Principal ownership from architecture through App Store — interaction design and working prototypes, AI-native engineering, and hardware when the software meets the physical world.
About
Principal and founder, Lava Monster
I’ve been writing software professionally since 2000 and building native iOS apps since 2008. At Nike, I owned the Bluetooth connection between iPhone and FuelBand for millions of users, including work on Apple’s campus with Apple engineers to make sure an all-day FuelBand connection didn’t drain batteries on iPhones that hadn’t been released yet. Since then I’ve shipped apps for Deloitte, Choice Hotels, SmartRent, ON Semiconductor, and others.
I design as well as build: interaction design, UX, and working prototypes you can hold on a real iPhone. And I work AI-native. AI is part of how I explore ideas, prototype, write, and test, so good ideas get tried sooner while every decision stays mine.
I care about how an app feels in the hand, and I take releases personally. When you hire Lava Monster, you work with me directly, from the first technical decision to the day it’s live in the App Store.
30 minutes with me, not a sales team. If I’m not the right fit, I’ll tell you and point you somewhere better.
Turn an idea into something you can hold. Interaction design, UX, and a working prototype on a real iPhone, fast enough to test with people before you commit to a full build.
Right for: new products, big redesigns, and ideas that need buy-in.
Your iOS app from first commit to App Store approval, with the architecture, release pipeline, and TestFlight built in from day one. AI-native engineering keeps one senior owner moving at team speed.
Right for: new apps and full rewrites.
Bluetooth pairing that just works, connections that hold all day, firmware updates, and battery life. The hard boundary between phone and device, from someone who has worked it at the scale of millions.
Right for: wearables, smart home, and companion apps.
Crashes climbing, a release slipping, a connection that won’t hold. I find the root cause, fix it, and get you shipping on the date you promised.
Right for: apps in trouble.
Senior ownership without a full-time hire: architecture, code review, release engineering, hiring help, and mentoring for your team.
Right for: teams without a senior iOS lead.
Move to SwiftUI and Swift concurrency, and add what iOS now makes possible: widgets, Live Activities, and App Intents.
Right for: solid apps that feel a few years old.
Beyond iPhone: the same craft extends to iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro, and down into the firmware of the devices your app talks to.
Not sure which fits? Start with a written app audit, or talk it through on a discovery call.
If your product has to feel right on iPhone, let’s talk.