Software engineering studio

We build software. And worlds to play in.

We design, build and run custom software: web products, distributed backends, AI systems and games. One senior team for architecture, development, testing and production operations.

  • Independent engineering studio
  • Built for teams worldwide
  • Est. 2024

Our disciplines

  • Backend
  • Infrastructure
  • Security
  • LLM
  • Game development

What we do

Software engineering

Custom software development, systems architecture and integrations — with testing, security and operations built in.

01

Software development

We turn product requirements into maintainable web applications, APIs and business platforms — from a first release to complex enterprise systems.

  • Backend
  • Frontend
  • API
  • Monoliths
  • Microservices
02

Distributed systems

Resilient backends, clusters and networks, with monitoring built in.

  • Highload
  • Networking
03

DevOps

CI/CD, orchestration and infrastructure as code.

  • Docker
  • K8s
04

Applied AI & LLMs

Useful AI in your workflows: model integration, RAG, fine-tuning and MLOps on your infrastructure.

  • LLM
  • RAG
  • Fine-tuning
  • MLOps
05

Security engineering

Code and infrastructure reviews, vulnerability testing and secure development practices.

  • Pentest
  • SAST/DAST
06

Game backends

Online services, dedicated server orchestration, matchmaking infrastructure and tools for live operations.

  • Online games
  • Servers
  • Live ops
Explore our game expertise
07

Game development

Games and prototypes, Unreal Engine plugins, rendering and UI tools, builds and release engineering.

  • Unreal Engine
  • Godot
  • Unity
  • C++

Something different?

Tell us what you’re building. We’ll suggest an approach and an estimate.

Let’s talk

Why NIV TEAM

Senior engineers. A studio’s agility.

We maintain code used by developers around the world, build our own products and bring years of experience running high-load systems in big tech.

Open source

Projects with thousands of GitHub stars

  • 3 000+GitHub stars
  • 15+ yearswith the community
  • 30+public repositories

We create and contribute to public projects. Our team includes the author of a Firebase integration plugin and a contributor to the Tinkoff Invest OpenAPI Java SDK.

Our engineering projects for Unreal Engine

Our product / Game servers

Birdman — your own game server fleet

Ready-to-play match servers, updates while active sessions continue, and placement by region. On your machines, without Kubernetes.

Matchmaking / Deploys / Monitoring

Birdman demo panel: matches, players, ready servers and fleet events.Birdman demo panel: active versions and an update being prepared.
Demo panel / Overview and deploys

Big tech / Engineering at scale

Years of production engineering in big tech

Our founders have led engineering and studio teams in big tech. We bring that experience to systems built for large audiences, with reliability, security and live operations in mind.

NIV is Nikolay I Vladimir. Two founders, one engineering team.

A team that fits the work

We bring in trusted specialists as the scope grows, keeping the right expertise and a clear owner for each part of the project.

Practical economics

We are a small team of experienced engineers. You work directly with the people who design, build and operate your system.

Four stages

How we work

From the first conversation to production operations: a clear view of what’s done and what comes next.

Stage 01. Discovery

Understand the problem first

We explore your goals, existing systems and constraints, then define the scope, acceptance criteria and estimate.

The first conversation is free

Stage 02. Architecture

Design before we build

We design the system, choose the stack and agree on a delivery plan with clear checkpoints.

Architecture that can grow

Stage 03. Development

Working software every two weeks

Two-week iterations with a working demo. Code reviews, tests and documentation are included.

Repository access and clear progress updates

Stage 04. Operations

Launch, run and improve

Deployment, monitoring and agreed service levels. We keep improving the product with real feedback.

Ownership in production

Our way of working

Engineering principles

Six commitments we bring to every project, from the first conversation to long-term operations.

Let’s talk
  • Progress you can see

    Regular conversations, repository access and straightforward progress updates.

  • A dedicated team

    A consistent team that learns your product and takes responsibility for its part in it.

  • Security from day one

    Secure development practices, code reviews and vulnerability testing throughout the project.

  • Room to grow

    Architecture that accounts for growing traffic and changing business needs.

  • A quick, considered start

    Established workflows and proven components help us move quickly while keeping the code maintainable.

  • AI with a purpose

    We use AI where it can improve an actual workflow, with a way to evaluate the result.

Games & real-time systems

From the first playable
to a live game.

We build the parts that make a game work: gameplay tools, interfaces, rendering extensions and the services behind every session.

01 / BUILD

Find the fun. Make it playable.

Prototypes, gameplay systems and production tools in Unreal Engine, Godot and Unity. A focused team for a clear part of your game.

  • Unreal Engine
  • Godot
  • Unity
  • C++
02 / EXTEND

Tools that fit the engine.

Our own plugins cover game UI, rendering, REST integration and data models. We bring that engine-level experience to your project.

Explore our engine projects
03 / OPERATE

Keep the world running.

Online backends, dedicated server fleets, observability and release pipelines. Birdman brings our infrastructure work into live game operations.

Meet Birdman (opens in a new tab) ↗

Building a game, or improving one that’s live? Let’s talk about your project

Stack

Proven in production

We choose the stack during architecture, around the needs of your project.

Backend

  • Rust
  • Go
  • Python
  • C++
  • Node.js
  • PostgreSQL
  • Kafka

Frontend

  • TypeScript
  • React
  • Vue.js
  • Next.js
  • WASM
  • React Native
  • Flutter

Infra

  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • Terraform
  • Ansible
  • Prometheus
  • Grafana
  • Nginx

AI / ML

  • vLLM
  • PyTorch
  • RAG
  • LangChain
  • LlamaIndex
  • ChromaDB
  • ONNX

Game development

  • Unreal Engine
  • Godot
  • Unity
  • C++
  • C#
  • WebGL
  • WebGPU

Good questions

Before we start

Where do we start?

With discovery. We discuss the problem, goals and constraints, then put together a scope and estimate. The first conversation is free.

How do I follow progress?

We work in two-week iterations with a demo, regular conversations, repository access and clear progress updates.

What is included?

Architecture, implementation, code reviews, tests and documentation. Deployment and monitoring take your product into production, with security practices throughout development.

What happens after launch?

Deployment, monitoring and agreed service levels. We keep improving the product with real feedback.

Can you help with a game project?

Yes. We build game prototypes, Unreal Engine plugins, game interfaces and online backends. We can join an existing team or take a focused piece of the project from design to launch. See our game development expertise.

How can I contact you?

Email us or send a message on Telegram — you’ll find both in the contact section. We’ll come back with an approach and an estimate.

Contact

Tell us what you’re building

We’ll suggest an approach and an estimate. The first conversation is free.

Software engineering for teams worldwide