Developer, freelancer, maker and writer. Working with people around the world from my home office in Porto, Portugal.

I am an independent software developer with 10+ years of experience building for the web.

My first contact with programming started as a teenager, hacking HTML, CSS, and JavaScript together to build blog templates. A few years later, I graduated in computer science and got my first software development job.

Since then, I've worked on companies of all kinds — early-stage startups, large corporations, software agencies, and one-person teams. My work has spanned many industries, such as health & fitness, logistics, finance, movies & entertainment, developer tools, etc. I've built applications used by people in the USA, India, China, Brazil, and throughout Europe.

I've always done my best work solo or in small teams, where processes have low friction and roles are fluid. This, combined with the confidence in my skills built over the years, led me to start freelancing.

As a freelancer, I specialize in building custom web applications using JavaScript and Node.js. You can read more about my services.

I also maintain a blog where I document and share my learnings with others. The content is a mix of technical articles, career lessons, and a couple of loose notes.

I am currently living in Lisbon (UTC+0). In my free time, you will find me running, traveling around Portugal with my wife and son, or solving crossword puzzles.

Say hello on Twitter! For bigger ideas, you can email me.

Ruan's picture sitting in a cafe drinking coffee