I'm Jad Harmoush. Software engineer, consultant, and the person behind Jay Softworks. Based in the UAE.
The Short Version
I've been writing code professionally since I could legally work. Started at DCAA, moved to AirBooking where I climbed from junior to senior engineer, then went independent. Now I run Jay Softworks, build things with AI, and write about what actually works versus what people pretend works.
The Career
DCAA was my first real job. Government auditing software. Boring on paper, but it taught me how enterprise systems actually work — the compliance, the processes, the politics. I learned more there about software architecture in two years than most people learn in five.
AirBooking was the next chapter. I joined as an engineer and kept getting promoted because I kept solving problems nobody else wanted to touch. By the end I was leading teams, making architecture decisions, and watching the company grow. Then they let me go. That's a longer story, and it's one of the reasons I went solo.
Watermelon came after. Lead engineer role. Real projects, real stakes, real learning about what it means to build systems that people depend on.
Jay Softworks is where I am now. One-person consultancy that's growing into something bigger. I'm building new companies and AI products — the kind of stuff that actually works, not the kind that needs a marketing team to explain why it's special.
The Messy Parts
I'm not going to pretend everything's been smooth. I've dealt with debt, legal battles, and periods where getting out of bed felt like a strategic decision. Bad health habits, too much screen time, not enough everything else.
I built a system called Solo Leveling to track my daily habits and goals. It's a small side project, nothing fancy, but it keeps me honest. Sometimes the boring tools are the ones that actually work.
What I Believe
I believe in building things that work, not things that look impressive. I believe in showing the messy parts, not just the highlights. I believe that most AI advice is written by people who've never shipped a production system, and most career advice is written by people who've never been fired.
I write this blog because I want to be the person I needed when I was starting out — someone who says "here's what actually happened" instead of "here's what you should do."
What's Next
I'm building new companies and AI products. Real things, not pitch decks. The kind of work where the code matters more than the branding. If you're building something interesting, I want to hear about it.
If you want to work together, reach out through Jay Softworks. If you want to argue about AI tools, find me on GitLab.