daniel.

who I am

Daniel smiling above a valley of terraced rice fields

I didn't start in frontend. My first job out of university was pure backend — PL/SQL in a warehouse, fixed hours, and a growing feeling that this wasn't it. So I quit, travelled for a while to figure out what actually drives me, and landed in a small Portuguese startup where everything clicked: React, interfaces, and — because the team was tiny — designing the very components I was building. That mix of design and engineering became my signature. It's still how I work today.

What I love most is turning a problem around and looking at it from angles nobody tried yet. When I walk through my city I catch myself studying gardens and public spaces, noticing how the beautiful paths are often the uncomfortable ones. I bring that same eye to software: interfaces should be fluid, practical and accessible for everyone — without giving up beauty.

Away from the keyboard I'm a certified permaculture designer with a garden of my own — right next to my granddad's traditional farm, so we watch each other's methods, compare harvests, and both get better. I play chess, make 80s-flavoured music on a synth, practice yoga, and run a tiny book club with my girlfriend and friends. Nature figured most things out long before we did; I just try to borrow her patterns.