Team

Small team. Careful conversations.

We bring legal precision, psychology-informed discovery, and practical engineering to software that has to work for real people.

Founders

Two perspectives, one standard.

Sam Frahm
Principal Software Engineer, BPsych.

Sam Frahm

Sam Frahm is a co-founder of SOLARIS and a Principal Software Engineer with a background spanning business, software development, and human-centred technology design. His work is guided by a strong interest in how people think, work, make decisions, and interact with digital systems. With experience across both business and the software industry, Sam brings a practical understanding of what organisations need from technology: systems that are reliable, usable, efficient, and aligned with real operational requirements. He approaches software development not merely as a technical exercise, but as a way to improve how people organise information, complete work, and make better decisions. A key part of Sam’s approach is the application of psychological research to software design. By considering how users process information, form habits, manage attention, and navigate complexity, he aims to create digital tools that feel natural and reduce unnecessary friction. This perspective allows him to design systems that are not only technically sound, but intuitive, accessible, and genuinely useful in day-to-day work. At SOLARIS, Sam focuses on building practical, bespoke software solutions that solve real business problems. He works to ensure that each system is thoughtfully structured, maintainable, and capable of delivering long-term value. His combination of technical expertise, business awareness, and interest in human behaviour enables him to create software that supports both organisational goals and the people who rely on it.

GitHub
Joshua Macmaster
Principal Software Engineer, LLB.

Joshua Macmaster

Josh is a co-founder of SOLARIS, a software company focused on building bespoke digital systems for businesses that need more than off-the-shelf tools. A self-taught software engineer and recently admitted lawyer, Josh brings an unusual combination of technical capability, legal training, and practical commercial insight to his work. Before co-founding SOLARIS, Josh spent five years working as a law clerk, where he developed a close understanding of how professional service businesses operate, how information moves through an organisation, and where inefficient processes can create unnecessary cost, delay, and risk. His legal background gives him a strong appreciation for detail, structure, compliance, documentation, and clear communication — qualities that now inform the way he approaches software design and implementation. Josh’s programming journey began through self-directed learning, driven by a desire to solve real workflow problems rather than simply build technology for its own sake. That practical foundation allows him to approach software development from both a user’s perspective and a systems perspective. He is particularly interested in process automation, workflow optimisation, internal business tools, and software that reduces repetitive administrative work. At SOLARIS, Josh focuses on bridging the gap between business needs and technical execution. He works closely with clients to understand their processes, identify opportunities for improvement, and design systems that are intuitive, maintainable, and aligned with the way people actually work. His combined experience in law, business operations, and software engineering enables him to create solutions that are not only technically robust, but commercially practical and genuinely useful.

GitHub

Approach

Scientific enough to test. Human enough to use.

Every solution is tested against one question: is it working for the business and the people in it?

Principle

Domain-first thinking

We learn the language, constraints, and habits of the business before shaping the system.

Principle

Hypothesis-driven delivery

We test whether the tool actually reduces friction for the people using it.

Principle

Continuous refinement

Useful software keeps improving as the work changes and real usage reveals better paths.

Principle

Accessible quality

Modern tooling and focused scope keep delivery practical without lowering standards.