// 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, 500+ 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, and 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, with 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.