---
title: Mike Mindel | Agentic AI engineer
---

United Kingdom, remote / hybrid / on-site | hello@mikemindel.com | [+44 7481 346418](tel:+447481346418) | [LinkedIn](https://linkedin.com/in/mikemindel) | [mikemindel.com](https://mikemindel.com)

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## Professional summary

**Agentic AI engineer** and founder-operator who builds AI skills, agents and Model Context Protocol (“MCP”) and CLI tools. I use AI to ship software that stays traceable, testable and easy to change.

My specialist area is agentic-driven development. I turn ambiguous ideas into bounded, reviewable work, using Python for deterministic checks and a visible Kanban board for delivery.

I co-founded [Wordtracker](https://wordtracker.com), led its technology from two developers to around 25 and helped scale turnover roughly 100×. I now build [Stride](https://getstride.dev), a practical agentic system in use on paid client work. Available immediately for remote, hybrid or on-site work.

## Skills

| Category | Technology | Proficiency | Experience and context |
|:---------|:-----------|:------------|:-----------------------|
| AI and agents | Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI and MCP | Very competent | 1+ year. Stride and agent-assisted delivery. |
|  | Context engineering and LLM APIs | Very competent / competent | 1+ year. Structuring agent work and integrations. |
|  | Linear, Kanban and atomic commits | Very competent | 1+ year. Visible, reversible delivery. |
|  | Stride | Expert | 2026–present. Own methodology. |
| Programming | Python | Expert | 10+ years. Agent checks, APIs and data systems. |
|  | TypeScript and SQL | Very competent / expert | 5+ / 20+ years. Web, integrations and data. |
| Python and APIs | FastAPI, Pydantic and pytest | Very competent | 5–10+ years. Production API and TDD. |
| Data and cloud | Redshift, AWS Glue, S3 and Athena | Very competent | 5–10+ years. Partitioned data pipelines at Wordtracker. |
|  | AWS, Docker and Terraform | Very competent / competent | 5–15+ years. Infrastructure and delivery. |
| Practice | Test-driven development and OO design | Expert | 20+ years. Red, green, refactor and design for change. |

## Professional experience

### 2026–present | Stride | Founder and agentic engineer

[getstride.dev](https://getstride.dev)

- Built Stride, an agentic-driven development system that keeps AI-built software traceable, reversible and tied to a Vision.
- Built reusable skills, agents and CLI tools around bounded tasks, plans, atomic commits and independent review. The method is in use on paid client work.
- Presented [Stop building on quicksand](https://getstride.dev/stop-building-on-quicksand) at the AI Global Festival, 2026.

*Python, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, MCP, Linear, Git.*

### 1998–present | Wordtracker | Founder and technology lead

[wordtracker.com](https://wordtracker.com)

- Co-founded the keyword-research SaaS, grew the engineering team from two developers to around 25 and helped scale turnover roughly 100× over its first decade.
- Wrote the FastAPI backend API and AWS data pipelines behind roughly 350M unique keywords, processing roughly 10B searches across 200+ territories.
- Technical leadership from developer through CEO / CTO, with hands-on product and engineering ownership throughout.

*Python, FastAPI, PostgreSQL, Redshift, AWS Glue, S3, Athena, Parquet, Elasticsearch, IAM, VPC.*

### June 2026 | Smart-glasses integration | 1 month, remote contract

For an early-stage AI startup, built and tested a [Convex](https://convex.dev) reactive-database app with real-time two-way sync to smart glasses. Delivered a prototype and written findings remotely.

**Constraint found:** Google sign-in could not run in the glasses' embedded WebView. Recommended email-based sign-in instead.

*TypeScript, Convex, Clerk, Even Realities G2 SDK, WebView.*

## Other projects

- **2026, [Codetidy](https://github.com/webventurer/codetidy):** Python toolkit for inspecting repositories.
- **2026, [app-starter](https://github.com/webventurer/app-starter):** Full-stack web starter with documented technology choices.
- **2020–present, [99bottles](https://github.com/webventurer/99bottles):** Sandi Metz's Python refactoring exercise.

## Education and recognition

- **BA (Hons) Film & Drama, 2:1**, Reading University, 1993–1996. **Computer Science & Maths**, Bristol University, 1991–1992.
- Interviewed by the [Financial Times](https://mikemindel.com/wordtracker-ft-profile) about Wordtracker's early growth.

## Interests

Agentic-driven development, software design and the practical systems that make AI-built software easier to trust and change. I'm particularly interested in bringing the hard-won software development practices of the last 40 years into the world of AI. Ran the [Wam Bam Club](https://contact.wambamclub.com/) and made the feature film [Don't Let Him In](https://vimeo.com/178247503).