I released Pixie Space, and it’s a strategic career move.

Pixie Space

Started on 10th April 2026, I went head down for 18 straight days to get something releasable up. Pixie Space was released silently on 27th April 2026. Up to today on 6th May 2026, it has ~40k lines of code, right at the inflection point where lines of code stop being a useful metric. The next phase is iteration with real user feedback and requests, and QC-pipeline.

What is Pixie Space?

Pixie Space is among a family of CAD, Computer-Aided Design software, a family of software shared among ‘Designers’. Mostly dominated by Architects, Mechanical Parts, and 3D modeling, it’s tempting to want to build a ‘1 CAD to rule them all’. But alas, the requirements are too different for each industry. I’ve decided eventually to focus on the industry I know more - Soft Goods and Fashion/Apparel. The generic name ‘Space’ still carries the initial unifying vision.

Why do I want to build a CAD?

Insider’s intuition. I was embedded in Fashion Tech industry for 2 years. I know the industry workflow through my own research validated by my day-to-day work. I know what the workflow needs. I also know which parts of the workflow are dated and begging for new tools. Pixie Space is that tool. Browser-based, no login, and free is a stark contrast to enterprise seats that sell for 5 figures. The independent designers have been waiting for accessible tools that can integrate seamlessly with production workflow.

More importantly, I need career signals that I can work as a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE). I was stuck doing the hardest, highest leverage work at my past job, because I was the only one who could. While it was the highest competency signal I could have, the Bangkok job market doesn’t know how to read it. I need more varied signals.

The realities of building a product - alone

Forward Deployed Engineer signals - taking industry pain point and designing a solution, architecting software, and then implementing it.

More than that, and this is what building alone adds beyond FDE duties:

• how to keep it free, how to get discovered, what to be known for - System Architecture, Marketing, SEO, Copywriting, and Branding.
• Git hosting and cloud deployment - Cloud Engineering and DevOps.

I’m getting to do all the Engineering roles that local hirers gate through 5 years of the same job title, and more.

Product, not Portfolio

Pixie Space (Pixie & Pavel) is branded as a product, not a portfolio piece. It gets its own ‘house brand’, not affiliated with me, with my portfolio site.

The reasons are twofold: this is a space I know well, and I intend to prove, through artifacts that can be shared without NDA, that I can ship a product that solves real business problems, not a PoC.

Whoever hires me next gets these same capabilities for their business. That’s the 2nd reason.

In a year where noises deafen the market to genuine signals, this is a strategic move.