Hi, I'm Aden Jessee
I'm a full-stack systems engineer and visual thinker obsessed with one thing: turning invisible complexity into clear, honest systems.
Most of my work revolves around a modern problem: companies drowning in tech debt, AI-generated slop, and codebases that "work"... but nobody really understands.
At a Glance
What I Do
Help teams see their software systems so they can fix tech debt at the root, not just patch bugs.
How I Think
- • Clarity over complexity
- • See the system. Shape the system.
- • Map your tech debt. Ship faster.
What I'm Building
New visualization methods and tools (like GridSeak) for mapping real-world codebases and architectures.
My Story
I studied computational physics in college – a world where you learn to see the universe as interconnected systems governed by elegant mathematical principles.
There's something beautiful about how nature expresses complexity through simple, fundamental rules. Maxwell's equations. The Schrödinger equation. Einstein's field equations. These aren't just formulas – they're visual languages that reveal the hidden structure of reality.
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science."— Einstein
When I transitioned into software engineering, I was struck by how little of that elegance had made its way into our craft. Code had grown complex, yes – but not in the way physics is complex. Physics is elegant complexity: deep truths expressed simply.
Software, too often, was just... messy.
- • Hidden dependencies that no one could explain.
- • Systems that "worked" but violated every principle of good design.
- • Teams shipping features fast, but losing the ability to reason about their own architecture.
I realized that the same principles that make mathematics and physics beautiful – clarity, structure, and visual representation – were exactly what software engineering needed.
That's when I decided to focus my career on bringing elegance into the world of software architecture, data systems, and engineering practices. Not elegance for its own sake – but the kind of clarity that makes complex systems understandable, maintainable, and beautiful to work with.
My mission: Help teams see their software the way physicists see nature –
as systems that can be understood, visualized, and shaped with intention.
How I Think About Tech Debt
Most tech debt conversations focus on surface symptoms:
"We need a refactor."
"We should rewrite this service."
"Let's add tests later."
But tech debt is usually a systems problem, not just a code problem.
- →No shared map of how things fit together.
- →Incentives that reward ticket closure, not system clarity.
- →Tools that show files and functions, but not flows and responsibilities.
- →AI that can generate "correct-looking" code while quietly warping the architecture.
I believe you can't meaningfully fix tech debt you can't see.
That's why I'm obsessed with:
- •Visualizing codebases as graphs, flows, and boundaries instead of just folders.
- •Designing frameworks and mental models that help teams talk about their systems in plain language.
- •Using AI and tools as extensions of your brain, not replacements for thinking.
What I'm Building Now
To explore these ideas in the real world, I'm building tools like GridSeak – a system that turns large, messy codebases into visual maps you can reason about.
Think of it as x-ray vision for your software:
- ✓Panels, graphs, and grids that show how things actually connect.
- ✓Views that highlight coupling, ownership, and risk.
- ✓A visual language you can use in architecture reviews, onboarding, and tech-debt paydown planning.
I see GridSeak (and the tools that come after it) as both:
My personal research lab for new ways of doing software visualization.
A practical aid for teams that want clarity, not another dashboard.
What I Care About
Clarity over complexity
If we can't explain it simply, the system probably isn't designed well yet.
Design + structure + truth
Beautiful systems are honest about what they do and how they do it.
Respect for developers
I don't dumb things down or hide the hard parts. You're smart; you just need better models and maps.
Long-term thinking
Short-term hacks are sometimes necessary, but the bill always comes due. I care about changing the trajectory of a system.
Outside of Code
When I'm not mapping out software systems, you'll usually find me:
- →Thinking about physics and how it mirrors the structures in our code and organizations.
- →Enjoying music that has the same balance of structure and emotion I chase in software – from Bach to heavy, atmospheric electronic.
- →Designing Tron-inspired visuals and interfaces, because I genuinely believe tools should feel as good as they function.
(And yes, I'm the kind of person who sees almost everything in life as a system – from cities to businesses to relationships.)
If You've Read This Far...
You're probably a developer or engineering leader who feels the weight of tech debt, suspects your system is more complex than it needs to be, or just a curious nerd who loves thinking about software at a deeper level.
If any of this resonates, you'll probably enjoy my content and experiments.
Thanks for being here.
Map your tech debt. Ship faster.
— Aden Jessee