I’m Evan Waters. I build software, and I’ll tell you straight what’s worth building.
For more than 20 years I’ve worked in engineering and led the people who do it. Now I do the work myself, for a few Maine businesses, nonprofits and towns at a time.
Where I’ve worked
I bring more than 20 years of experience to the table, working at the intersection of engineering, operations and people. After kicking off my career as a civil engineer in Massachusetts, I spent six years with Partners In Health building Electronic Medical Record systems for hospitals in Haiti, Rwanda, Malawi and Lesotho. For three of these years I lived in Malawi and led teams responsible for all IT, software, water and wastewater infrastructure. I later worked as a consultant at ThoughtWorks, founded a small startup, and led engineering teams at Shutterstock and Stripe, where I managed teams of engineers building fraud-prevention tools for businesses around the world.
What I do now
I help Maine businesses, nonprofits and towns build the software they’re missing. That might be a hero feature that opens up a new way to sell, a process that runs itself instead of eating your day, or AI that works for you, on your terms.
You talk to me, and I write the code. There’s no sales team, no account manager, and no junior crew behind a senior name.
Why now
Projects that took months a few years ago can now be delivered in weeks, at a fraction of the cost. Capabilities that once required a big company’s budget are now within reach of a ten-person business or a small town office. But having the tools isn’t the same as being able to use them. Most small organizations do not have an engineer on staff, and reasonably worry about safety, privacy and the future of work itself. That’s where I come in. I help people use these tools where they genuinely help, steer them away from places where they don’t, and build things that help the people doing the work have more time to do the parts they actually care about.
Why Maine
I live in Midcoast Maine, and this is where I most want my work to make a difference. I want the businesses already here to keep thriving: the boat yards, the farms, the builders, the town offices, the childcare center down the road. I hope to see new kinds of businesses take root. I want people to be able to afford fulfilling lives here, with access to healthcare, education, and a vibrant natural world. I can help by giving the businesses and institutions that make all of that possible more time for the work they’re here to do.
I’m glad to take on projects from anywhere, but this is home.
A few projects at a time
I take on a small number of projects at once, usually two or three. That’s how I keep promises about timelines, and how you get to talk to the person writing the code. If I can’t start soon, I’ll tell you when I can.
What working together looks like
Most work starts as a fixed-price pilot, usually three to twelve weeks, that solves one real problem. After that there’s a small monthly running cost, and a maintenance retainer only for things that need looking after, like an agent. I won’t rebuild good software you already pay for, and we agree on support before handoff.