Work Experience & Background
Professional Summary
Versatile technology professional with 17+ years of experience, including 10+ years as a full-stack developer and 7 years in senior leadership roles. Proven track record of driving innovation and organisational growth through technical expertise and strategic leadership in engineering and product development. Skilled at aligning technical solutions with business objectives, fostering collaborative cultures, and leading cross-functional teams to deliver complex software solutions in fast-paced environments.
Core Competencies
- Software Engineering (Full-Stack Development)
- Technical Leadership & Strategy
- Engineering Management & Mentorship
- Solution Architecture & System Design
- Technical Product Ownership
- Cross-functional Collaboration
- Agile/SAFe Program Management
- Technical Sales & Presales Support
- Innovation Leadership
Professional Experience
Encompass Corporation (2011-2023)
Global leader in Know Your Customer (KYC) automation for financial and professional service firms, offering real-time access to global company and individual data through robotic search technology.
Senior Technology Leader (2020-2023)
Led strategic technical initiatives and cross-functional collaboration as a senior leader in engineering, combining roles of technical strategist, solution architect, and program manager.
Key Achievements:
- Spearheaded technical strategy alignment with business objectives, working closely with senior leadership
- Led cross-functional teams in delivering critical program increments, achieving 200% boost in data integrations
- Drove innovation in AI/R&D through strategic partnerships, expanding data capabilities
- Played a key role in securing over £5 million in investments through technical leadership
- Mentored and developed engineering talent across global teams
Technology Stack: Java, Clojure, Spring, AWS, MongoDB, ActiveMQ, Auth0, Node.js, Docker, Kubernetes, GitLab, DataDog, JavaScript, AngularJS, Git, IntelliJ, Ubuntu, Jira, Confluence, R
Head of Engineering (2017-2020)
Defined technical vision and led engineering teams in product development and operations, scaling the team from 20 to over 40 engineers across Australia and the UK.
Key Achievements:
- Managed global engineering team growth and performance across multiple locations
- Led delivery of new microservices framework, significantly reducing downtime incidents
- Established operations team to prioritise and resolve critical customer issues
- Drove technical evaluations for Partnership Agreements and emerging technologies
- Led Management Team reporting on key product development and hosting KPIs
Technology Stack: Java, Clojure, Spring, AWS, MongoDB, ActiveMQ, Auth0, Node.js, Docker, Kubernetes, GitLab, New Relic, JavaScript, AngularJS, Git, IntelliJ, Ubuntu, Jira, Confluence, R
Senior Solutions Architect (2016-2017)
Redesigned and refactored the Encompass platform front-end for European market launch scalability.
Key Achievements:
- Designed and implemented frontend framework reducing form implementation time by 80%
- Led engineer training and support for new framework adoption
- Re-implemented core data deduplication pipeline with functional programming
- Defined technology strategies aligned with business objectives
Technology Stack: Java, Clojure, Spring, AWS, MongoDB, ActiveMQ, Auth0, Node.js, Ansible, Bamboo, New Relic, JavaScript, AngularJS, Vaadin, Git, IntelliJ, Ubuntu, Vagrant, Jira, Confluence
Senior Software Engineer (2011-2016)
Led development of multi-tenant KYC SaaS platform on AWS and established DevOps processes.
Key Achievements:
- Led design and implementation of KYC SaaS platform, launching within 6 months
- Migrated front-end to AngularJS, reducing downtime incidents by 80%
- Implemented application security, performance, and compliance measures
- Established testing strategies and code review processes
Technology Stack: Java, Clojure, Spring, AWS, MongoDB, ActiveMQ, Auth0, Node.js, Ansible, Bamboo, New Relic, JavaScript, AngularJS, Vaadin, jQuery, Git, IntelliJ, Ubuntu, Vagrant, Jira, Confluence
Geoscience Australia (2010-2011)
National public sector geoscience organisation providing trusted geological and geographical information.
Software Consultant
- Developed software for Community Safety Branch operational needs
- Implemented data transformation pipelines
- Consolidated systems from three departments into single application
Technology Stack: Enterprise Java, Spring, Maven, Hudson CI, Jira
ORIMA Research (2010)
Australia's premier public-sector consultancy offering evidence-based strategic advice.
Senior Research Consultant-IT Applications
- Updated PHP survey software and improved engineering practices
- Managed web administration for online survey platform
Technology Stack: PHP, CakePHP web framework, XAMPP Apache distribution
Agile Digital (2007-2010)
Leading Australian digital strategy and software development agency.
Engineering Manager (2010)
- Led technical development and product expansion
- Managed team performance and software release processes
- Successfully expanded allhomes.com.au to Tasmania
Software Engineer (2007-2010)
- Developed Java-based software solutions
- Led implementation of allhomes.com.au and allclassifieds.com
- Delivered major websites within 9 months of development start
Technology Stack: Enterprise Java, Linux, JBoss, PostgreSQL, Apache HTTPD, Unix Shell Scripting, Subversion, TestNG, Servlets, EJB3, Hibernate, Struts2, XHTML/CSS/JavaScript, Ant
CanPrint Communications (2005-2007)
Integrated printing, mailing, and fulfilment services provider.
DevOps Engineer
- Administered desktop and server environments
- Managed network infrastructure and back-office systems
- Implemented DevOps practices for process automation
Technology Stack: Ruby, Ruby on Rails, PHP, Perl, Bash, MacOS, *BSD, Linux, Cisco routers
Education & Certifications
- Bachelor of Engineering in Software Engineering - University of Canberra (2005)
- Certified SAFe® 5 Agilist (2021)
- Red Hat® Certified Engineer (RHCE®) for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (2008)
- Sun Certified Java Programmer - J2SE 1.4 (2007)
Publications
Szukalski, Szymon K., et al. 'Using Artificial Neural Network Ensembles to Extract Data Content from Noisy Data.' Knowledge-Based Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems, Springer, 2005.