and a working system your team can actually maintain without me.
Before you reach out
Do you work with internal teams or replace hiring?+
I work alongside your team, not instead of it. The goal is a system your people can run and extend after I'm gone — not a dependency on me.
How long does a typical project take?+
Automation projects can take anywhere from under an hour for a single workflow to a few weeks for more complex systems. Build projects range from 2–12 weeks depending on scope. Transform engagements are ongoing, usually starting with a short pilot.
Do you work with our specific stack?+
Most likely — I work across TypeScript, Python, React, Next.js, and common AI/automation tooling like n8n. Bring your stack to the first conversation and we'll figure out fit fast.
What if we're not sure which track fits?+
That's normal, and it's what the first conversation is for. Most projects start with a short diagnosis regardless of which track it ends up being.