The infrastructure is fine
The PCs, network and Microsoft environment check out, but the application or workflow still fails.
For IT firms, agencies and integrators
Software escalation help when a client problem crosses into code.
Application, database, API, integration, payment and inherited-software help when a client problem crosses beyond normal IT support. Work alongside me without giving up the client relationship.
Your client stays yoursWork directly with the engineerFindings and changes documented
When software gets weird
Bring me in when the system is important, unfamiliar or nobody knows who owns the problem.
This is the layer between ordinary IT support and a full rewrite: existing applications, databases, APIs, integrations and custom software that need someone willing to understand the mess.
The software is inherited
The developer or vendor is gone, documentation is thin, and the business still depends on the system.
The systems disagree
Orders, payments or customer data are stuck, duplicated or quietly failing between systems.
The work does not end at the fix
A practical path from incident to ownership.
I can help with the immediate failure first, then make the system easier for your team or client to operate.
01
Rescue
Understand the visible failure and get the business moving again.
02
Stabilize
Reduce the chance of the same failure returning immediately.
03
Understand
Map the application, data flow, dependencies and ownership gaps.
04
Improve
Fix fragile workflows, connect systems or make the next change safer.
05
Support
Leave the people responsible with clear notes and a practical next step.
For business owners
Is your company’s own software broken?
Tell me what stopped working. You do not need to know whether the cause is the application, database, API, hosting or integration.
About Max
I’m Max Hastings.
Software engineer since 2018 · Former PayPal engineer · Purdue Computer Science
I’m an independent software engineer in Highland, Indiana. I troubleshoot the software businesses rely on across Northwest Indiana, Chicagoland, and remotely when it makes sense.
Start with the situation
What stopped working?
Pick the closest match. You don’t need to know the cause before reaching out.
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08
Customers can't pay
Checkout, payment callbacks or order creation stopped working.
App or internal system down
A business application is crashing, unavailable or throwing errors.
Website or web app down
Customers cannot reach a revenue-critical workflow.
Systems stopped syncing
Orders, inventory, ERP, CRM or EDI data is stuck.
Database problem
The database is unavailable, corrupted or taking production down.
Automation stopped
A scheduled job, worker, batch or pipeline quietly failed.
Old / abandoned software
The system broke and the original developer is gone.
IT team needs application help
The network is fine. The failure is inside the software.
Nothing broken?
I also help businesses connect, maintain, and automate software.
Integrations
Need two systems to talk to each other?
I connect business systems and repair unreliable handoffs between them.
Existing SoftwareStuck with software nobody knows how to maintain?
I help businesses understand, stabilize and improve software they already rely on.
Business AutomationNothing is broken. It is just taking too much time.
I replace repetitive data entry, spreadsheet work and manual handoffs with simpler workflows.
Start a conversation
Tell me what you’re dealing with.
Tell me the short version.