# Marco Nissen — AI & Product Architect > Helping companies modernize products, architecture, and delivery for an AI-native future. ## Who I Am Marco Nissen is an independent AI & Product Architect based in Norway, working across the Nordics and DACH region. 52 years old. German citizen. Trilingual: German (native), English (business fluent), Norwegian (professional). I have spent 25 years inside complex environments where architecture, delivery, and organizational reality collide. I combine enterprise-scale judgment with hands-on product-building experience. ## Philosophy I believe the most dangerous thing in technology is not complexity. It is unnecessary complexity. My work is about reducing it. AI is not a feature. It is a shift in how products get built, how systems get designed, and how decisions get made. The companies that thrive will not be the ones that adopt AI fastest. They will be the ones that adopt it most wisely. I am skeptical of hype. I care about what ships, what lasts, and what actually helps users. I have seen enough technology cycles to know that the tools change but the principles do not: simplicity wins, clarity compounds, and good architecture outlives the frameworks it was built with. I do not worship complexity. I simplify it. ## What I Do - **AI + Architecture Assessment**: Evaluate current systems and identify AI-native modernization paths. Architecture roadmaps with AI integration points. - **Product Modernization**: Hands-on legacy migration and platform modernization. API redesign, AI tooling adoption, delivery enablement. - **Fractional AI Architect**: Ongoing embedded senior guidance for companies in transition. Architectural decisions, mentoring, strategic direction. ## What I Bring - 25+ years of enterprise technology delivery across Germany, Canada, UK, and Norway - Delivered across telecom, defense, public sector, finance, and healthcare - Led teams of 100+ FTE with budgets exceeding €20M - Founder of Stash2Go, a mobile app used by 100k+ people worldwide, interfacing with a platform of 14M+ users - Completed AI-assisted full technology migration of Stash2Go from native Swift/Kotlin to React Native using Claude Code and Cursor - MSc Computer Science (Universität des Saarlandes / Max Planck Institute for Computer Science) - MBA in European Economics (Europa-Institut, Saarland University) ## Journey - **Early years**: Wrote first program at age 6. Created games and public domain software throughout school. - **1993**: Computer Science at Universität des Saarlandes (https://www.uni-saarland.de/). Research assistant at Max Planck Institute for Computer Science (https://www.mpi-inf.mpg.de/home), Department of Algorithms and Complexity under Prof. Kurt Mehlhorn. - **2000**: First industry roles. Healthcare software for 1900+ hospitals. Algorithmic libraries (LEDA, AGD). Consulting. - **2002**: MBA at Europa-Institut (https://www.europainstitut.de/en/), Saarland University. European economics, completed while working full-time. Grade: sehr gut. - **2005**: Joined Sapient (https://www.publicissapient.com/). Business consulting and project management. Munich, then Toronto and Edmonton, Canada. Many travels. International delivery across multiple continents. - **2008**: CGI in Canada (Regina, Saskatchewan). Government consulting. - **2009**: Perot Systems / Dell Services. Telecom PMO in Frankfurt. - **2010**: Long run at CGI (https://cgi.com/). Executive Consultant. Telecom, defense, public sector. Munich, Düsseldorf. Led teams of 100+ FTE. Budgets up to €20M. Head of Mobility Practice Germany. Delivered secure iOS apps for state police. - **2014**: Founded Stash2Go (https://stash2go.com). Mobile app for the Ravelry community. 100k+ users on iOS and Android. Later migrated from native Swift/Kotlin to React Native using AI-assisted development. - **2023**: Moved to Norway. Senior Developer, then Senior Architect at Lyse Tele (https://www.lyse.no/). AI governance, API strategy, BSS modernization. - **Now**: AI & Product Architect. Building a portable professional platform across the Nordics and DACH region. ## How I Think Architecture is not about documents. It is about decisions. Good architecture makes the next decision easier. Bad architecture makes every decision harder. AI-assisted development is not about replacing developers. It is about compressing the distance between intent and execution. The architect's role becomes more important, not less, because judgment cannot be automated. Product thinking matters more than technical sophistication. The best system is the one that solves the right problem simply, not the one that solves the wrong problem elegantly. Enterprise experience is not a liability in the AI era. It is an advantage. Understanding organizational complexity, stakeholder dynamics, and delivery reality is what separates useful AI adoption from performative AI adoption. Independence is not a career choice. It is a platform. A portable professional identity that does not depend on one employer, one city, or one country. ## Writing — Code Different Newsletter I write a monthly LinkedIn newsletter called "Code Different" with reflections on coding, AI, and technology culture: - Simulated Reality (March 2026) - DIY is Changing (February 2026) - 2032 (January 2026) - 2025: The Year when AI entered the Mainstream (January 2026) - When Code Writes Itself (October 2025) - From AI Chaos to Coherence (September 2025) - Changing the Game (July 2025) - "Fixing" Gen Code (July 2025) - AI Overflow (June 2025) ## Key Positions - AI should be used practically, not theatrically - Modernization should preserve delivery, not disrupt it - Simplification is harder and more valuable than sophistication - The best architecture is the one you do not notice - Enterprise scar tissue is an asset, not baggage - Location independence is the rational career architecture for the 2020s ## Contact LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/marconissen Website: https://marco-nissen.com Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/code-different-7344281244521693184/ ## Geography Based in Norway. Have lived and worked in Germany (20+ years), Canada (Toronto, Edmonton, Regina), UK, and Norway. Working across the Nordics and DACH region.