Site Architect · Designer · Engineer
I architect digital experiences and build the code behind them. Before that, I was drawing buildings — and before that, keeping IBM's systems alive in Brazil. The common thread is making complex things feel obvious to the people who use them.
Products, buildings, and digital systems. Every one had a real person at the end of every decision.
I built this because I kept watching architects calculate embodied carbon in Excel. Upload a building plan, get a full LCA carbon report and BREEAM score — Claude reads the PDF, I built everything else. Next.js, TypeScript, Anthropic API. Three studios paying for it.
Designed and built the full digital presence for a Lisbon architectural studio. Visual identity, UX, information architecture, and the production site from zero to launch. Still live at policronica.com.
My first end-to-end UX project. A mobile app that matches Lisbon coffee lovers to specialty cafés based on taste profile — without requiring them to know any coffee jargon. Research, personas, prototypes, usability testing. Google UX Certificate project.
A mobile app that helps people find neighbourhoods that match how they actually want to live — not just price and commute. Vibes, time-of-day mood, resident voices. The problem wasn't discovery, it was trust. Google UX Certificate project.
A mobile app for wheelchair users and mobility-impaired people in Lisbon. Architecture training gave me the technical vocabulary to build verification criteria that actually mean something. Google UX Certificate project.
A coordination app for homeowners managing renovations. I spent four years on construction sites — I know what a bill of quantities is, what a change order costs, and why WhatsApp threads become archaeological disasters. Google UX Certificate project.
A portfolio platform designed around how architecture is actually reviewed — not just displayed. The hardest part: I was the user, which made me the most dangerous kind of researcher. Domain knowledge as asset and liability. Google UX Certificate project.
Buildings taught me that design doesn't end at the screen. Someone lives inside what you make.
I started at IBM in Brazil running enterprise operations. Then architecture school — Brazil, Kansas, New York. Then construction sites in Lisbon. Then a developer bootcamp because the tools architects were using were embarrassingly bad. Then code, every day since.
I'm not making a transition. I'm accumulating. The architecture trained me to think in systems and constraints. The construction sites taught me that design that can't be built is decoration. The code gave me the speed to iterate on both.
Right now I'm splitting time between a construction site in Sintra and a laptop building ArchAI. Most mornings start with concrete. Most nights end with TypeScript.
I'm looking for roles where design and engineering overlap — Site Architect, UX Engineer, Frontend Developer. Teams that care about what they build and why.
Remote-friendly. Based in Lisbon. Can be on a plane with a few days' notice.
Led design and frontend development for a sustainable hospitality project. Built and maintained React-based web interfaces, managed cross-functional teams and stakeholder relationships while developing ArchAI on the side.
Java, C#, PL/SQL. Built data visualisation tools with MicroStrategy. First exposure to enterprise software at scale.
Built a gRPC API in Go, Docker deployments, structured UI. First professional software role — learned that shipping beats planning.
React, Python, APIs. The moment I stopped being an architect who could code and started being a developer who understood architecture.
Architecture, construction, web design. Built policronica.com. UNESCO Versailles Prize 2023.
Residential and commercial projects in Manhattan. First time I understood what it means to design for a specific city.
Systems monitoring, global coordination, enterprise operations. The foundation. Everything else makes more sense because of this.
Open to Site Architect, UX Engineering, and Frontend Architecture roles. Remote-friendly. I work well with small teams who care about craft.
fernando.ffsousa@gmail.comNo pitch, no pressure. Just a chat about what you're building and whether I can help.
Book a call ↗