Custom-built web-based software.

I love to turn ideas into effective products.

Turn your visitors into users.

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Litiks makes custom-built software that runs in the cloud.

Litiks is Ontario-based software developer Aaron Mader. I specialize in the creation, growth, and long-term support of software written in python using the django web framework.





Entegrus Inc.
Electricity Distribution Company

We want to see the location of every company vehicle - and every smart meter reporting an outage - on the same map, in real-time.

IT Manager

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Aaron
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Jorritsma Design (David Jorritsma)
Wayfinding Designer & Entrepreneur

I have an idea for a software product. I want to build an MVP of a specialized project management tool for wayfinding and signage projects.

David

Cool beans!

Aaron
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SignAgent Inc.
Software Startup

We're funded! Now let's hire more developers, add a whack of features, scale up our server infrastructure, and enter the big leagues.

Company Owner

Let's make it happen, cap'n.

Aaron
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Edgewell Operations, Hanover.
Manufacturing Plant

We want to measure how efficient our production lines are - automatically - by tracking the RFID cards that our employees are already wearing.

Plant Manager

Let's do it.

Aaron
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About Aaron

I'm a senior full-stack software developer with 14+ years of experience with python and django.

I manage small sites running on a single machine, and large-scale deployments on AWS scaling up to hundreds of servers.

I have helped many clients connect the dots between their existing services. I've interfaced with countless APIs and 3rd party services. For a fun example; check out reddit-to-speech. A fully automated podcast.

I have a long track record of reliability. I continue to support and maintain some projects started over 10 years ago.

I'm also a gentle, caring father to my two children, and a proud ambassador to my wife's rising cookie empire: Roundhouse Cookie Co.

Services

Software Development & DevOps


$ 950 /day

My services are available through a monthly retainer for a fixed number of days per month. Alternative arrangements may also be considered.**


Software Development:

I provide end-to-end software development services. I can take you from idea to finished product.

I'm a senior full-stack developer with 14+ years of experience with django.

I'm comfortable moving carefully; using test-driven-development, code reviews, internal QA, and staged rollouts to ensure that your production environment is always rock solid.

I'm also comfortable moving fast; writing quick and dirty code that 'just barely works', to help you test an idea or solve a pressing problem.


Dev Ops:

I will refactor your code to enable horizontal scaling.

I will identify and refactor slow code to improve performance.

I will break off slow-running code to run in the background.

I will transition your project to run in a container (ie: docker, LXC)

I will set you up on AWS or Kubernetes with elastic auto-scaling.

I will set you up with automatic testing and deployment (CI/CD).

I will work with your development team to establish best practices.

I will conduct technical interviews if you want to grow the team.


Managed Hosting:

Whether you need a single server, or a multi-region kubernetes cluster running thousands of containers: I'll look after the servers so you can get on with business.

I can also manage servers that are located on-premises.


** For trial periods or late stage projects; I may provide services by the hour, at $140/hour, as my availability allows.

I'm also happy to consider signing on as a part-time employee; if you're pursuing grant money to cover a portion of my salary.

Maintenance-as-a-Service


$ 12.50 /dependency every month**

A simple service retainer to keep your finished project up-to-date.


Upgrades:

I will keep your project up-to-date with the latest versions of your operating system, python, and javascript dependencies.

I will refactor your code, when a new dependency release has breaking changes.

I will set up CI/CD & automated testing.

I will set up tools (like snyk) to monitor your dependencies for known vulnerabilities.


Basic Housekeeping:

I will set up error and performance monitoring tools (like sentry, AWS x-ray), to help spot bugs and performance hot spots.

I will look after simple bugs and performance improvements, like optimizing a database query, or caching the result of a common function.

Learn more

** This pricing is more of a guideline. Let's talk!

A dependency is any 3rd party code which is not maintained within your project itself. This commonly includes:

  • your operating system (ex: ubuntu)
  • os-level dependencies (ex: memcached, nginx, python)
  • python-level dependencies (ex: django, mysqlclient, python-memcached)
  • javascript-level dependencies (ex: jquery)
  • Custom integrations with external APIs and services

Python and Node packages often include their own dependencies, which can create an enormous dependency graph. My pricing is usually tied to those dependencies which you call directly, but exceptions may be made for a dependency in your stack which is slow to apply upstream updates.






Let's Connect

Are you ready? Let's talk! Send me an email at [email protected].