What I paste into a fresh Claude or Codex session
Behavior rules, a Claude-plus-Codex review loop, a generate-and-cut method, and a rubric for good UI: four short files with one-click copy, so you can skip the token tax of gstack.
Engineer, startup founder, sometimes runner.
👋 I'm Rareș, a software engineer and entrepreneur based in New York. Most recently, I co-founded Contour and led engineering through its acquisition by Commure. These days, I'm building developer productivity tools and software for real estate agents and the New York City rental market. When I'm not building products, you'll find me tinkering with robotics, embedded systems, or planning my next summit.
Should You Turn the AC Off While Away?
Startup current is the wrong target; compare heat leaking in while you are away with the time and energy to cool back down.
A better way to move files over MCP
MCP calls make the model recite the whole payload token by token. A small CLI lets code move it, so it never enters context in the first place. Fewer tokens, less time.
Reliable JSON from Cheaper LLMs
Native structured output refused my 34-field schema, so I benchmarked seven cheaper models on plain JSON instead; Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite matched Claude Haiku's quality at an eighth of the cost.
Work
- Company
- Contour
- Role
- Co-Founder & CTO
- Date
- Description
- Co-founded Contour and led engineering through both product chapters, up to the company’s acquisition by Commure.
- Company
- Assort Health
- Role
- Founding Engineer
- Date
- Description
- Built backend core and Epic EHR integrations for AI healthcare platform (now valued at $1.2B).
- Company
- Athelas
- Role
- Sr. Software Engineer
- Date
- Description
- Led development of the first FDA-cleared at-home CBC, plus RPM tools and billing/reconciliation.
- Company
- Uber
- Role
- Software Engineer II
- Date
- Description
- Built real-time fraud detection and payment systems processing millions of transactions daily.
- Company
- Level Home
- Role
- Firmware Engineer
- Date
- Description
- Achieved 1+ year battery life for smart deadbolt through ultra-low power optimization.
- Company
- Tesla
- Role
- Systems Integration
- Date
- Description
- Developed firmware for Model 3 security systems. Built testing infrastructure for production ramp.
- Company
- FleetCarma (Geotab)
- Role
- Embedded Developer
- Date
- Description
- Reduced GPS fix time from 27s to <4s for EV fleet telemetry devices.