Todd Watts

About Todd

An engineer who understands the business.

I build full-stack software, interfaces and developer tools. My background combines over seven years of software development with experience in marketing and technology leadership.

From interface to implementation.

The interface is where someone meets the software. The implementation decides whether it keeps its promises.

I work with Jamie Pope as his marketing and technology partner for JPOPE Tax Consultancy. Client work is presented here through public professional context and public website links.

When agents need shell access, I also work on boundaries for that work. MAINFRAME is a Pi package for shell policy, checkpoints and status you can inspect.

My original demonstrations explore the questions that survive the first demo: who owns this state, what happens when a dependency stops responding, and can another person understand why the system behaved that way?

Development from the beginning.

I joined Engineered Tax Services in March 2018 in a role spanning marketing and technology. I developed software from the start, including the period when I also served as VP of Marketing. As the company grew, I moved into a dedicated full-stack development role in August 2020 and stayed through July 2025.

That combination still informs how I approach a build. I want to understand the people using it, the business problem it serves, and the technical work needed to make it useful.

I began freelancing in July 2025 and have run that work through my own company, Shell Command, LLC, since January 2026. I now work as a fractional CTO and hands-on software engineer for mid-sized service businesses in finance, quant and tax, combining technical direction and architecture with building the software.

Open to software engineering roles, contract work and freelance projects. I’m interested in work where I can contribute hands-on and collaborate with people who care about the result.

Read the career timeline

The other side of the collaboration

People I have worked with

How I like to work

Start with a real task. Make the smallest complete path work. Test the unhelpful inputs and unavailable services. Leave behind enough evidence for someone else to inspect the result.

I use AI-assisted development as part of that process. Source review, executable checks and human approval are still separate responsibilities; generated output isn’t its own verification.