Small, explicit changes
In a live system a precisely named rule, an isolated mapping or one focused test usually beats a big rewrite. Less to go wrong at 2 a.m.
Beyond the code
A calm, practical engineer who still genuinely enjoys making and fixing things.
DataLite has been a long-term professional partner since 2017; over that time, I've grown from junior through senior engineer to team lead. For the past several years, I've worked as a self-employed independent contractor, collaborating with DataLite on client projects. I'm at my best where correctness, compatibility and release safety matter — where implementation meets domain behaviour, integration contracts and production.
Human first · engineer second
How I think about software
Modern when it pays off
I like new versions and tools — but only when they make the system more reliable, more observable or easier to change. Not for the CV.
It's not done at deploy
The real system starts after deployment: old data, retries, external contracts, logs, metrics and whoever has to support it.
Career path
A compressed timeline of how my responsibilities evolved across projects and stack changes.
2017-2018: ZIS
Enterprise Java, ZK/ZUL screens, controllers, services, DAO layers, imports and production fixes. This was the phase where I learned to deliver complete application features.
2018-2021: MNCP
Full-stack work across Kotlin/Spring, Angular and database scripts. I worked on security, exports, archives, measuring batches and operational fixes across the whole flow.
2020-present: TSM
Senior backend and integration work on Kotlin/Java/Spring services, PostgreSQL, Kafka-style integrations, B2B flows, incident analysis and production rollout of new platform versions.
2024-present: Nordic / Django (ad-hoc)
Ongoing on-demand collaboration in a Django stack, plus personal experiments. Low volume now, but the engagement stays open. A reminder that good engineering habits should transfer across stacks, not depend on one framework.
Working style
Architecture and responsibility
Good architecture is not about complexity or diagrams. It is about responsibility, ownership and understanding where changes should and should not happen.
Collaboration
The best solutions usually come from collaboration between developers, analysts, product owners and operations. Technical decisions should serve the product and the people who keep it running.
What I deliberately avoid
Over-engineering
Architecture that doesn't remove real complexity, risk or maintenance cost. The "flexible" abstraction is usually the code everyone is afraid to touch two years later.
Big-bang releases
Shipping everything at once and hoping. A rollout needs an order, a fallback and a way to stop halfway — otherwise it's a bet.
One-person architecture
A system is not well designed if only one person can safely change it. I've been that person — it doesn't scale, and it ruins vacations.
Ego-driven choices
Technical decisions driven by taste instead of the product. I once adapted our side back to a partner's old format rather than defend a technically correct spec.
Off the clock
I build things end to end partly because I genuinely enjoy this stuff. Here's the human behind the commits.
Reading & audiobooks
Around 125 books and counting — LitRPG (Vasily Mahanenko), a lot of Czech sci-fi/fantasy (Kotleta, Sněgoňová, Starý, Kadlečková, Stehlíková), plus Andy Weir, Liu Cixin, Sapkowski and Pratchett. I do most of it as audiobooks.
Anime
Grew up on the shounen Big 3 (Naruto, One Piece, Bleach). One Piece is the one still running — and I'm still watching.
Gaming
My main way to switch off. PlayStation 5 — what's in the console right now is in the readout below.
Making & printing
An Elegoo Centauri Carbon printing functional parts around the house, and a home server running apps I build for my own family — meal plans, home projects, photo archives. The best requirements come from people you live with.
Metal & coffee & bikes
Iron Maiden, Arch Enemy, Jinjer, HammerFall and friends in the headphones. Coffee ground fresh in a hand mill and brewed in a moka pot. A bike waiting for a rebuild. Cats and dogs both welcome.
Community
For two years I helped with a charity ball for Charita Červený Kostelec, mostly wherever another pair of hands was useful. I stopped after moving away, but it remains a good memory of practical local community work.
Roots in Horní Radechová near Náchod; home today is just outside Prague, with my wife and our two little daughters.
pavel@now ~ %
now_playingDave the Diver (PS5)
now_readingBezčasí — Kristýna Sněgoňová
now_watchingOne Piece
Let's work together
If this approach matches what you need, feel free to reach out.