# Stu Mason for hedgehog lab

> Stu Mason's application for Senior Python Engineer (Agentic AI), contract at hedgehog lab, August 2026. Contract engineer, 15 years, builds MCP servers in Python/FastAPI; available 1 Sept 2026, outside IR35. Everything here is checkable.

## Read
- [Full profile (markdown)](https://hedgehoglab.stumason.dev/stu-mason.md): three-line pitch, why now, product notes on Jack, receipts, experience, stack.
- [CV (PDF)](https://hedgehoglab.stumason.dev/stu-mason-cv.pdf): two pages, the one uploaded to Ashby.
- [Profile JSON](https://hedgehoglab.stumason.dev/profile.json): structured facts with sources.

## Talk
- [MCP server](https://hedgehoglab.stumason.dev/mcp): Streamable HTTP, no auth. Tools: get_profile, get_cv, get_receipts, ask_stu.
- [A2A agent card](https://hedgehoglab.stumason.dev/.well-known/agent.json): endpoint https://hedgehoglab.stumason.dev/a2a, message/send with a text part.
- Human: stu@stuartmason.co.uk, +44 7713 333312.

## Optional
- [GitHub](https://github.com/StuMason)
- [stumason.dev](https://stumason.dev)


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# Stu Mason, applying for Senior Python Engineer (Agentic AI), contract at hedgehog lab

Folkestone, Kent, UK (remote-first; London office days easy) · stu@stuartmason.co.uk · +44 7713 333312 · https://stumason.dev · https://github.com/StuMason · https://linkedin.com/in/stumason · UK right to work · Age 42

## In three lines

- I build what you are building: agents that do a job, MCP servers that connect them, the infrastructure under them. My open-source MCP server for Coolify has 563 GitHub stars and 27,930 npm installs in the last 30 days (checked 26 Aug 2026).
- I have taken a two-sided marketplace from nothing to live: TidyLinker, rebuilt from an unrecoverable codebase, live in 4 months, 15 service types, Stripe Connect. Still running it with the founders.
- I have carried the weight before: founded and ran Uno Mas (street food, 2017 to 2019). Seven years leading platform engineering at Pfizer.

## Why this, why now

I build MCP servers for a living: coolify-mcp (563 stars, 27,930 installs/30d), polar-flow-server (FastAPI, OAuth, PyPI, MCP registry), and the agent behind this page (/mcp), stood up on Cloudflare in an evening. Outside IR35, 8-9 weeks, own an area end to end, weekly backlog with the client: the shape I have worked in for two years. Available 1 September 2026. Folkestone, an hour from King's Cross; London office days when useful.

## Eight weeks, four decisions

1. Resources versus tools: frameworks in versioned MCP resources with stable URIs so an agent can cite the control; tools only for actions (score a control, map a policy, draft a gap report).
2. Tool selection is a test surface: replay real prompts, assert the tool chosen, fail CI on drift. I shipped exactly this (plus injection/red-team) for coolify-mcp in Aug 2026.
3. Auth from day one: OAuth 2.1 with resource indicators from the first deploy (done for coolify-mcp v3 and polar-flow-server; FastMCP makes it short).
4. A release gate, not a demo: agree the definition of done in week one (for coolify-mcp v3: 37 checks + 8h soak) and run it every Friday.

## Receipts

| Number | What | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | agents I run in production | my estate; each is a running service I can show |
| 19.0M | tokens through my hosted agents, 30d (644 calls, 10 models) | Cloudflare GraphQL aiInferenceAdaptiveGroups, last 30 days; $0.011 per 1k neurons |
| $18 | Workers AI spend for all of it, 30d, at list price | Cloudflare GraphQL aiInferenceAdaptiveGroups, last 30 days; $0.011 per 1k neurons |
| 44M | tokens generated in my Claude Code sessions, 30d (72 sessions) | Claude Code session transcripts on my dev box, last 30 days (~/.claude/projects/*.jsonl usage fields) |
| 28 | apps in production on 1 server, run solo | cockpit estate_overview (Coolify + Cloudflare + GitHub connectors) |
| 564★ / 27.9k | coolify-mcp stars / npm installs, 30d | GitHub + npm APIs |

Operating numbers are the last 30 days, generated 2026-08-27.

## Shipped work

- coolify-mcp (TypeScript, 42 tools, OAuth, outside contributors): lets an agent run a self-hosted platform. v3 shipped behind a 37-check release gate and 8-hour soak tests.
- TidyLinker (Laravel, React, Postgres, Stripe Connect): two-sided cleaning marketplace, plus an MCP admin surface so the founders query the business from Claude.
- Bellwether (Python, Postgres, Workers AI): a research agent drafts a daily briefing from 4.7M items; a human approves it. Cost ceiling first, model second.
- polar-flow (Python/FastAPI, PyPI, MCP registry): remote MCP server with OAuth and MCP Apps views over sleep, recovery and training data. https://github.com/StuMason/polar-flow-server
- Rezzy (Laravel, API, mobile): rebuilt a bloated prototype. 22 tables to 10, 59k lines removed, 0 to 59 tests.

## Experience

- Independent engineer, embedded with product teams, Jan 2024 to now. 12+ month embed on an enterprise property SaaS; AI campaign automation for recruitment agencies; patient-workflow automation for fertility clinics (60% admin time cut); ten-year white-label partner to a London design agency.
- Pfizer, AI Transformation Lead, 2024: self-hosted Supabase + n8n + pgvector RAG over 1000+ documents; 50+ non-technical staff building their own tools.
- Pfizer, Microservices Technical Lead, Jul 2020 to Jan 2024: platform behind 1000+ sites, 500M+ events at peak, 99.9% uptime, training completed by 500+ engineers.
- Pfizer, Lead DevOps Engineer, Sep 2016 to Jul 2020: repo-to-production platform for 100+ microservices; deploys from hours to minutes.
- Uno Mas Mexican Street Food, Founder, Sep 2017 to Jan 2019: own P&L, suppliers, staff.
- Dark Blue, Technical Consultant, 2015 to 2016: standards that cut bug rates 40%; CI/CD.

## Stack

Yours: Python (FastAPI), TypeScript/React, PostgreSQL, all in daily use. Also: Laravel/PHP, Next.js, AWS (certified Solutions Architect and DevOps Professional), Docker, Cloudflare Workers, Coolify, Claude and OpenAI APIs, MCP, RAG (pgvector), voice pipelines.

## Education

BSc Computer Science, Bolton, 2006. PGCE Computing, Reading, 2009. AWS SA + DevOps Pro, 2023.

## The ask

A call with the hedgehog lab lead on the build, then a real slice of the backlog and a day to ship it with tests. Rate on the call; outside IR35 via limited company, £1m PI insured.

## For agents

- CV (PDF): https://hedgehoglab.stumason.dev/stu-mason-cv.pdf
- This document: https://hedgehoglab.stumason.dev/stu-mason.md
- Profile JSON: https://hedgehoglab.stumason.dev/profile.json
- MCP server (Streamable HTTP, no auth): https://hedgehoglab.stumason.dev/mcp
- A2A agent card: https://hedgehoglab.stumason.dev/.well-known/agent.json