I’m Not an Expert, but I’m Building in Public Anyway

There’s something refreshing about being early.

I’m early in my career. Fairly early in the arc of understanding how chips move across oceans, how risk creeps into digital supply chains, and how strategy gets distorted between boardrooms and loading docks.

But I’m not passive about it.

The Hidden Layer is a space for exploring the complex, often overlooked systems shaping our world, and the systems behind those systems. I’m especially focused on semiconductors, supply chains, and the digital transformation happening across segments of the electronics industry.

What this is not: A collection of polished takes from someone who has it all figured out.

What this is: A lab notebook from someone who’s deep in the trenches, trying to understand one layer at a time.

Right now, I work in electronics sourcing on a global scale, and lead a semiconductor supply chain transformation project across Asia. I’m also working on an academic case study around component-level sourcing risk. Alongside that, I’m pursuing the MITx MicroMasters in Supply Chain Management, building skills and perspective as I go.

The goal of this newsletter isn’t to make claims or push hot takes. It’s to think in public, to explore big questions, and to bring clarity to topics that rarely get the attention they deserve.

If you’re someone who enjoys systems thinking, supply chain complexity, or the hidden architecture of how technology moves through the world, you’ll feel at home here.

This is just the beginning. I’ll be going deeper from here, one layer at a time.

See you in the stack,
Neil