Home / Rescue Missions
// SERVICE

Rescue
Missions

When things break or teams are stuck. Fast, focused intervention to get your project back on track — whether it's legacy code, performance issues, or critical bugs.

// THE SITUATION

When Good Projects Go Bad

It happens to the best teams. A critical system goes down. Performance degrades to the point users complain. The codebase becomes so tangled that simple changes take weeks.

Maybe you inherited a legacy system that nobody understands. Maybe technical debt accumulated faster than anyone realized. Maybe a key developer left and took critical knowledge with them.

Whatever the cause, you need someone who can diagnose the problem quickly, create a plan, and execute — without making things worse.

Warning Signs You Need Help

  • Deployments are scary and often break things
  • Simple features take 5x longer than they should
  • The same bugs keep coming back
  • Performance is degrading over time
  • Nobody wants to touch certain parts of the code
  • Your team is frustrated and losing morale
// SCENARIOS

Common Rescue Scenarios

Legacy Code Modernization

You have a system that works but is built on outdated technology, making it hard to maintain, extend, or hire developers for.

PHP 5.x → Modern PHP 8
jQuery spaghetti → React/Vue
Monolith → Modular architecture
No tests → Test coverage

Performance Optimization

Your application is slow, users are complaining, and you're not sure where to start. I identify bottlenecks and fix them systematically.

Database query optimization 10x faster
Caching strategy implementation 90% cache hit
N+1 query elimination -500 queries
API response time <100ms

Critical Bug Resolution

Production is on fire. Data is corrupted. Users can't log in. When you need someone who can diagnose and fix issues under pressure.

Memory leaks & crashes 🔥 Priority
Data integrity issues 🔥 Priority
Security vulnerabilities 🔥 Priority
Integration failures 🔥 Priority

Failed Project Recovery

A project went off the rails — maybe from a bad agency, departed developers, or scope creep. I assess what's salvageable and chart a path forward.

Honest assessment of current state
Rebuild vs. refactor decision
Realistic timeline and budget
Execution plan and oversight
// METHODOLOGY

How I Approach Rescue Missions

1

Rapid Assessment

I quickly get up to speed on your system — reviewing code, talking to developers, understanding the history. Usually 1-2 days.

2

Root Cause Analysis

I identify the real problems, not just symptoms. Often what looks like many issues comes from a few root causes.

3

Prioritized Plan

We agree on what to fix first based on impact and risk. Quick wins build momentum and buy time for bigger changes.

4

Execute & Transfer

I fix critical issues and work alongside your team to transfer knowledge. You shouldn't need me for the same problem twice.

// HONESTY

What I Won't Do

Sugarcoat the situation

If the code needs to be rewritten, I'll tell you. Better to know early than waste months.

Make things worse

First rule is do no harm. I won't rush changes that could cause more problems.

Create dependency on me

I transfer knowledge to your team. The goal is for you to not need me long-term.

Over-engineer solutions

The right fix is often simpler than you'd think. I focus on what solves the actual problem.

// OPTIONS

Engagement Options

EMERGENCY

Crisis Response

Production is down or critical issues need immediate attention. I drop everything and focus on your problem.

  • Response within hours
  • Dedicated focus until resolved
  • Post-mortem and prevention plan
Billed hourly at emergency rates
POPULAR
SPRINT

2-4 Week Sprint

Focused engagement to diagnose issues, fix critical problems, and set your team up for success.

  • Full assessment and diagnosis
  • Hands-on fixes and refactoring
  • Knowledge transfer to team
  • Documentation and recommendations
Fixed project scope and price
ONGOING

Technical Advisor

Ongoing support for complex modernization projects. I work alongside your team over months, not days.

  • Regular code reviews
  • Architecture guidance
  • Team mentoring
  • On-call for critical issues
Monthly retainer
// EXAMPLE

What a Rescue Looks Like

The Problem

A SaaS company's main application had become unbearably slow. Page loads were taking 8-12 seconds. Customers were churning. The development team was stuck — every attempted fix seemed to make things worse.

The Investigation

Initial profiling revealed the database was the bottleneck. But deeper analysis showed the real culprit: an ORM misconfiguration causing N+1 queries that grew exponentially with user data. A single dashboard page was making 2,000+ database queries.

The Solution

We implemented eager loading, added strategic caching, and optimized the most critical queries. We also added query monitoring to catch similar issues early. The changes were incremental and carefully tested.

The Result

8s → 200ms
Page load time
97%
Fewer DB queries
2 weeks
Time to fix
// LET'S TALK

Ready to Get Started?

Let's discuss how I can help your team build better software, faster.