Custom Software Development
Custom technology solutions for VC-backed startups, SMEs and Large Enterprise for-profit companies.
Case Studies
Verticals we work with
Team
TESTIMONIALS
"Source Labs has been crucial in instrumenting the necessary change management to improve the effectiveness of our R&D organization. They don't shy away from challenges and have tackled every problem we had thrown at them. They are experts in the field and have been a significant force for positive change. We're happy that we've had this team to execute on a complex and successful rebuild."
"The Source Labs team worked alongside Opportunity@Work for two years, bringing critical technology expertise to our organization to build out our first technology platform. SourceLabs helped build and integrate modern software development processes and methodologies. As our main Technology Partner they worked with us on identifying the business problems and inefficiencies and created high-quality technology solutions to address those problems. The technology automated and augmented the work of several internal teams like Customer Success. They brought new ideas and fresh perspectives to the table and truly cared about the success of our product and the organization. They helped us hire, train, and mentor our internal engineering team to take on the ownership and maintenance of the product moving forward. This high-touch, high-quality approach made for an excellent partnership that we would highly recommend to others."
"Source Labs has been instrumental in the Digital Transformation of our organization. They've integrated themselves within our team and have brought their technical capabilities to our organization by building out elegant technical solutions for our organizational objectives. Some of their inherent attributes worth highlighting are their work ethic and attention to detail. The scalability and quality of the Skilling America platform is a testament to that. We've received overwhelming positive feedback from our users and stakeholders, and have moved Andrei into a Technical Advisory role."
"Working with Andrei and the Source Labs team could not have been better. We came in with a concept and Andrei helped us shape it into an actual idea and then implement that idea. A great looking product was expected, but what was unexpected was Andrei's level of involvement and help in making every aspect better."
"Source Labs has been instrumental to team Cureate, not just in development, but in complex problem solving. Technology is not just about writing code. It is about systems-level thinking of how one interaction will cause ripple effects into further actions taken by a user. Source Labs has been, and will continue to be, integral to team Cureate because of this crucial understanding that products are built with that knowledge in mind."
"Through my network I got a referral to Andrei and, let me tell you, that was one of the best references I have ever gotten! Not only does Andrei have the raw technology skills, and the willingness to expand/learn new ones, but he's also an engaged and eager business partner. I found him genuinely interested in my project, not only as to how he could get the job done, but also what my end goals were. He was always available to help with research and his own insights/suggestions so that, as a result, my final product was better than I'd hoped it could be. I would recommend Andrei to anyone, highly, and am already planning to engage him again myself on other projects."
"Within just a few conversations Andrei was able to extract out the requirements, architect and build out a fully functioning MVP to test out our ideas and assumptions."
"Source Labs has contributed to our successful product delivery by assisting us with product architecture and building out some of our most cutting-edge features in modern technologies."
"Source Labs led and mentored our internal software engineering team and delivered an exceptional solution on budget and on schedule."
"The team at Source Labs is world-class! They helped us design and successfully build a product from the ground up. We're excited to work with them again to build out the next version of our platform! Thank you!"
Contact
— A digital engineering practice
Operating systems
for the businesses
that build civilization.
For thirteen years we have built the platforms that operate our partners' businesses — research, design, and engineering in one continuous practice.
The work is changing. We now build software that ideates, decides, and executes alongside the teams it serves.
Backlog
↑ 38% throughput
Last 24h
412 processed · 8 needed review
Plate I — A live AR workflow, operating without intervention
— On method
"The most important thing will be to build the systems that operate businesses — and the harnesses that allow software to act with judgment inside them."
— I · Practice
A complete practice, end to end.
Six disciplines, one senior team. We come in early to scope the work that matters, and stay through the operating system that runs once we leave.
i.
Operations Diagnostics
Where the bottlenecks live, what they cost, and which of them software can absorb. Stakeholder interviews, audit, scoped diagnostics.
ii.
Systems Architecture
The data model, the decision points, the boundary between human judgment and automated execution. Designed before code.
iii.
Interface Design
The seams where operators inspect, override, and refine what the system does on their behalf. Trust is built at these surfaces.
iv.
Engineering
Production systems in modern stacks — Ruby, Python, TypeScript, Go — built to be operated, audited, and extended by the next team.
v.
Forward Deployment
A senior engineer embedded in your operation — not advising from outside, building inside. Surge capacity without long-term FTE overhead.
vi.
Operationalization
Instrumentation, telemetry, and the feedback loop that lets the system improve under measurement, not anecdote.
— II · Method
We invert the 80 / 20.
Most product teams spend 80% of their hours building, 20% deciding what to build. Modern tooling lets that ratio flip. Our work is to make the 20% executable in days, not quarters.
Step 01
Listen
Two weeks. We interview operators, shadow workflows, and map the system as it actually runs.
Step 02
Architect
Two weeks. The data model, the decision points, and the harness inside which software can act on the operation's behalf.
Step 03
Build
Four to twelve weeks. A working version your operators use daily, not a demo. Telemetry from day one.
Step 04
Operate
Ongoing. We measure what the system does, what humans override, and the next surface to bring inside.
— III · Engagements
A portfolio shaped by trust.
Sixty platforms shipped across enterprise, e-commerce, social impact, government, and media — and the operating systems being built next.
— Enterprise · Public Policy
FiscalNote
A global policy intelligence platform for the Fortune 500 — the kind of operating system that turns thousands of legislative signals into a tractable workflow for a single analyst.
Read the engagement →
— Social Impact
Skilling America
An operating system for career coaches — credentialing, content, and outcome tracking in one workflow.
— Analytics · SaaS
Project Westfall
Voter-data analytics for campaign strategists. Decision support, audit trail, and exportable models.
— Government
DC Business Toolkit
The directory that routes 18,000 D.C. businesses to the right resources, agencies, and people.
— Also recent
— Partner testimonial
"Source Labs has been crucial in instrumenting the necessary change management to improve the effectiveness of our R&D organization. They don't shy away from challenges and have tackled every problem we threw at them."
Ken Kantzer — VP of Engineering, FiscalNote
— IV · The accountable founder
One name on the work.
Andrei Bondarev — engineer, founder, operator. Open-source contributor (langchainrb). The work goes through Andrei, and senior collaborators are brought into each engagement deliberately, based on scope and stack. You always know who is doing the work.
Andrei Bondarev
Owner · CEO · CTO
[ Field Manual 01 ] — Operating Systems for Critical Workflows
Engineers deployed forward.
Systems that operate.
Source Labs places senior engineers inside the operations that matter — building the platforms that ingest data, model decisions, and execute the work alongside the team. Thirteen years deployed. Sixty engagements. No demos, no resource pyramids.
// workflow.dataflow
live · t+0.42s
Throughput
142/min
Reviewed
2.8%
Uptime
99.97%
Fig. A — A deployed operations workflow, observed
— Doctrine
Four operating principles.
01 / Deploy forward
Engineers inside the operation.
Not advisors from outside. Senior engineers embedded with the team, building inside the real workflow.
02 / Build the harness
Systems with judgment.
Software that acts on the operation's behalf, with the audit trail and override surface that earn an operator's trust.
03 / Measure everything
Telemetry from day one.
Throughput, escalation rate, time-to-resolve. If the system can't be measured, it can't be improved.
04 / Hand off cleanly
Operated by your team.
The platform we leave behind is owned, maintained, and extended by the team that operates it.
— Capabilities
Six disciplines.
Everything an engagement needs to operate end-to-end. We come in early to scope the work and stay through the version that ships.
[ 01 ]
Operations Diagnostics
Where the bottlenecks live, what they cost, and which can be absorbed by software.
[ 02 ]
Systems Architecture
The data model, the decision points, the boundary between human judgment and automated execution.
[ 03 ]
Interface Design
The seams where operators inspect, override, and refine what the system does on their behalf.
[ 04 ]
Engineering
Ruby, Python, Go, TypeScript. Tests, CI, observability — table stakes.
[ 05 ]
Forward Deployment
Senior engineers embedded inside your operation — surge capacity without long-term FTE overhead.
[ 06 ]
Operationalization
Instrumentation, telemetry, and the feedback loop that lets the system improve under measurement.
— Deployments
Selected operations.
— Field report
"Source Labs has been crucial in instrumenting the necessary change management to improve the effectiveness of our R&D organization. They don't shy away from challenges and have tackled every problem we threw at them."
Ken Kantzer
VP of Engineering · FiscalNote
— Lead operator
Andrei Bondarev
Founder · Lead Operator
Senior engineer with 15+ years across enterprise, startup, and government. Open-source contributor to langchainrb. Lead-deploys every engagement personally.
— Request engagement
Tell us about the operation.
One business day reply. Reviewed personally by Andrei. No discovery fee.
→ +1 (703) 347-4980
→ hello@sourcelabs.io
→ NYC · D.C.
— A practice, est. New York 2013
Operating systems,
built to last.
We are a small atelier of senior engineers building the platforms that operate thoughtful companies — research-grade systems that capture how a business actually works, and software that does that work, plainly.
— Engagement no. 47
FiscalNote · Global public policy intelligence for the Fortune 500.
— Approach
A method, unhurried.
We work the way furniture-makers do — on a small number of pieces at a time, each shaped to the partner who commissioned it. No assembly line.
-
I
Listen.
Two weeks shadowing your operation. Interviews with the people who actually do the work. We map the system as it runs — not as the org chart describes it.
-
II
Architect.
The data model, the decision points, the boundary between human judgment and what the platform can decide alone. Drawn before built.
-
III
Build.
A working version your team uses daily — not a demo. Telemetry from day one. Refined under measurement, not anecdote.
-
IV
Hand off.
The platform we leave behind is owned, operated, and extended by your team. We disappear when the work is done.
— Practice
What we make.
i.
Operations diagnostics
Where the work bottlenecks, what it costs, and which of the bottlenecks software can absorb. We arrive at a recommendation, not a deck.
ii.
Systems architecture
The data model, the decision points, the boundary between human judgment and automated execution. Designed deliberately, not assumed.
iii.
Interface design
Where operators inspect what the platform did on their behalf, override when necessary, and trust the system because they can see inside it.
iv.
Engineering
Production software in modern stacks — Ruby, Python, TypeScript, Go — built to be maintained by the team that inherits it.
v.
Forward deployment
A senior engineer inside your operation, not advising from a slack channel. Surge capacity without the FTE overhead.
vi.
Operationalization
Telemetry, refinement, and the feedback loop that lets the platform improve under measurement. The work isn't done at launch.
— Selected engagements
A small portfolio.
Sixty platforms shipped across enterprise, social impact, e-commerce, government, and media — a selection follows.
No. 47 — Enterprise · Policy
FiscalNote
A platform that turns thousands of daily legislative signals into a tractable workflow for a single analyst.
Read the engagement →No. 39 — Social Impact
Skilling America
An operating system for career coaches — credentialing, content, and outcome tracking.
Read the engagement →
No. 33 — Analytics · SaaS
Project Westfall
Voter-data analytics for campaign strategists. Decision support with audit trail and exportable models.
Read the engagement →— Also recent
TechHire · Plug & Work · DC Business Toolkit · Hunter2 · NPR Live Sessions · Max Retail · Redstone Foods · Cureate Connect
— Partner letter
"They don't shy away from challenges and have tackled every problem we threw at them. We're happy that we've had this team to execute on a complex and successful rebuild."
Ken Kantzer
VP of Engineering · FiscalNote
— Founder
The work goes through
one name.
Andrei Bondarev — engineer, founder, operator. Open-source contributor to langchainrb. Senior collaborators join each engagement deliberately, chosen for the scope and stack. You always know who is building your platform.
Andrei Bondarev
Owner · CEO · CTO
— Inquire
Tell us about
your work.
One business day reply. Engagements are reviewed personally by Andrei. No discovery fee.
+1 (703) 347-4980
hello@sourcelabs.io
New York · Washington, D.C.
BUILD
SOFTWARE.
SHIP IT.
A senior, no-frills engineering shop. We design and build the production systems that run mission-critical operations — for VC-backed startups, established enterprise, and the public sector. No agency overhead. No discovery-deck theater.
// HOW WE WORK
- → Senior engineers only
- → Direct-to-founder line
- → Production on day 30
- → Telemetry from day 1
[ 01 / PRACTICE ]
WHAT WE
BUILD.
// SIX TRADES, ONE WORKSHOP
We practice six disciplines under one roof. No handoffs to subcontractors. No outsourced design firm. The team that pitches you is the team that builds — and ships — and stays.
[01]
RESEARCH
RESEARCH/
DISCOVERY
Identify the central problem your org actually needs to solve — before a single line of code lands in the repo.
[02]
STRATEGY
PRODUCT/
STRATEGY
Counsel on the most consequential technology bets the leadership will make this quarter — and the next.
[03]
UX/UI
INTERFACE/
DESIGN
Plain, fast UI where operators can inspect what the system did, override when needed, and trust the whole.
[04]
ENG
ENGINEERING/
SHIP
Production software in Ruby, Python, TypeScript, Go. Built to be inherited, extended, and trusted for years.
[05]
GROWTH
GROWTH/
ANALYTICS
Telemetry, refinement, and the feedback loop that lets a platform improve under measurement — not anecdote.
[06]
STAFFING
STAFF/
AUGMENT
A senior engineer placed inside your operation. Surge capacity without the overhead of a permanent FTE.
[ DOCTRINE.MD ]
LASER FOCUS
ON THE PROBLEM.
Clarity on the problem is the prerequisite to long-term success. We define that problem with you — then prescribe the most enduring technology to dispatch it. Everything else is theater.
[ 02 / WORK ]
RECEIPTS.
NOT PITCHES.
// SELECTED ENGAGEMENTS
Six pieces, rendered in full below. The complete index — sixty+ engagements across enterprise, social impact, e-commerce, government, and media — lives further down.
FISCALNOTE
Global public policy intelligence + analytics for the Fortune 500.
OPEN FILE →
DC BUSINESS TOOLKIT
Directory of businesses, agencies, events, and providers for the District.
OPEN FILE →
SKILLING AMERICA
E-learning platform for upskilling the national career-coaching community.
OPEN FILE →
TECHHIRE
Skills-validation marketplace for employers and seekers across industries.
OPEN FILE →
PROJECT WESTFALL
Cloud SaaS for analytics on public voter data, with audit trail and export.
OPEN FILE →
PLUG & WORK
Collaborative document mgmt for real-estate, insurance, and banking flows.
OPEN FILE →
[ 03 / METHOD ]
THE LOOP.
FOUR STEPS.
// REPEAT UNTIL SHIPPED
We don't do agile theater. We do listen, architect, build, hand off. The loop iterates as often as the problem requires — and never more than that.
-
[01]
LISTEN/
Two weeks shadowing your operation. Interviews with the people who do the work. We map the system as it actually runs — not as the org chart imagines it.
-
[02]
ARCHITECT/
The data model. The decision points. The boundary between human judgment and what the platform can decide alone. Drawn before built.
-
[03]
BUILD/
A working version your team uses daily. Never a demo. Telemetry from day one. Refined under measurement, not anecdote.
-
[04]
HAND-OFF/
The platform we leave behind is owned, operated, and extended by your team. We disappear when the work is well and truly done.
[ 04 / STACK ]
THE TOOLS
WE TRUST.
[ INDEX / VERTICALS ]
WHERE
WE WORK.
-
[ 01 ]
ENTERPRISE
-
[ 02 ]
SOCIAL IMPACT
-
[ 03 ]
EDUCATION
-
[ 04 ]
E-COMMERCE
-
[ 05 ]
MARKETING
-
[ 06 ]
MEDIA
-
[ 07 ]
HEALTHCARE
-
[ 08 ]
GOVERNMENT
[ 05 / VOICES ]
THE OPS
SPEAK FOR US.
// SELECTED QUOTES
Direct from the operators and executives who commissioned our work and ran the platforms we built — verbatim.
[ TESTIMONIAL / 001 ]
"Source Labs has been crucial in instrumenting the change management to improve the effectiveness of our R&D organization. They are experts in the field — a significant force for positive change."
KEN KANTZER
VP ENG · FISCALNOTE
[ TESTIMONIAL / 002 ]
Source Labs worked alongside Opportunity@Work for two years, bringing critical technology expertise to build our first technology platform. They brought new ideas, fresh perspectives — and truly cared about the success of our product and organization.
BYRON AUGUSTE
CEO & CO-FOUNDER · OPPORTUNITY@WORK
[ TESTIMONIAL / 003 ]
Source Labs has been instrumental in the digital transformation of our organization. The scalability and quality of the Skilling America platform is a testament to their work ethic and attention to detail.
CHRISTINE HUBLEY
SENIOR DIRECTOR · HOPE STREET GROUP
[ TESTIMONIAL / 004 ]
We came in with a concept and Andrei helped us shape it into a real idea — then implement it. A great-looking product was expected; what was unexpected was the level of involvement and help in making every aspect better.
STEFAN HANKIN
PRESIDENT · LINCOLN PARK STRATEGIES
[ TESTIMONIAL / 005 ]
Source Labs has been integral to team Cureate — not just in development, but in complex problem solving. Technology is about systems-level thinking of how one interaction ripples through to others.
KIM BRYDEN
FOUNDER & CEO · CUREATE
[ ONE NAME ON THE WORK ]
THE BUCK
STOPS HERE.
Andrei Bondarev — engineer, founder, operator. Open-source maintainer of langchain.rb. Senior collaborators join each engagement deliberately, chosen for the scope and the stack. You will always know who is building your platform.
[ 06 / CONTACT ]
START THE
PROJECT.
Fill the form. Andrei reviews every inquiry within one business day. No discovery fee. No sales-call gauntlet. Direct line from message to founder.
TEL/
+1 (703) 347-4980
EMAIL/
hello@sourcelabs.io
CITIES/
NEW YORK / WASHINGTON D.C. / REMOTE