Listen to constituents
We treated student sentiment as data. That meant surveys, open meetings, and walking the campus. You can't serve people you haven't heard from.
Meet the founder
Carlos Andrés Díaz Rivera
Founder & Principal, Western Softworks
I learned public service in a student council and learned software building products at scale. Western Softworks is where the two meet: technology built for the people of Puerto Rico and the institutions that serve them.
About Carlos
Carlos Andrés Díaz Rivera is the founder and principal of Western Softworks LLC, a Puerto Rico software company building the systems that keep the island moving: public transit software for municipalities and a fleet and logistics platform for private operators.
Carlos grew up in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico and studied at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. There he was elected President of the General Student Council, representing the student body of one of the island's largest campuses. He went on to work in Skootel as the Operations Lead, building products for a large, global audience.
He started Western Softworks with one conviction: Puerto Rico's public services deserve software as good as anything in the world, and that software should be built here by people who know the communities it serves.
- Based in
- Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
- Public service
- President, General Student Council, UPR Mayagüez
- Business Operations
- Operations Lead, Skootel
At a glance
Where it started
Elected to serve: my years on the Student Council
In September 2022 my fellow students at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez elected me President of the Consejo General de Estudiantes, the General Student Council.
It was my first real experience of public service. I was accountable to thousands of students, and each had a real need: a building waiting on repairs, a student association that needed support, athletes and musicians who deserved more recognition, and questions nobody in the administration had answered yet. The council's job was to be the link between those students and the people making decisions about their campus. I took that job seriously, and it changed how I think about institutions.
The Council is the communication link for decision-making across the University, and the body closest to what students actually feel.
Advocate at the table
I represented students before university administration on infrastructure, services, and funding for student organizations. That meant turning complaints into proposals decision-makers could act on.
Deliver and report back
We followed through on commitments like the Tarzán cave renovation, stayed visible, and told students what had and hadn't changed. Being accountable means closing the loop.
What it taught me about building for government
Public institutions are made of people trying to do right with limited tools. Good software gives them leverage instead of more paperwork.
Transparency builds trust. When residents can see when the bus is coming, they stop assuming nobody cares.
You earn a mandate by delivering. Promises matter less than what's working on day one.
Western Softworks is that same mandate at a bigger scale. We serve municipalities so they can better serve their residents.
The engineering side
Building software at scale
I've worked at Skootel, a technology company whose platform powers the micromobility sector of Puerto Rico by operating a fleet of electric scooters. There I learned what production-grade software demands: reliability under real traffic, careful handling of user data, and shipping in small, safe increments. Our municipal clients get the same discipline.
- Full-stack web development
- Mobile apps
- Real-time data & GPS telemetry
- Cloud infrastructure
- Product management
Experience
Skootel
Operations Lead
2024-2026
Helped build and operate a platform serving a large metropolitan area and also assisted in the development of inside solutions to solve day to day operational challenges.
Why I founded Western Softworks
Puerto Rico runs on software, often software that was built elsewhere, priced for somewhere else, and never designed for how we live. Residents wait at bus stops with no idea when the next bus will arrive. Municipal staff juggle spreadsheets and legacy systems. I started Western Softworks because I had seen both sides: what good software can do, and how much public institutions need it. Our goal is simple: the software that runs Puerto Rico should be built for Puerto Rico.
Built for the people
Every feature is judged by one question: does it make a resident's day easier?
Transparent by default
Open standards like GTFS, clear pricing, and data that belongs to the municipality.
Local and accountable
We're here. When something breaks, you call someone who knows your town.
Built to last
Industrial-grade hardware for a tropical climate, and software that keeps up with you.
The path so far
Aug 2019
Began studies, College of Business Administration
University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
BSBA, Marketing
Sept 2022
Elected President, General Student Council
UPR Mayagüez
Led the student council of one of Puerto Rico's largest university campuses, advocating for infrastructure, student organizations, athletes, and the arts.
Jun 2025
Graduated, Bachelor in Science of Business Administration - Marketing
UPR Mayagüez
2024–2026
Operations Lead
Skootel
Helped build and operate an electric-scooter micromobility platform serving a large metropolitan area.
Sept 2026
Founded Western Softworks LLC
Western Softworks
Set out to build the software that runs Puerto Rico.
Education
University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
College of Business Administration
Bachelor in Science of Business Administration, Marketing
2019 - 2025
President, General Student Council (Consejo General de Estudiantes) · Chorium, chamber choir
Let's build what Puerto Rico needs next.
Whether you run a municipality, a transit agency, or a fleet, I'd like to hear what you're working on.