About the Studio

Twenty Years.
One Domain.

We specialize in planning, scheduling, and controls software for engineering and industrial organizations. That focus is not a limitation — it's the reason we're good at it.

Our Story

Why Social Piranha Exists

Engineering and industrial organizations have specific, complex software needs that generic platforms were never designed to meet. Production scheduling with real constraints. Resource planning across programs and disciplines. Work enablement tooling that extends commercial ALM platforms instead of fighting them. Controls that integrate with the ERP and speak the language of the shop floor.

Social Piranha was built to serve that niche. Not as a generalist agency that can "probably figure it out," but as a studio that has been living in this problem space for over twenty years.

"The difference between software built by someone who understands your domain and software built by someone who doesn't is visible in every screen, every report, every edge case."

Our principal has spent two decades at the intersection of software engineering and industrial operations — building embedded systems, leading engineering tools development, coaching Scaled Agile frameworks at the team, program, and portfolio level — in the classroom and in the field — and delivering web-based planning, scheduling, and analytics applications to enterprise customers.

That includes custom companion extensions for industry-standard enterprise planning platforms — including Jira, VersionOne, and similar ALM tools — built to extend planning capability for large-scale engineering programs where the out-of-the-box tooling left gaps. Work enablement tooling — software designed to help teams do their actual work better — is a specialty, not an afterthought.

We're based in St. Louis, Missouri and work with clients across the US. Every engagement is a direct relationship — no handoffs, no overseas teams, no ticket queues for simple questions.

Developer at work

Background & Experience

📅
Planning & Scheduling Specialist Production scheduling, resource planning, capacity controls
🔧
Work Enablement & ALM Tooling Jira, VersionOne & ALM extensions, SAFe coaching at team, program & portfolio level
⚙
Laravel / PHP Specialist SaaS architecture, Livewire, API integrations, Sanctum
☁
Flexible Deployment Hosted SaaS, turnkey on-premise, SSO-integrated enterprise
🎖
US Army Veteran Disciplined execution, mission focus, clear accountability
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Aerospace Engineering Background Embedded systems, DO-178C environments, TACAIR programs
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St. Louis, Missouri US-based, Central time, always accessible
Joey Coonce — Founder, Social Piranha LLC linkedin.com/in/joeycoonce
Meet the Principal

Joey Coonce

Founder & Principal Engineer — Social Piranha, LLC

I've been building software professionally for over two decades, working at every level of the stack and every level of the org chart — from embedded C to Laravel SaaS, from individual contributor to senior engineering manager at major aerospace and defense companies.

My niche is engineering and industrial operations software: the planning tools, scheduling engines, work enablement applications, and system integrations that keep complex programs running. I've developed proprietary scheduling technology — an infinite linear planning calendar built by extending and fundamentally repurposing an existing open-source calendar framework into a continuous, constraint-aware planning surface — that has been in continuous production use for 14 years across three major versions, continuously modernized, and having started life as an Excel file. That kind of long-term value and problem-solving is what I'm here to deliver.

I come to every engagement with both a software engineering background and an operator's perspective. I can take a predefined spec and execute it cleanly — or I can sit down with you before the spec exists and help figure out what you actually need.

Proprietary Technology — In Production for 14 Years

At the core of my planning and scheduling work is an infinite linear planning calendar — a unique scheduling interface I developed by extending and fundamentally repurposing an existing open-source calendar framework — evolving it across major versions as the underlying technology matured — into a continuous, constraint-aware production planning surface. It's been iterated through three major versions over 14 years, starting from an Excel file. No commercial tool does what it does. That's the kind of problem I'm built to solve.

Army
US Army — IT SpecialistMilitary service; discipline, accountability, and mission focus that still shows up in the work
SIUC
BS & MS, Computer ScienceSouthern Illinois University Carbondale — the technical foundation, not just the experience
UMSL
MBAUniversity of Missouri–St. Louis — business context to go with the technical depth
18 yrs
Enterprise Aerospace & Defense Experience18 years embedded in large-scale engineering programs — building tools, leading agile transformations, and managing across every level of the org chart. That's the domain knowledge behind the work.
20 yrs
Software Consulting & Product DevelopmentPlanning & scheduling systems, ALM tooling extensions, SaaS products — for clients ranging from startups to industrial enterprises
Depth of Experience

More than a
Web Shop.

Two decades at the intersection of software engineering and industrial operations produces a different kind of judgment than you get from someone who learned the domain from a feature request.

How We Work

The Principles
Behind the Work

No Handoffs

The engineer you talk to in discovery is the one building your software. No project managers between you and the person doing the work. No junior devs handling "the easy parts."

Architecture First

We think before we code. Every engagement starts with understanding the data model, the integration points, and what success looks like two years from now — not just at launch.

Honest Communication

We'll tell you when something is a bad idea, when a timeline isn't realistic, and when the right answer is a tool that already exists instead of custom code. You deserve straight talk, not what you want to hear.

You Own the Code

No proprietary frameworks, no vendor lock-in, no "only we can maintain this" situations. You get clean, documented code that any competent Laravel developer can understand and extend.

Production Reality

Software isn't done when it works on localhost. We think about deployment, monitoring, failure modes, and long-term maintenance from the beginning — not as afterthoughts.

Selective Engagements

We work with a small number of clients at a time. Intentionally. That's how we're able to give your project the focused attention it deserves and stay close to the details.

Sound Like
a Fit?

Let's Talk →