> Am I under any personal liability?
i am not a lawyer, of course, but it doesn't sound like it based on your description.
> Does anyone have any experience with conducting a train as it derails?
yes, i was in a somewhat similar situation. i found a new job because i did not foresee the situation changing. it sounds to me like you're not actually conducting this train. if you were, you'd be able to make the decisions to make long-term fixes, hire more people as work increases, etc.. no, you're more like the guy shoveling coal into the engine.
this is just a job. you have no ownership and you're not even directly employed. if you feel like you're being exploited or thrown under a bus, you should probably go have a serious talk with management and start looking for a new job. maybe things will improve, but the best time to find a job is while you still have one. based on your description, unless they're paying you a fair wage for your responsibilities (or more than fair), i don't really see many up-sides to it.
All software projects carry a level of risk, the good news is that you seem to be aware of those risks.
You could jump ship but you might be missing an oppurtunity to add more skills to your skillset.
You need to get a list of all the risks that you believe exist in your project and communicate that list to your manager/stakeholders. The list should contain no emotional language (i.e. I am being thrown under a bus), just a statement of the facts.
So you want something like
"Here's a list of the issues I think we need to fix to stabalize project X going forward."
#1 - There are millions of dollars under control and only 1 developer. I think we should add peer review to all changes I make.
#2 - Etc,etc.
#3 - Etc,etc.
Once you've got it all down, get a friend to review it. Then consider sending it out to your managers.
Don't feel you have to implement every idea on the list, you are asking for resources to help you "stabilize the system".
Hope this helps.
You are a contractor brought on to keep the wheels turning to see of there is light at the end of the tunnel. If you wanto to have a come to Jesus moment with the executive in charge, know what you are putting on the table (chips). If you're ready, make your case in a way that will show the return on your efforts for a deal. Make sure you have all the deal points laid oort. Start the conversation with : "what do you want to do with X" and go from there.
Personal liability: not likely but document the impact of your work. Make sure you write out a summary and send it to the executive. Send a copy to a personal email.
Protection? Blittle.
Just make sure you state your case, explain your proposed solution and expect a response of some kind. Be prepared to whack away.
That sounds like a typical startup. Are you sure it's as bad as you are thinking? In other words, is this a mismatch of risk profiles or a truly bad situation. Anxiety or legitimate concern/fear?
If you are getting good pay and you have no stock options then I would recommend riding the ship down (although in this metaphor you seemingly have multiple lives). If it is no secret, then there is nothing you can do, really.
I don't think you have any liability here, though you are playing in a grey area without outright telling them (at least in an email) that you are worried about the state of the program. If they ignore you, then it is on record for the future.
If you're not doing anything illegal and you're not a member of the LLC, I wouldn't worry. Just start trying to line up your next job and don't agree to any sort of executive title like CFO or VP. An employee can be an ex-employee living in another state within a day. An owner has to file paperwork to be an ex-owner.
1) Are these people deserving of my support?
2) Can I afford to give them my support? (Materially? Morally?)
3) Have I identified the problems to my management, so that the subsequent responsibility for managing them (as per my job description such falls outside my responsibility or ability to control) does not rest with me? (I am not "negligent" for having "failed to communicate".)
4) Double-check: Am I breaking any laws or regulations?
I wonder how many businesses fit this description behind the scenes. I can imagine some programmer working on the Sony Network thinking "wow, the security for this thing is crap, we are going to get hacked any day." I wonder how crazy a place like Paypal might have been in its early days. Those guys probably had no clue what they were doing and probably made a lot of mistakes which would make us cringe.
It seems like this company has actually done a lot of things right. They have customers, they are growing and they have trust. You are learning and getting good pay. Aren't we all just disasters waiting to happen? I would just stick with it. If the hits the fan, grab some popcorn.