Security and engineering mentoring

Computer security is a product of good engineering with a bit of hacker curiosity on top. It doesn't need to be magical or expensive.

I mentor software development, product, and security people through pairing, feedback sessions, and focused lectures.

We use your “Hmm” moments to find where things stop adding up, and turn them into “Aha” moments that change your approach. Over time, this builds discernment under uncertainty: validating what works in reality and capping risk instead of trusting answers or debating opinions.

Working with Michal on a greenfield logging and monitoring platform fundamentally changed how I think about secure system design. He doesn't just talk from 10,000 feet: he pair programs, dives into details, and gives feedback that actually improves your code. The biggest shift was learning to look at problems from different angles and practicing real agility, not just ceremonies.
Jakub Sekera, technical leader @ Cisco

For product builders

If you ship software products, you may be familiar with this pattern:

  • Quality and security are seen as expensive luxuries competing with delivery
  • Risks stay vague, then they show up as blockers
  • “Compliance” becomes a magic chant that stops discussion

In each case, the hard part is not another security technique. It is working out what actually is uncertain, what must keep working, and what counts as enough evidence to move on.

If something in your product feels risky, stuck, or needlessly expensive, bring that knot to me. We'll uncover the underlying system, make the uncertainty explicit, and find useful moves that let reality give us the answers.

That may mean pairing, threat modeling, or architecture review. The form follows the need, not the other way around.

Sometimes one meeting is enough. Sometimes the first answer reveals a larger territory to explore.

For practitioners

Are you moving into engineering, from engineering to security, or closer to product? Or just curious how resilient systems are built? Bring a transition, a skill you're building, or something in your work that doesn't quite add up.

The useful next step may be one level below the headline topic—stronger foundations:

  • Computer science, operating systems and Linux basics
  • Data analysis, automation and maintenance
  • Critical thinking: debugging, testing, weighing risk and validating opinions

We can combine these foundations with engineering and security topics like test-driven development, threat modeling, and offensive/defensive techniques so you don't just know what to do, but also have the understanding and practice to back up your claims.

If the technical foundation is already there, we can work in the other direction: product thinking, public speaking, or presentation.

Pricing

  • Intro call: free, usually about 30 minutes
  • Working sessions: 3000 CZK / €125 per hour (billed in 15-minute increments)
  • If you're self-funded (especially between jobs): reduced rates are available

Conditions

  • I am not a VAT payer
  • The intro call is free. No contract required. Please avoid sensitive data
  • Follow-up sessions are governed by a formal mentoring contract
  • Timezone: Europe/Prague
  • Rates are reviewed periodically. The prices shown here are current

Contacts