Independent Engineering Consulting · St. Louis, MO

AI built you something. It's not quite working.
Let's fix that.

You spent three months trying to make it stable. You're babysitting infrastructure instead of running your business. The AI tools that built your system can't debug their own work — and last month's API bill said the quiet part out loud. A senior engineer, an hour or two of focused review, and a path back to the business you were trying to run.

Decade-plus career in tech — security, distributed systems, and developer infrastructure
5+ years building AI systems — agents, retrieval pipelines, evals, infrastructure
Open-source contributor to projects the internet runs on — Docker, Go, the Linux developer-tools ecosystem
Plain-English review for non-technical owners — no jargon, no upsell

Sound familiar?

Pulled almost verbatim from real OpenClaw and AI-builder forums. If any of these is something you've said this week, an hour or two of my time will probably pay for itself by Friday.

I gave it three real months and it still isn't stable.
I'm spending more on tokens than I am on rent.
The AI that built this can't fix what it built.
My agent ignores the rules I keep giving it.
I built something impressive that's making me zero.
I just need a competent human to look at the architecture.

What I actually do

A decade in production engineering and 5+ years building AI systems means I can speak to either side of the table — the strategy and the wiring underneath. Here's where I tend to be most useful.

Token & cost audits

Where your API spend is actually going, where it's leaking, what to cut. Most clients running anything agentic find the savings cover the consultation many times over.

OpenClaw & self-hosted setup

Get it running, get it stable, get it integrated with the channels and tools you already use. Stop the version-churn cycle of every update breaking something.

Monetization review

I've watched too many founders ship technically impressive systems that earn zero. We'll honestly assess whether what you're building is the system your customers will actually pay for.

Security & data hygiene

Where your customers' data flows, who can see it, and what to lock down before it costs you. I do this work for Fortune 100 clients on the day job — the same security-review eye, applied to your stack at startup scale.

Who you'd be working with

No agency, no account manager, no junior engineer assigned to your ticket. You book the session, you talk to me.

Justyn Temme
SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER · NEXTWAVE SOLUTIONS LLC

I've spent 10+ years in the tech industry — currently working as a security engineer for Fortune 100 clients, the kind of work where the cost of getting it wrong is measured in millions. The last 5+ years of that have been specifically in the AI space: agents, retrieval pipelines, evals, and the production infrastructure underneath them.

In open source, I've contributed to core infrastructure the internet quietly runs on — code in the Docker and Go ecosystems, security research in the open-source vulnerability community, and developer tooling that ships with environments used around the world. I've also built and shipped multiple MCP servers and a public toolkit for AI-assisted development. Catalog on GitHub.

The kind of engineer who's been in the agent loop long enough to know which problems are real, which are friction, and which AI can't solve at all.

What that means for you: I've seen exactly what's happening on your screen. I've shipped systems through it. I'll tell you what I'd do if it were my company — in plain English, without trying to upsell you into a year-long contract.

Based in St. Louis, Missouri. Working with clients across the U.S., Canada, EU, UK, and APAC. Open-source work at github.com/justyntemme.

How it works

Simple, transparent, designed so you walk away with something useful — not a sales pitch.

  1. Pick a session and pay up front

    One-click checkout. The fee covers my time and filters out tire-kickers so I can give every paying client my full attention.

  2. You'll receive a follow-up email with scheduling instructions

    Typically within one business day. The same email asks for a little context up front — what you're building, what's broken, screenshots, error messages — so we hit the ground running.

  3. We meet (60 or 90 minutes, your pick)

    Live video call. Screen-share if you want to. I'll diagnose, recommend, and where it's small enough, fix things in real time.

  4. You get a written follow-up

    Within 48 hours: a summary of what we covered, the recommendations, and a clear next-step list you (or your team) can act on. Yours to keep.

Two ways to start

Pick the right size for your problem. Both are flat-fee, paid up front, no retainers, no minimums.

60-Minute Consultation

One-on-one with Justyn — live video call
$97 USD · flat fee
Best for a specific stuck system or a focused diagnostic.
  • 60 minutes of focused, hands-on time
  • Live screen-share, real diagnostics, real answers
  • Written follow-up with concrete next steps
  • Solo or one teammate on the call
For: a specific problem, a stuck integration, an architectural sanity check on something small.
Book the consultation
All prices in USD. International clients welcome — payment via Stripe in your local currency at checkout.

Common questions

I'm not technical. Will I be able to follow the call?

Yes — that's a big part of what I do. I work with founders every week who don't write code, and I'll match the conversation to your level. If something needs jargon, I'll explain it. If you'd rather I just “handle it,” we can do that too.

I built my system with AI tools (Cursor, Claude Code, etc.) and now it's stuck. Can you help?

This is most of what I do. AI coding tools ship the first 80% beautifully and then hit a wall on the parts that need real architectural judgment. I get those projects unstuck — and tell you which 20% of the system is worth a human rewrite vs. which can stay AI-generated.

What's actually included in the “private toolkit” on the audit tier?

The MCP servers I built (and use daily), my curated prompt patterns from real engagements, agent-flow templates, and a few tools I haven't open-sourced. Plus a follow-up channel for 14 days after the call to ask quick questions as you implement.

What if my problem isn't AI-related at all?

Bring it anyway. I've worked across infrastructure, security, web systems, and developer tooling. If it's outside what I can genuinely help with, I'll tell you on the intake form before the call — you won't be charged.

Do you sign NDAs?

Yes. Send yours over after booking and I'll have it signed before our call. For most engagements a mutual NDA is fine; I have a standard one I can send if you'd prefer.

What time zones do you work in?

Based in U.S. Central Time (St. Louis), happy to accommodate clients across U.S., Canada, EU, UK, and APAC. After booking you'll receive a follow-up email with available times that work for both of us.

Proven experience building AI products

Conduit turns Claude into a drop-in OpenAI-compatible API server: one binary, one command, integrated with any tool that expects an OpenAI endpoint. Purpose-built for “the integration that doesn't quite work,” in production with paying customers.

conduit.nextwaveio.com →

Stop fighting your stack.

Let a senior engineer look at it. An hour or two of clarity, in plain English, with a written list of what to do next.

Book a session
Payment received — check your email.
You'll receive a follow-up email with instructions to schedule your consultation, typically within one business day. If you don't see the confirmation in a few minutes, check spam.