About
A senior engineer who builds what your business actually needs.
Emery Labs is the practice of John Adjei, a senior engineer with 20+ years building software across startups, enterprise, and the public sector. You work with me directly: no account managers, no hand-offs, no bloat. I design and build the specific system your business needs, made to last and to grow with you.
My background runs from event-driven platforms handling tens of millions of events a day, to data pipelines inside classified environments, to offline-tolerant field systems for public-sector programs. For a small business, that experience shows up as sharper decisions, fewer dead ends, and software that keeps working long after launch.
How I work
Principles, not a process deck.
- 01
Built for your problem
I start from the specific outcome your business needs, then build the simplest thing that gets you there, not a platform looking for a purpose.
- 02
Right-sized, no bloat
Exactly what the problem needs and nothing speculative. Less code is less to break, less to secure, and less to pay for later.
- 03
Built to grow
Durable foundations that scale as your business does, so success doesn’t force a rewrite six months in.
- 04
Dependable by default
Least-privilege access, validated inputs, and real tests. The systems I build are meant to hold up quietly, for years.
Ways to engage
- 01
Fixed-scope build
A defined deliverable with clear acceptance criteria and a firm quote.
- 02
Fractional engineering lead
Ongoing senior engineering leadership for your product or team, without a full-time hire.
- 03
Delivery partner
Subcontracted delivery under a partner firm. I’m available for early scoping calls to make sure the spec is buildable before anything is signed.