Good ideas deserve to be built well
What I can help with
Existing product development
Frontend engineering
Websites & digital presence
Prototypes & technical exploration
Technical consulting
Experience built on real products
Taming complexity
I've worked on large web applications with hundreds of controls and interconnected workflows, where even a small change can have unexpected effects elsewhere in the interface. As these applications grow, keeping them responsive and manageable becomes a challenge of its own.
Some of my work has involved tracking down rendering issues, improving how state is managed across different parts of an application, and revisiting architectural decisions that no longer suited the product. Often, the first challenge is understanding what's actually causing a problem before deciding how to fix it.
Bridging technologies
Real projects don't always give you the option of starting fresh. I've worked on bringing newer technologies into older applications, where existing dependencies and platform limitations had to be taken into account rather than simply replaced.
In one project, that meant dynamically loading a newer generation of web components, along with their styles and polyfills, into an application built around the previous version of the same UI platform. The challenge was getting the new components to work without disrupting what was already there.
AI integrations
I've worked on integrating AI-powered services into web applications, from conversational interfaces to automated reviews and AI-generated suggestions. While these features might seem straightforward from a user's perspective, there's often quite a bit happening between the application and the services behind them.
Depending on the feature, that has meant handling long-running API requests, polling for results, recovering conversations, and managing editing flows. I've also built internal tools that help engineers inspect AI responses and understand how they were produced. Getting all these moving parts to work together is often just as interesting as the AI itself.
Beyond the familiar
Some projects have taken me well outside the usual frontend stack, from face-tracked 3D avatars inside video calls to RTSP stream injection and real-time speech transcription. I've also worked with browser-level APIs and custom data extraction tools, often in areas where I had little previous experience.
This usually meant reading documentation, experimenting, and figuring out what was actually possible. I enjoy that side of engineering, where the approach isn't immediately obvious and you have to understand how something works before you can decide what to build with it.
How I work
01 — Let's talk
Everything starts with a discovery call. Tell me what you have in mind, what you're trying to improve, or where you're running into trouble. I'll ask questions, get familiar with your situation, and try to understand what you actually need.
Don't worry, you don't need to have everything figured out before we talk. That part is usually also something I can help with.
02 — Make a plan
After our conversation, I'll gather any additional information I need and work out a proposed approach. We'll discuss what needs to be done, where to start, and any technical decisions worth considering early on.
I like to think ahead, especially when a decision could make future changes easier. But I also know when a simpler approach makes more sense. The goal is to find the right balance for your project.
03 — Work together
Once we're both happy with the plan, development begins. I'll keep you informed as things progress and make sure there's room for feedback along the way.
I value an open exchange of ideas. If I think something could be done differently, or that a particular decision might cause problems later, I'll explain my reasoning. And if you have a different perspective, I'm always happy to hear it. Good work usually comes from having such conversations.
04 — Get it right
I pay close attention to the little things, from how an interface responds to an interaction to the details of its layout and animations. It's these little details that often separate something that just works from something that genuinely feels good to use.
That attention extends to the code as well. I want what I build to remain understandable and practical to maintain. Before wrapping up, we'll review the result together and address anything that still needs attention.
Who you'll be working with
I'm Cristian, a software engineer based in Bucharest. Frontend is where I've spent most of my career, but I've always been interested in understanding how the rest of a product works, too. I find that knowing how everything fits together helps me make better decisions about the parts I'm building.
I've worked in small startups where responsibilities often extend beyond a single role, as well as large organisations with established systems and their own ways of doing things. I enjoy figuring out how things work, questioning decisions when something doesn't quite add up, and getting into the little details that can make a product noticeably better.
8+ years
Building for the web
I've been working with web technologies since 2018, from early projects and hackathons to years of building and maintaining products in professional teams.
Frontend specialist
Complex interfaces & architecture
Most of my experience is in frontend engineering, particularly with React and TypeScript. I'm especially comfortable working on complex interfaces where the architecture behind them matters just as much as what appears on screen.
End-to-end capable
Beyond the browser
While frontend is my main focus, I'm also comfortable working with backend services, APIs, databases, and other parts of the stack when a project calls for it. I like understanding how a feature works from beginning to end.
Academic background
Software engineering & security
I hold a bachelor's degree in Software Engineering and a master's degree in Network Security, both from University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, with diploma grades of 9.2/10 and 10/10 respectively.
My technical toolkit
Core technologies
Frontend ecosystem
Backend & infrastructure
Specialized & creative
What a project might cost
Business websites
For businesses, professionals, and anyone who needs a website that presents their work clearly and makes a good impression. Whether it's a landing page, a portfolio, or a company website, I'll design and build it around your content and brand.
Typical range€1,500 – €4,000
- Custom responsive design and implementation
- Pages and layouts built around your content
- Contact forms and common integrations
- Basic SEO and social sharing metadata
- Attention to performance and accessibility
- Deployment and launch support
A good fit for
Business websites, portfolios, landing pages, and other content-focused websites.
Advanced websites
Some websites need to do more than present information. Maybe you want to manage content yourself, connect to services you already use, or offer visitors something more interactive. These projects usually involve more design and development work.
Typical range€3,000 – €8,000+
- Content management systems (CMS)
- Custom interactive features
- Third-party services and API integrations
- More involved forms and user flows
- Multilingual or content-heavy websites
- Custom animations and visual interactions
A good fit for
Larger company websites, content platforms, and interactive websites with requirements beyond a traditional presentation site.
Web applications & prototypes
An internal tool, a SaaS product, and a prototype built to test an idea can be very different projects. Rather than publish a price range so broad that it becomes meaningless, I'd prefer to understand what you need before putting a number on it.
Quoted individually
- Product planning and technical architecture
- Custom application development
- Complex interfaces and dashboards
- Authentication and user workflows
- Backend services and API integrations
- Prototypes and proof-of-concepts
- Testing, deployment, and further development
A good fit for
SaaS products, internal tools, dashboards, early-stage product ideas, and custom web applications.
Development & consulting
Not everything needs to become a standalone project. If you already have a product or a development team, I can get involved with a specific task, help solve a technical problem, or work with you over a longer period.
€60/hour · €480/day
- Developing new features
- Frontend development and architecture
- Bug fixing and performance improvements
- Refactoring and codebase reviews
- API and third-party integrations
- Technical consulting
- Additional development capacity for an existing team
A good fit for
Existing products, established development teams, and work where requirements or priorities may change over time.
Let's figure it out
Have a project in mind or an existing product that needs some attention? Tell me a little about it. We can start with a free call and see what makes sense.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a detailed plan before contacting you?
Not at all. You might have a clear set of requirements, a rough idea, or just a problem you're trying to solve. We can start with a conversation and work out the details from there.
Can you handle both design and development?
Yes, particularly for websites. I can work on the design and implementation together, or build from designs you already have. If your project needs more extensive branding or design work, we can discuss that separately.
Can you work with an existing codebase or development team?
Absolutely. I'm comfortable joining projects that are already underway, whether that means developing new features, improving existing code, or working alongside other engineers. I don't need to build something from scratch to contribute.
How do you calculate the price of a project?
Pricing depends on the type of work involved. For projects with a clear scope, I can provide an estimate based on the requirements. For ongoing or evolving work, an hourly or daily rate may be more suitable. We'll agree on the scope and costs before getting started.
How long does a typical project take?
That depends on what we're building. A focused landing page and a custom web application require very different amounts of work.
Once I understand your requirements, I can give you a more realistic timeline and discuss any deadlines you have in mind.
Will I be able to update my website myself?
If that's something you need, we can plan for it from the beginning. A content management system (CMS) can let you update text, images, and other content without touching the code.
Not every website needs one, though, so we'll figure out what makes sense for yours.
What happens after the project is launched?
That depends on what we've agreed on. Some projects need a handover and little else, while others benefit from ongoing maintenance, updates, or further development.
We can discuss what kind of support you might need and include it in the plan.
Do you work with clients outside Romania?
Yes. I'm based in Bucharest, but I work remotely and am open to collaborating with clients from other countries.
We can communicate online and arrange meetings around our respective schedules.