About Max

Hi, I’m Max.

I’m a software engineer based in Northwest Indiana. I help businesses when important software stops working, systems stop talking to each other, or nobody is quite sure who owns the problem.

Max Hastings

I’ve been building and troubleshooting production software professionally since 2018.

Before starting NWI Software Rescue, I worked on software ranging from payment systems and mobile SDKs to cloud infrastructure and medical-device integrations. At PayPal, I worked on the PayPal and Braintree Android SDKs, including backend integrations and crypto-payment functionality.

I’ve also built and operated a full-stack software product involving payments, authentication, databases, and real-time processing.

That mix of experience is useful when a business problem doesn’t fit neatly into one box.

Sometimes the application is failing because of a database problem. Sometimes an API changed. Sometimes a background job quietly stopped running. Sometimes the original developer is gone and nobody knows how the system works anymore.

That’s the kind of work I like.

How I work

I usually start with a simple question:

What worked before, and what isn’t working now?

You don’t need to know whether the problem is in the application, database, server, integration, API, or something else before contacting me.

I’ll ask enough questions to understand the situation and determine whether it’s something I can reasonably help with.

If it belongs with your IT provider, hosting company, software vendor, cybersecurity team, or another specialist, I’ll tell you.

If it looks like something I can investigate, we’ll discuss the next step and cost before billable work begins.

The kinds of problems I enjoy

  • An important business application suddenly stopped working
  • Two systems that used to sync no longer do
  • Payments, orders, or data are getting stuck somewhere
  • A scheduled process or automation quietly stopped
  • A business depends on older custom software
  • The original developer or vendor is no longer available
  • An IT provider has ruled out the computers and network, but something is still wrong inside the software

I don’t expect business owners to diagnose those problems themselves.

Just tell me what you’re seeing.

Background

I earned my bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Purdue University.

My professional background includes software engineering work involving PayPal and Braintree payment systems, mobile development, cloud infrastructure, databases, APIs, and custom application development.

I’ve also built and operated a full-stack product involving payments, authentication, databases, and real-time processing.

Today I work independently from Northwest Indiana, helping businesses troubleshoot and improve the software they depend on.

Have a software problem or process to improve?

Text me the plain-English version. You do not need to prepare a technical brief first.