Distributed systems
Designing services that stay predictable across boundaries, under load, and when parts of the system inevitably fail.
Software engineer · South Africa
I build software
that businesses
can depend on.
I'm Victor Harding, a software engineer focused on business-critical and distributed systems, where reliability, correctness and scalability really matter.
Explore my expertiseWhat I do
I turn complex, high-stakes software into systems that are easier to understand, safer to change and ready to scale.
Core expertise
Engineering for the moments that matter.
Backend engineering
Building robust application cores, APIs, data models and integrations around the realities of the business.
Platform architecture
Creating the foundations that let engineering teams ship safely, observe clearly and scale without unnecessary complexity.
Safe modernisation
Untangling legacy systems, reducing operational risk and moving critical software forward without disrupting the business.
How I think
Reliable systems are designed with reality in mind.
My background is in backend engineering, databases, event-driven systems and platform architecture, particularly in complex financial and transactional environments.
I specialise in understanding how systems behave under failure, how to modernise them safely, and how to design software that remains reliable as it grows.
01
Correctness before cleverness.
02
Failure is a design input.
03
Complexity must earn its place.
04
Software should serve the business.
Where I add value
When the system cannot afford to be an afterthought.
Critical platform design
Architecture & technical strategy
Legacy system modernisation
Reliability & failure analysis
Data-intensive applications