# About me

- URL: https://hsalem.com/portfolio-archived/

Hey 👋 I’m Hassan.

I’m a software engineer living in Munich, a dad, and someone who’s always been torn (in a good way) between **building solid software** and **building something of my own**.

I’ve spent the last 10+ years in backend and platform engineering—where reliability, clarity, and calm systems matter. I like turning “weird, messy, unclear problems” into systems that are **measurably faster**, easier to operate, and easier for teams to build on. At Personio, that meant redesigning parts of the employee experience platform and bringing latency down by around **70%**, while also pushing for better incident habits, better observability, and safer ways to ship changes.

But the honest version is: I don’t just enjoy shipping features. I enjoy shipping confidence for users, and for the engineers who have to own the system at 3am.

## My story in short

I started my career in broadcast automation, building systems that had to work because “it’s live” is not a suggestion. That shaped how I think: build for failure, automate the boring stuff, and make production understandable.

Later, I worked on media and community platforms, where scale shows up in different ways: search performance, content pipelines, and real-time insight into what people actually do.

Now, I’m in HR tech, building systems that impact how millions of people experience work, where correctness, consistency, and safety in delivery matter a lot.

And alongside all of that, **I build products that are mine.**

## What I’m building outside work

I’m actively working on projects that combine engineering + freedom:

- A **German learning app** (because language changes everything when you live abroad).
- A delivery business idea called **On-Time** built around trust, speed, and “tell us what you need, we’ll handle it.”
- A YouTube channel (**The Digital Hustle Lab**) where I experiment in public showing both what works and what fails.

I’m not trying to be a “guru.” I’m trying to build a real life where I’m not locked into the same loop forever.

## What I care about simply:

- **Ownership and calm**: systems should be understandable, not magical.
- **Simplicity**: I'm not super smart and I have never claimed to be, so I prefer my designs to be simple so I can keep understanding them 😄.
- **Speed with safety**: shipping fast is pointless if it creates fear.
- **Craft**: clean boundaries, good naming, good observability. Small things that compound.
- **People**: I enjoy working with people and mentoring them because I remember what it feels like to grow without a map.

## Little things about me

I love cooking. It’s the same satisfaction as engineering: take raw ingredients, build a process, and get something real at the end.

And being a dad changed how I think about time: I care less about “being busy” and more about building systems that are technical and personal which actually give time back.

## What this blog is for

This is where I write to keep myself honest and sharp about personal experiences, engineering, shipping practices, and any random think I feel can benefit others

If you’re building something and want to talk, engineering, product, or just the messy middle. Reach out.