I have been an engineer in different capacities for most of my career. Studying industrial engineering in college helped me understand the real story behind systems thinking and production systems such as JIT, and Lean.
Later on, I did my master’s degree in business and IT management. Surprisingly, as someone with scientific management and Taylorism background, my favorite topic was Organisation Behaviour and Design. I found behavioral science and management a missing piece in building a high-performing organization.
My higher education was parallel to working in different tech companies as a software engineer. It was the glorious days of “nerding out” with new technologies such as EJB, RPC, and Ajax. It was the advent of Web2.0 where our industry was more focused on creating value than building walled gardens and proprietary technologies.
After years of working as a software developer, I felt that the gap in our industry is more on the team and people leadership. For that reason, I decided to step up into leadership roles. After all, I had more control over our direction as a team. Understanding tech, behavioral science, and scientific management was a holy trinity. Having said that, I never let go of my technical side, staying hands-on, and keeping up with new trends.
Currently, I am the Head of Architecture at Trade Me. I am leading a team of principle engineers and predominantly focused on our Platform-as-Product, Team Topology, DevEx, and improving our engineering practices.
While I came from technical background, I had the priviledge to work in different business domains and gain experience in Platform Engineering, online marketplaces, and online classifieds - specifically Jobs amd Property space. My passion is to build and ship products and iterate until we succeed using methodologies such as lean, design thinking, and experimentation.
When I am not working, I hang out with my family around Auckland, New Zealand, or train for the next running race.