About Me
I build systems, lead teams, and cut through the noise.
For the past 20 years, I’ve been operating at the intersection of technology, business architecture, and human dynamics. I’ve worn almost every hat the industry has to offer: developer, architect, DevOps specialist, team lead, and Scrum Master.
I've worked within organizations of every scale—from hands-on freelancing and chaotic early-stage startups to small software houses and multi-billion dollar global enterprises. Physically, I’ve delivered projects in 5 different countries; remotely, my work has touched nearly every continent.
If there is one thing this journey has taught me, it’s that technology is never the hardest part.
The Manifesto
No Silver Bullets,
Only Trade-offs
Every architectural choice is a compromise. I don't chase industry hype; I align technical solutions with actual business constraints and lifecycles.
Systems are People
Organizations are the sum of the people who build them and the culture that supports them. Conway’s Law is undefeated.
Constructive Candor
I am not a "yes-man." I say what I think, but I make sure to think before I speak. It might lead to some uncomfortable conversations, but it saves millions in wasted engineering hours.
The Evolution
Phase 1: Pure Tech Obsession (circa 2006)
I started my career deeply fascinated by pure technology. Honestly? I didn't care much for the "human" aspect of software. I wanted to build the fastest, most complex backend systems and optimize databases—ideally in a quiet room where I didn't have to deal with end-user requirements.
Phase 2: The Reality Check & The Accidental Pivot
My transition into platform engineering wasn't a calculated career move—it was an accident. Long before "DevOps" or "Platform Engineering" became buzzwords, my employer at the time desperately needed someone to figure out release management (today, we call those CI/CD pipelines). Taking that on changed everything. I began to see technology not as an end in itself, but as a delivery mechanism.
To stay ahead, I collected over 25 industry certifications. Today, they are all happily expired. I chose not to pay to renew them—the knowledgestayed with me, but my wallet is much happier.
Phase 3: Systems, People & Economics
Eventually, the realization hit: modern technology is often just new clothing draped over old organizational problems. Today, I look at engineering through an interdisciplinary lens. I focus on systemic structures, team cognitive load, and cloud economics, maintaining a healthy, battle-tested skepticism toward industry hype cycles.
The "Korga" Connection
When I’m not designing infrastructure or leading engineering departments, I write. I publish articles and books under the pen name Adam Korga.
Why the pseudonym? It’s a pragmatic choice. "Korga" (which happens to be my mother's maiden name) is significantly easier for international readers to pronounce and remember than my actual Polish surname. It also gives me a dedicated sandbox to write with a bit more sharp irony and unfiltered honesty about the absurdities of the IT industry.
The books have been well received; a German translation of Fuckup Almanac volume 1 is set to publish with O'Reilly. Writing as Korga lets me pull from psychology, economics, and safety science—bringing lessons from aviation and medicine to explain why tech systems fail and how to build them better.
My Operating System
Hype Immunity
Filtering out industry noise and vendor hype to focus on actual technical constraints and financial realities.
Systemic Thinking
Looking beyond the codebase. I analyze how organizational structures, incentives, and technical architecture impact one another.
Failure Analysis
Embracing post-mortems and incident management. We find the most valuable data on how to grow in the places where things broke.
Radical Simplicity
A strict working rule: if you cannot explain a system simply, you do not understand it well enough. Language should clarify, not obscure.
The Human Factor
Technology is the easy part. Incentives, communication, and human behavior are where systems actually succeed or fail.