A steady rhythm
Short, honest updates on what moved, what is next, and anything that needs a decision from you.
A real British business
Human, grounded, and serious about the work.Meet the human behind the code.
Pickering Technologies is a small UK software consultancy run by Richard Pickering. Real engineering standards, plain communication, and a down-to-earth approach with no unnecessary theatre.
The story
Built by an engineer who cares how software is made.
PickTech started for a simple reason: businesses deserve senior engineering judgement without the layers, ceremony, and cost that usually come attached. Richard has spent years building and stabilising serious systems, and the work here is a continuation of that craft rather than a rebrand of it.
It is deliberately a small company. That keeps the person you talk to and the person doing the engineering the same, and it keeps the standard of the work personal. Reputation is built one project at a time, so every engagement is treated as one worth doing properly.
There is no pretence here about being bigger than it is. What you get instead is honesty about what a problem needs, and a straight answer about whether PickTech is the right fit for it.
How PickTech works
Down-to-earth, and no BS.
A few principles hold the work together. They are ordinary disciplines, not slogans.
Plain language
No jargon used to sound clever, and no vague answers to look busy. If something is uncertain or risky, you hear it early and in plain English.
Serious standards
Tests, CI, observability, secure design, and clear architecture are the default, not an upsell. Quality is a set of choices made every day.
Proportionate process
Enough structure to reduce risk, and not a gram more. Process exists to protect the work, never to fill a slide deck.
Personal accountability
You work directly with the person doing the engineering. There is no account layer between you and the judgement you are paying for.
Remote-first
Working together, without office assumptions.
PickTech is remote-first by default. That is not a shortcut — it is a working style built around clear communication and visible progress, so distance never means you are left guessing.
Clear written updates so decisions are captured where they can be checked later.
Focused calls when a conversation genuinely moves the work forward, not standing meetings by habit.
Work done in the open: code, tests, and documentation you can inspect at any point.
Sensible overlap with UK hours, and honest expectations about what lands and when.
What to expect day to day
No surprises, no theatre, just steady work.
Once work is underway, the experience is calm and predictable. This is what a normal working relationship with PickTech looks like.
Visible progress
Work landing in small, reviewable pieces rather than a big reveal at the end that nobody can question.
Straight answers
If a plan needs to change, you find out why and what it means, before it becomes a surprise.
Respect for your time
Calls with a purpose, meetings kept short, and your attention treated as the scarce resource it is.
Why it matters
Supporting a small business is a choice worth making.
Behind PickTech is real life: family, bills, craft, and reputation. When you choose a small British business, your budget supports a person who is personally invested in doing the work well, rather than disappearing into overhead.
It also means your project genuinely matters. There is no queue of larger accounts pushing you down the list, and no incentive to stretch the work to fill a bigger machine. The relationship is direct, and the accountability is impossible to hide from.
Start a practical conversation
Tell PickTech what you are trying to achieve.
Outside IR35 engagements available. If you value senior judgement, plain speaking, and serious standards, this is a good place to begin.