Simplexity Quest is Me

Looking into the sunset over the port of Hamburg, Germany

Hi! I’m Philip Theus. I am looking for problems worth solving. With tons of experience tackling hard problems in software and a leading role in modularizing Shopify’s monolith, I bring a wealth of knowledge in the architecture and collaborative creation of software. Right now my focus is on fighting climate change.

Recent Events

2018-2021: Led Componentization, a major rearchitecture of Shopify’s monolith.
- Wrote Under Deconstruction about my architecture work at Shopify, which reached #1 on Hacker News.
- Developed the gradual modularization tool Packwerk, which has been the subject of numerous talks and publications.
2021-2022: Prototyped Domain Events and a general API Gateway at Shopify
2023: Developed LLM based product features and co-designed object model extensions for OpsLevel.
2024: Supporting major software architecture transitions at One Medical and Ramp, as well as providing architecture feedback to Mangrove Systems.
Also 2024: Married my wonderful partner and took her last name (Mueller 👉🏼 Theus).

Software Development Philosophy

Developer Happiness is the most accurate proxy for productivity.
Short Feedback Cycles and Low Cognitive Load are essential for effective development.
Iterative Approach: Solve complex problems one step at a time.
Focus on Trajectories: Continuous improvement trumps fixed goals.
Beyond Buzzwords: Avoid the pitfalls of ideas turned into brands.
Emphasis on Readability and Malleability: Make code navigable and systems easy to understand and modify.

Say Hi!

Reach out via email or book a 30 min call with me. Whether you know of interesting opportunities in the climate space or just want to catch up, I’m looking forward to hearing from you!