Clarity before complexity
We make the problem and its constraints legible before proposing a solution. Precision should reduce cognitive load, not add ceremony.
About / Independent by design
Good systems make room for people to do their best work.
Orbital Relay Systems is an independent senior studio headquartered for international work. We bring product, engineering, design and operations into the same conversation.
Our point of view
APIs are products. Internal tools are products. Developer time is a business resource.
We work with established businesses, platform teams, SaaS companies, logistics operators, fintech firms and data-heavy organisations. Our work often begins where organisational lines meet: one product depends on another, a partner needs access, or an internal team is navigating a system built over years.
We believe that technical quality and human clarity belong together. A useful standard is one people can adopt. A robust integration is one its operators can see and recover. A developer portal is successful when it reduces distance between intent and a confident first call.
Our studio stays intentionally senior and small. Clients work directly with the people doing the thinking and making. We adapt to your existing delivery rhythm, share decisions in the open, and leave the team with something they can own.
Principles in practice
Clarity is a way of working, not a finishing touch.
Systems before screens
Interfaces are shaped by policy, data, ownership and operations. We understand those relationships before drawing a new surface.
Documentation is product work
Good documentation has owners, useful structure and a place in delivery. It helps people act and gives the product a memory.
Governance that supports delivery
Shared guardrails should help teams move with confidence. We design for proportionate review, clear responsibility and practical exceptions.
The people behind the work
A candid studio, with the right experience in the room.
Our nine-person team brings complementary skills to each engagement. The core team stays close to your work from first map through handover.
Eleanor Shaw
Founder & API Product DirectorEleanor helps leadership teams turn broad platform ambition into clear API product choices. She has spent two decades at the intersection of enterprise product strategy and developer ecosystems.
Marcus Bell
Principal Integration ArchitectMarcus works through difficult boundaries between services, data and operations. His strength is making the failure paths and ownership questions as clear as the happy path.
Priya Nanduri
Developer Experience LeadPriya brings documentation, onboarding and product behaviour into one developer journey. She enjoys turning repeated support questions into small, lasting product improvements.
Thomas Avery
Product Systems StrategistThomas maps how decisions move through a portfolio, from governance to everyday delivery. He helps teams find a shared operating rhythm without flattening useful autonomy.
Amina Okafor
Senior Platform DesignerAmina designs dense internal workflows that remain understandable under pressure. Her work makes system state, permissions and the next action visible to the people doing the job.
Daniel Whitcombe
Technical Content DirectorDaniel gives technical knowledge a structure teams can keep current. He partners closely with engineers to create reference material and practical guides grounded in how systems actually behave.
Sofia Marin
Delivery & Operations LeadSofia keeps multi-disciplinary work moving with clear decisions, honest dependencies and thoughtful pacing. She has led complex international programmes across product and operations.
Jacob Lin
Enterprise Security AdvisorJacob helps teams make security controls understandable and workable. He brings a product lens to identity, access and review practices, keeping safeguards close to the real workflow.
Harriet Cole
Research & Service Design LeadHarriet listens for the workarounds and handoffs that a system diagram can miss. Her field research helps teams design services that make sense to users and the people supporting them.
A good place to begin
Start a conversation Work with people who take the details seriously.
A first conversation is a chance to share context, test fit and find a useful next question—not to sit through a pitch.