Radioactive Toy

A boutique Rails and Ruby development studio

Who is Radioactive Toy?

Photo of Ayush wearing a rather cool bucket hat

Ayush Newatia

Studio Owner

London, UK

Hey there, my name is Ayush.

I'm a Ruby and Rails specialist with over 11 years of industry experience building production software.

I wrote THE book on Rails and Hotwire: The Rails and Hotwire Codex.

I've spoken at many Ruby conferences on a variety of topics. I also co-host the Just A Spec podcast, discussing the open standards that underpin the modern web.

I'm on the Bridgetown core team and run a privacy-focused mailing list app called Scattergun.

My client work is diverse. I've worked with agencies, startups, and boutique businesses to name a few. Each project has been unique and I can help with anything Ruby or Rails — whether it is upgrading and modernising a legacy app, or greenfield feature work, or something in between.

Email me, and let's work together!

Testimonials

Ayush worked with us as a Rails developer and was the core architect of several systems at Find AI. I challenged him with ambiguous projects, like "Gmail sync", and he came back with clean and simple solutions that balanced speed and effectiveness. I always learned something new while reviewing his pull requests.
Philip I. Thomas Co-Founder & CTO, Find.AI
Ayush co-led the engineering efforts for our flagship product launch. From day one, I could hand him a loosely defined challenge or product direction and trust him to come back with an elegant solution — usually one that pleasantly surprised me. He has a rare ability to take ambiguity and turn it into something clean and well-considered. I'd recommend him to anyone and would jump at the chance to work with him again.
Sam Scott Co-Founder & CTO, Veritas Labs
Ayush supported us as an independent subcontractor on Ruby on Rails projects. He does excellent work. He is dependable, communicates clearly, and requires very little direction.
Chris Moore CEO, Known Decimal

Working together

I'll bring over 11 years of industry experience in product development. My core skill set is programming Ruby, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, but I can work right across the board with product, design, and architecture as well.

I usually focus on a single client at a time and take on long term commitments (6 months or more, 20h/week) so I can make the maximum possible impact. I tailor my approach for what every project needs to ensure you get the best value for my skills.

A few examples of my work with previous clients:

  • Helped define a new product and built features as per client's requirements.
  • Spearheaded a UI refresh which involved introducing Hotwire and a component architecture into a legacy project.
  • Implemented several features to serve as examples of Rails data patterns and Hotwire usage for the team to refer in the future.
  • Project managed the Rails World 2023 website build and set the technical direction, while mentoring the junior developer who wrote the code.
  • Consulted on the best approach to introduce Hotwire on a legacy product, including mobile apps.

I'm currently working with the Rails Foundation to update the official Rails Guides.


Anything in the Rails, Ruby, and Hotwire world is within my wheelhouse.
Let's chat and build something together!


My web development philosophy...


Modern web development is complicated, probably more than it should be. Computers are faster than ever but the web can still be annoyingly clunky.

By stripping away all the complexity and going back to basics — using good old HTML, CSS, and JavaScript on the front-end combined with the eloquence of Ruby on the server; we can build versatile, accessible, and blazing fast applications at a scarcely believable pace.

Let's work together and I can help you fully utilise the substantial infrastucture provided by the modern web!


Email Ayush and let's build something together! Let's build something!