Architecture-grade AI automation, custom software, and integrations.
Built by a 20-year platform architect who has run systems like these at scale. Observable, secure, cost-aware, and ready for production.
Fractional and project-based systems architecture consulting for teams that can't afford to fail.
Three ways I help teams ship systems that hold up.
The throughline is integration: making complex systems work together reliably, at scale, securely, and at lower cost.
Measured results, stated plainly.
Each number below is a delivered outcome from my tenure as a Software Engineering Architect at MuleSoft (Salesforce), on production systems serving thousands of enterprise customers.
The AI automation practice is newer; the discipline behind it — making systems observable, secure, and cost-predictable — is the same two decades of platform work below. In plain terms: I make systems faster, cheaper to run, and far less likely to fail.
Re-architected a 4TB audit-log tier to a partitioned schema, cutting p95 query latency 40% and reducing database load 60%.
Owned a 5-region PKI and certificate program across US, EU, JP, CA, and GovCloud, with identity, access, and cryptography under one roof.
Modernized release pipelines so a one-week manual deploy became a sub-15-minute self-service path, doubling deploy throughput.
Senior depth. Not a junior dev, not a bloated agency.
Operated at enterprise scale
Platforms serving thousands of enterprise customers — the same rigor, right-sized to your system.
Incident-tested
Incident commander on customer-facing P0s, and the author of the postmortems that prevent the next one.
Security-deep
Identity & access management (IAM), OAuth/OIDC/SSO, PKI, and audit logging.
Cost-aware architecture
Repeatedly cut infrastructure and database cost — 60% lower DB load, 40% lower p95 — with measured results.
Bilingual, US-based
Based in South Florida, working natively across US and Latin American markets.
Pick the engagement that fits the problem.
Three simple models, all anchored on written deliverables your team can act on.
Architecture Review / Audit
A fixed-scope assessment of a system, delivered as a written report with prioritized recommendations your team can act on.
Fractional / Advisory Architect
The senior architect in the room for your roadmap, design reviews, and the hard calls, on an ongoing retainer.
Build
Project-based delivery of AI automation and integration work, scoped, built, and shipped to production.
Discovery call
A focused conversation about your system, constraints, and what success looks like.
Scoped proposal
A clear, written proposal covering scope, deliverables, and timeline. No surprises.
Delivery & handoff
Shipped work with documentation and ADRs, not just code over the wall.
Twenty years making complex systems work together.
I'm Walter Poch, an independent architect. For two decades I've worked across cloud platforms, integration software, and financial services. Most recently I was a Software Engineering Architect at MuleSoft (Salesforce), where I built and operated systems serving thousands of enterprise customers.
My work has always been about integration: connecting SaaS, databases, APIs, and legacy systems, including mainframe-era platforms, into something coherent, observable, and secure. I've led platform migrations, owned multi-region security programs, commanded customer-facing incidents, and written the postmortems that stop the next one.
Now I do that independently, as a fractional software architect for business owners, founders, and engineering leaders who need real architectural depth — without an enterprise budget or a bloated agency — on systems that can't afford to fail. I'm based in South Florida, work natively in English and Spanish, and serve both US and Latin American teams.
This is a new independent practice. References from former Salesforce and MuleSoft colleagues are available on request.
Questions worth answering up front.
If yours isn't here, ask it on the call.
How do engagements usually start? +
With a 30-minute discovery call. If it is a fit, I send a short written proposal with scope, deliverables, and a fixed price or retainer. Most reviews start within a week or two.
What does an architecture review actually deliver? +
A written report your team can act on: prioritized findings across scalability, reliability, security, and cost, with architecture decision records (ADRs), a risk register, and a recommended sequence. Not a slide deck that gets filed away.
Do you write code, or only advise? +
Both. Review and advisory engagements are mostly assessment and design. Build engagements are hands-on delivery of AI automation and integration work, shipped to production with documentation and handoff.
How is pricing structured? +
Engagements start from $15k and are priced by scope, not by the hour, so the cost is predictable up front. A focused architecture review of a single system or a scoped automation build typically starts around the $15k floor; larger or ongoing work scales from there. You get a fixed figure in the written proposal after the discovery call.
Can you work with our existing team and stack? +
Yes. I plug into the systems and people you already have. I have spent two decades integrating SaaS, databases, APIs, and legacy systems, including mainframe-era platforms. Every engagement ships with written ADRs and documentation, so your team owns the decisions, not just the code, and there is no single point of failure if I step away.
Do you work remotely, and in Spanish? +
Remote by default, with on-site for key sessions when it helps. I am US-based in South Florida and work natively in English and Spanish across US and Latin American teams.
Let's talk about your system.
Tell me what you're building or what's keeping you up at night. I'll reply personally.
Book a callNew independent practice. References from former Salesforce and MuleSoft colleagues available on request.