I'm a software developer and consultant with 20 years of experience building custom applications, automating workflows, and integrating systems for engineering, energy, and technology companies.

I work across the full lifecycle — architecture, implementation, and launch — whether that means building a new product from scratch or modernizing systems a business already depends on. I also work alongside existing teams to resolve specific technical problems and to weigh engineering decisions against business priorities.

My focus is the same on every project: understand the domain in depth, then build software that solves real problems and holds up in production.

Get in touch

[email protected]
(908) 656-4192

New Projects

Are you a startup, looking for someone to build out your MVP?

I help you get up and running on a solid footing. I have experience moving quickly to design and build applications from scratch, working closely with stakeholders to make sure the product is what you need. I'll balance your need for speed with long term goals, and help you onboard and train your own development team as the project matures.

Modernizing Legacy Apps

Still relying on clunky desktop apps or brittle legacy systems to run core operations? These tools may have gotten you this far, but they weren’t built for today’s pace.

I help businesses replatform legacy software into modern, accessible systems—streamlined, cloud-ready, and AI-assisted workflows.

Intelligent Workflow Automation

Are you swimming in a sea of Excel spreadsheets that contain critical business rules? Are your people spending valuable time coping data from one program to another? That’s lost time—and lost opportunity.

I design intelligent automations that integrate your existing systems, freeing up your team to focus on work that matters.

Seamless Integration with AI & Agents

Looking to preserve your investment in software written last decade? Want to layer new tech and AI capabilities on top of what already works?

I specialize in bridging the gap between legacy software and modern architectures—cloud, web, API, and now AI agents—so you can move forward without starting from scratch.

Training / Books

Foundations of Web Development

A comprehensive, layered introduction to modern web development. Covers core technologies like networks, HTTP, HTML, JavaScript—and then builds outward through backend programming with server-side JavaScript and templating, before tackling frontend dynamics with CSS, events, AJAX, and reactive frameworks like Vue before closing with security, deployment, and infrastructure.

Read it here.

Node.js and C++ Integration

There is a ton of legacy C and C++ applications still doing their job within companies all over the world. Integrating these applications with modern platforms can be a challenge!

I've published a complete e-book that covers integrating C and C++ with one of the most popular modern web platforms - Node.js.

Click here to learn more.

Scaling LLM-Based Reporting Past the Demo

LLM reporting tools break down at scale because context windows can't handle real datasets. My three part series of articles shows you how to overcome those limitations and take full advantage of AI in business reporting systems.

Part 1: Why Your LLM Can't Be Your Reporting Layer

LLMs excel at translating natural language into database queries but fail when you push large result sets through their context window. The solution: dual response. Return a sample (10-50 rows) for the LLM to validate its work, plus a resource link for your app to fetch complete results out-of-band.

Part 2: The Dual Response Pattern: Scaling LLM-Powered Reports

MCP's resource_link, outputSchema, and structuredContent primitives combine into a complete reporting architecture. This post specifies the dual response schema, REST endpoints for paginated retrieval, resource lifecycle management with expiration and pinning, multi-tenant security considerations, and the prompt engineering that makes LLMs work reliably with the pattern.

Part 3: Building a Dual Response MCP Server

A complete Node.js implementation of dual response: an MCP server returning samples plus resource links, a shared resource store mapping GUIDs to query definitions, REST endpoints serving paginated results, and client-side detection that extracts resource URLs from tool outputs. Working code demonstrates the pattern end-to-end.

Experience

I began my career in 2005 as a systems developer and consultant in the oil and gas industry, and I've spent much of the last 20 years building software for engineering and energy companies. For GE Rotoflow, I spent three years building thermodynamic engineering applications, working with users in the U.S., Poland, and Italy to develop algorithms for fast, reliable performance calculations. Working with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, I built xSheets, a Java platform for electronic exchange of engineering quotes, orders, and machinery specifications, delivered as part of Intelliquip's Intelligent Front-End (IFE) — the pump selection, configuration, and quoting system used by manufacturers such as Grundfos, Sulzer, Flowserve, and others.

Much of my work runs deep in pump selection and configuration. I helped modernize Teikoku / Intelliquip's seal-less pump selector and built the Hydraulic Institute's centrifugal pump and circulator Energy Rating database and rating system. I've also built features for pump selection, configuration, and quotation web applications, along with VBA spreadsheet add-ins, engineering simulation and performance-chart tools, and C# / MS Office integration software for the oil and gas industry.

In 2006 I earned a Ph.D. from Lehigh University in human-computer interaction, and I bring that to every application I build — software that's easy for your users to learn and use, backed by serious software engineering. That combination has let me take on work well beyond energy: aircraft detection with 3D cameras, genome analysis, AI-driven computer vision security systems, mobile apps for construction sites, accounting software, finance and trading platforms, and consumer ratings portals.

Nearly all of it is a web application at the core, with substantial engineering behind the scenes. I've worked across dozens of frameworks, databases, and languages, and I can help you pick the right ones for your project.

Expertise

C and C++
C#, Java, Python
HTML/CSS
JavaScript, Vue
Node.js, Express
PostgreSQL, MySQL, MS SQL Server, Oracle, Mongo DB, Redis

About Me

I'm a also Professor of Computer Science at Ramapo College of New Jersey, where I serve as Program Director for graduate programs in Data Science, Computer Science, and Applied Mathematics, and Department Chair of the Computer Science and Cybersecurity majors.

I lead academic program design, faculty development, and student-focused initiatives that bridge rigorous technical training with real-world impact. Whether in the classroom or on a client project, I focus on building systems that solve real problems and deliver lasting value.

I am an accomplished researcher in several fields, with publications in Virtual Reality, Bioinformatics, and Computer Science Education.

I teach Operating Systems, Web Application Development, Computer Graphics, Database Systems, and a number of other courses at the undergraduate level at Ramapo College.

I also write about software and programming on my blog.

Frees Consulting and Development LLC

[email protected]
(908) 656-4192