Taking on new engagements
Thoughtfully built. Wonderfully human.
Exceptional work comes from people who are given the room, trust, and opportunity to do their best.
SpellWare runs developer communities, maintains open source projects and builds the tools that hold them together. One accountable team, from the first moderation rule to the last line of code, so your own team can stay focused on the product.
Working with developer-tool and API companies, and with large online communities. A good fit when your product has developers as its users, you have or plan a community, and your team needs more capacity.
What we do
Most clients start with one and grow into another. Every engagement is scoped in writing, so you know what is included before work begins.
The day-to-day running of your community, so your team can stay focused on the product.
Best for: developer-tool companies, and creator and gaming communities at scale.
Learn more about Community OperationsSee example projects for Community Operations
Engineering capacity for the projects and tools your developers depend on.
Best for: developer-tool and API companies with an open source presence.
Learn more about Open Source and Developer ExperienceSee example projects for Open Source and Developer Experience
A fixed-scope engagement that gives your community structure, policy and direction.
Best for: companies launching or reshaping a developer community.
Learn more about Community StrategySee example projects for Community Strategy
Purpose-built tools, scoped and delivered against clear milestones.
Best for: teams that need a specific tool built well and maintained.
Learn more about Custom SoftwareSee example projects for Custom Software
A one-off refactor of a codebase that was built quickly, so it is easier to maintain, faster and safer to run.
Step one
We read and run your codebase, then report what we find and quote the cleanup.
Step two
We refactor in small steps that your team can review, against a scope agreed in writing.
Best for: teams with a working product, built quickly or with AI tools, that now needs to be easier to change, faster and safer to run.
Learn more about Codebase CleanupSee example projects for Codebase Cleanup
Structured mentorship from experienced engineers and community professionals, for individuals building a career and for companies growing a team.
For individuals
Join a mentor-led cohort with your own dedicated channel, and build your skills alongside other mentees in shared spaces.
Best for: developers and community professionals starting out or changing direction.
For companies
Ramp up a batch of junior hires with a structured, mentor-led onboarding programme.
Best for: companies bringing on several junior developers at once.
Learn more about Professional MentorshipSee example projects for Professional Mentorship
In their own words
Naomi, your leadership is GOATED. 🤍
You're exceptionally good at guiding people in the right direction while keeping them accountable. The way you've structured your mentorship programme is unlike anything I've experienced before.
I especially love the daily check-ins. They help me plan ahead and hold myself accountable by sharing my goals publicly. I've been doing them for the past seven months, and they've made a tremendous difference in my productivity.
Something else I really appreciate is that you don't make decisions for us. Instead, you guide us through our own decision-making process. For example, when I asked you about pursuing an internship, you didn't give me a yes or no or tell me what you would do. You simply asked whether I thought it would benefit my career. That encouraged me to think critically and make the decision for myself.
I also read your LinkedIn post about the importance of making people on your team feel seen, and I think this is something you excel at. You've consistently made me feel seen and recognized my efforts whenever you thought I was doing a good job. You have a wonderful ability to make people feel that their contributions matter.
What's even more impressive is that you're able to provide this level of guidance asynchronously! I think it's remarkable that you can mentor people so effectively without needing to get on a call with them.
You were previously supporting over 100 people through your mentorship programme, which speaks volumes about your dedication to helping others grow. I can't imagine how much time and energy that required, especially alongside everything else you have going on. I'm really glad you're taking steps to make the programme more sustainable for yourself and financially beneficial for your family. You deserve to benefit from the incredible value you provide.
I genuinely think more people should know about you, SpellWare, and everything you have to offer. Your leadership has made a meaningful difference in my life, and I'm grateful to have learned so much from you. 🤍
Why SpellWare
Community work and engineering work are usually bought separately and rarely talk to each other. We treat them as one discipline.
The people answering your community's questions can also read the code, so recurring problems become fixes rather than canned replies.
Codes of conduct, escalation paths, content warnings and accessibility are written down, trained for and used every day, not left as policy documents.
Our own community and open source projects are the working proof. You can read how we operate before you decide to hire us.
We collect only the data a project needs, document what we keep and why, and build with accessibility in mind from the first sketch.
We publish our code and our documentation, and we build on open standards so you are never locked in to us.
We choose our clients carefully and say so early if we are not the right fit. It keeps our work focused and our standards consistent.
Past work
Case studies with the results, and the words of the people who worked with us. Each one is framed as past work.
205%Discord growth at 4C, from 1,100 to 3,350 members
How we grow developer communities: two Discord communities more than tripled in size, and Discord engagement up 425% year-over-year at a third.
Onehelp channel across Discord, GitHub and Slack
A unified support workflow that brings community questions from Discord, GitHub and Slack into one place, with automation to track and answer them.
Read the study on One help channel across Discord, GitHub and Slack
FourSDKs generated from one API specification
A ground-up rebuild of a JavaScript SDK from alpha to general availability, and cross-language parity across a family of voice SDKs.
Read the study on Rebuilding a JavaScript SDK and keeping several in step
300,000+members in the community the tooling served
A moderation bot, an economy and engagement system, and staff tools, built for a community of more than 300,000 members.
Read the study on Moderation and engagement tooling for a 300,000+ member community
How we work
We report on outcomes rather than activity, so you can see what changed and decide what to do next.
Tell us about your community or project. We typically reply within 3 to 5 business days.
If it looks like a fit, we schedule an introductory call at the next available time. We arrange it ourselves, and we do not charge for it.
We provide a quote during that meeting, once we understand the scope of your work.
No work begins until a written service agreement is signed. We begin at the start of the contract term.
A dedicated account executive, a weekly update and a single place to ask questions. Confidentiality is included at no cost.
We look at the results with you, adjust the plan, and decide together whether to continue, change or stop.
Evidence
Our practices, policies and code are public. Read them, test them, and ask us about them.
"Naomi built a streamlined Slack workflow to syndicate messages across the platforms. [...] The system 'just works', you don't have to think about how or why which is always a great quality in an internal tool."
"She ran all our Discord bots, handled website integrations, drove community development [...] Everything she delivered was secure, scalable, and polished to perfection."
"Naomi is an exceptional engineer and an inspiring community leader, bringing a rare combination of deep technical expertise and community management skills."
About us
SpellWare began as one engineer building tools for the communities she helped run. It has grown into a consultancy that does both jobs for its clients: operating developer communities and engineering the software around them.
SpellWare was previously known as NHCarrigan. Only the name has changed: the team, the work and the standards are the same.
Naomi leads the engineering and community work. Her background spans developer experience, open source maintenance, community management and infrastructure, at companies and communities of very different sizes.
Experience includes
Team
Technology and platforms
We choose the right tool for the job and keep what we build maintainable by your team.
Questions
Meet the team, get help with our products and talk with other developers and community builders. No application needed.
Contact
Tell us about your community or project. Our standard response time is 7 to 10 business days, and we typically reply within 3 to 5. We will let you know honestly whether we can help. If it looks like a fit, we will schedule a short introductory call to talk it through. We arrange that call ourselves, and it is free.
"Naomi is extremely good at finding opportunities to improve our platform and our community that nobody has even thought of. She's also adept at explaining those ideas, implementing them, and rallying other team members to help her making them a reality."
Book a meeting at a time that suits you. A meeting you book yourself is paid at $100 per hour, prorated to the scheduled duration. The introductory call we schedule after a project enquiry is free. Read the pricing policy first.
Newsletter
Get the latest updates on our work by email, once a week. Every email includes an unsubscribe link, and our privacy policy explains how we handle your details.
