index.html

---
layout: default
---

<div class="home">
  <p>
    Hi! My name is Nuno, I am an enthusiast software developer with a passion for startups and design.
    I’m a polyglot programmer with a fondness for the functional paradigm. Beautiful code, cool programming
    technology, and excellent team spirit are my bread & butter.
  </p>

  <div class="table-of-contents">
    <p>-
      <a href="#builder-of-software">Builder of software</a>,
      <a href="#product-focused">product focused</a>,
      <a href="#designer-wannabe">designer wannabe</a>
      -
      </p>
  </div>

  <div id="builder-of-software">
    <h2>Builder of Software</h2>
    <p style="font-family: monospace;">There are a handful of principles that guide the way I build, maintain, and deliver software.</p>

    <div class="two-column-grid">
      <div>
        <h3>Robustness</h3>
        <p>
          Controlled side-effects, type-safety, immutable data, proper error handling, small functions,
          simplicity, seamless refactoring, thorough testing, excellent readability, well-written
          documentation, attent code reviews, clean git history, clear specs and roadmaps, continuous
          integration and delivery, reproducible builds, fast iterations. That's what I'm all in for.</p>
      </div>
        <div>
          <h3>Diversity</h3>
          <p>
            Moved by the joy of learning new ways of thinking, Haskell, Rust, Elixir, Swift,
            Python, C, and Objective-C are some of the techs I loved learning and using in production.
            However flexible, I'm particularly fond of the functional paradigm and backend
            engineering, specially the design of apis, domain-specific languages, and
            distributed and decentralized systems, where the most interesting computing problems are.
          </p>
        </div>
        <div>
          <h3>Pragmatism</h3>
          <p>
            Software is all about trade-offs, so I appreciate and work the skill
            of pragmatism as the quality of dealing with a problem in a sensible way that
            suits the conditions that really exist, rather than following dogmas or bare ideals.
            "First make it work, then make it beautiful, and if really necessary make it fast"
            by Joe Amstrong is, therefore, the process guiding my way of solving problems.
          </p>
        </div>
        <div>
          <h3>Team effort</h3>
          <p>
            Wolfs hunt together. I believe that our best potential is leveraged when working in
            solid, trust-based, safe, transparent, and dynamic teams where the standards are high
            and where everyone has the improvement and support of each other in their best interest.
            Raised playing team sports, excellent team spirit are my bread & butter and a key factor
            for enjoyable work.
          </p>
        </div>
        <div>
          <h3>Open source</h3>
          <p>
            When I received my first free Linux distribution as a late teenager, I was astonished that
            a free operating system - that anyone in the world could contribute to - had just
            brought my old pc back to life and outperform a mainstream, closed, and corporate alternative
            costing $300 a license. I felt moved by that experience and have always worked in environments
            where open source is at the core of the culture. Now proudly working on <ref="https://radicle.xyz">Radicle</a>,
            an open-source, secure peer-to-peer code collaboration without intermediaries.
          </p>
        </div>
    </div>
  </div>

  <div id="product-focused">
    <h2>Product Focused</h2>
    <p>Beautiful tech to build beautiful products.</p>

    <div class="two-column-grid">
        <div>
          <h3>Products over Projects</h3>
          <p>
            During a few years of consultancy, working in different projects every other month,
            it became clear that my heart was in products. Moved to product companies by Joel
            Spolsky, I see in products the opportunity to witness the long-term consequences
            of design and implementation decisions and to keep bringing value week after week to
            end-users.
          </p>
        </div>
        <div>
          <h3>Small environments</h3>
          <p>With an aquired passion for startups, my preference lays in small environments moved by
            great taste and vision focused around a product, where there are clear OKRs guiding and
            contextualizing the much work to do, where everyone is accountable and able to make
            a real impact in the course of the product and company.
          </p>
        </div>
        <div>
          <h3>Tech as a means to an end</h3>
          <p>
            I sure enjoy learning and getting lost in the internals of programming languages. However,
            seeing the meaning and purpose of the work I do is fundamental to me. Working on products
            that truly mean to make a difference in the world is, therefore, my deepest aim.
          </p>
        </div>
    </div>
  </div>

  <div id="designer-wannabe">
    <h2>Designer wannabe</h2>
    <p>Fine designers and artists have my deepest respect and whenever possible I get
      in touch with their craft and learn from them. </p>
    <div class="two-column-grid">
        <div>
          <h3>Typography</h3>
          <p>
            For some reason, I have always paid some caring attention to typography.
            Be it in school reports, presentations, art, posters, street signs,
            books, you name it. The Introduction to Typography course by the California
            Institute of the Arts brought shape and formal thinking to this passion of mine.
          </p>
        </div>
        <div>
          <h3>UI & UX</h3>
          <p>Having started off as a web designer, my UI designer side is still around. I have
            <a href="https://nunoalexandre.com/2018/02/04/redesigning-haskell-docs">redesigned the Haskell docs</a>,
            <a href="https://nunoalexandre.com/2019/10/30/the-new-kidiyo-menu">designed the new Kidiyo app menu</a>,
            <a href="https://arochalife.com">A Rocha Life</a>'s website,
            the <a href="https://docs.channable.com/api/v1/#introduction">Channable API documentation</a>,
            this very blog, and more. The UI & UX courses I followed during my bachelor taught me
            a good deal around what makes a great experience, something I am always on the lookout for.</p>
        </div>
        <div>
          <h3>Visuals</h3>
          <p>
            No more efficient designing visuals than elephants riding bikes,
            somehow I pulled a logo for the <a href="https://github.com/channable/icepeak">Icepeak - Fast JSON document
            store written in Haskell</a>, an open-source project I contributed to.
            Definitly something I'd like to get better at.
          </p>
        </div>
    </div>

    <p class="centered">
      <em>
        See also <a href="/resume>">my resume</a> and read more <a href="/about">about me</a>.
      </em>
    </p>
  </div>