About
I am Bernhard, a systems and software engineer with experience across the full stack, from embedded systems and applied cryptography to distributed architectures and observability. More recently, I have worked on document processing with various tools, including ML/AI, as well as compilers.
Engineering is both a technical and a social activity. Great work depends on people understanding the problem, sharing context, and feeling able to question a decision.
Writing is a crucial component in that. It helps to sort thoughts in both, teams as well as individuals. Putting an idea into words exposes assumptions and makes trade-offs easier to discuss. Written proposals, decision notes, and asynchronous updates build shared context and give people time to consider their responses. Recording decisions and responsibilities helps teams follow through.
Asking the hard questions is part of engineering, directness is my preferred way of getting them addressed early on to avoid any ambiguities down the line. I don't expect you to get a full picture through that approach, but it exposes open questions that commonly result in separate workstreams.