// ai scene
Active AI-startup cluster in and around Beirut Digital District, with real work on agentic tools and Arabic NLP. Lebanese AI teams ship globally despite the local constraints.
// local signals
What's happening in Beirut.
Where Julien started. Twelve-plus years shipping here, 250+ designers and engineers mentored (including as Lead UI/UX Instructor at SE Factory), and maxiphy's head office. Lebanon runs on freelance and remote contract work by default — the product and design talent density is disproportionate to the country's size.
// ux community
AltCity, SE Factory, and decades of servicing international clients have built one of MENA's most mature UX and design communities — strong designer-engineer overlap, not siloed disciplines.
// fractional
Freelance is the default contract shape. Most senior designers and engineers bill US / EU / GCC clients directly, so the fractional / advisory model translates naturally.
// how I help
Two offers.
// good fit
If you recognise yourself here.
Pre-launch founders validating an idea in Beirut.
Startups with broken UX or unclear product direction in Lebanon.
Enterprises needing senior engineering or product leadership.
AI-assisted teams who want a human UX review before shipping.