CV — Mikael Danielian, CTO

Profile

I'm a technology and engineering leader focused on building high-scale systems, strong engineering organizations, and AI-driven ways of working. My experience spans real-time transactional platforms, fintech, trading, digital entertainment, and large-scale consumer products, from distributed and event-driven architectures to payments, high-volume data processing, and cloud-native ecosystems.

I've built products from 0 → 1, modernized legacy platforms, led teams supporting 1M+ monthly active users, and helped scale engineering organizations from startup stage to 200+ people. My focus goes beyond architecture: I build the structures around engineering — ownership models, hiring, delivery frameworks, performance systems, and technical strategy — that allow organizations to scale without losing velocity or accountability.

A major part of my current focus is AI transformation: systematically embedding AI across engineering and business processes, with the goal of building an AI-first operating model rather than simply adopting AI tools.

How I work

I started as a full-stack developer and grew into executive leadership, so I move comfortably between a business objective, an architecture decision, and the day-to-day reality of a team shipping software.

Business before technology: Architecture, process, and hiring choices should follow the company strategy and the constraint that matters now.
Evidence over theatre: I look for observable risks, delivery signals, and clear trade-offs instead of importing a generic transformation playbook.
Capability over dependency: The team should leave with stronger judgment, clearer ownership, and systems it can keep improving on its own.

Experience

Real-Time Transactional & Financial Platform

Aug 2020 – Present · 6 yrs

High-scale, transaction-heavy digital platforms across fintech, trading, and digital entertainment.

Chief Technology Officer
Aug 2024 – Present
Leading engineering, architecture, delivery, and technology operations across multiple companies and product domains supporting high-scale, transaction-heavy digital platforms.
- Define technology strategy and translate business objectives into engineering roadmaps, quarterly and annual plans, budgets, and investment priorities.
- Partner with C-level leadership to shape company strategy, assess new initiatives, and align technology decisions with commercial goals.
- Drive AI adoption across the full software development lifecycle — requirements and ticket refinement, coding, reviews, testing, deployment, monitoring, and support.
- Own architectural direction for distributed, event-driven systems, focused on scalability, reliability, performance, security, and maintainability.
- Direct engineering, DevOps, infrastructure, and L2/L3 support functions, including operational readiness and platform reliability.
- Establish governance for architecture reviews, pull requests, releases, production readiness, incident response, and post-release monitoring.
- Design performance and scoring systems to measure delivery, quality, ownership, reliability, and continuous improvement.
Director of Engineering
Aug 2023 – Aug 2024 · 1 yr
Expanded into a broader engineering leadership role, overseeing multiple teams and contributing to company-wide technology and business strategy.
- Led quarterly and annual engineering planning, aligning team capacity, delivery priorities, and technical investment with company objectives.
- Managed engineering budgets, resource allocation, hiring plans, and technology-related operational costs.
- Influenced company-wide architectural decisions, platform evolution, technology standards, and long-term technical direction.
- Supported engineering managers and technical leaders with team development, delivery execution, performance management, and strategic decision-making.
- Balanced short-term business needs with scalability, reliability, technical debt reduction, and long-term platform sustainability.
Senior Engineering Manager
Aug 2022 – Aug 2023 · 1 yr
Expanded from leading a single engineering team to managing multiple teams responsible for platform development and new product initiatives.
- Led multiple engineering teams, coordinating priorities, dependencies, and delivery across different products and technical domains.
- Owned development of new experimental products, taking initiatives from early validation and prototyping through production delivery.
- Defined and implemented a cross-platform engineering strategy that enabled teams to adopt new technologies and share capabilities across products.
- Established shared engineering practices covering the software development lifecycle, testing, releases, deployment, and production support.
Engineering ManagerAug 2020 – Aug 2022 · 2 yrsLed an engineering team responsible for rebuilding a legacy platform and delivering a modern, scalable replacement.Show detailsHide details
Led an engineering team responsible for rebuilding a legacy platform and delivering a modern, scalable replacement.
- Owned the technical strategy and roadmap for platform modernization, including architecture, migration planning, and delivery priorities.
- Built and developed the engineering team through recruitment, onboarding, mentoring, performance feedback, and career development.
- Established the testing strategy, including automated testing, integration testing, release validation, and quality controls.
- Owned deployment and release processes, reducing risk during the transition from the legacy platform.

Toptal

Aug 2018 – Aug 2020 · 2 yrs

Global talent network connecting companies with senior freelance engineers.

Senior Software EngineerAug 2018 – Aug 2020Senior engineer on the Growth team, contributing to Toptal's public website serving millions of users per month.Show detailsHide details
Senior engineer on the Growth team, contributing to Toptal's public website serving millions of users per month.
- Delivered customer-facing features focused on user acquisition, engagement, and conversion.
- Contributed to internal tools that improved development workflows and supported business operations.
- Owned features across the full lifecycle, from technical design and implementation to deployment, monitoring, and production support.
- Improved reliability, scalability, and performance of a high-traffic global platform.

Helix Consulting LLC

Aug 2013 – Aug 2018 · 5 yrs

Software consultancy delivering client products across e-commerce, CRM, CMS, real-time systems, and mobile.

Engineering ManagerAug 2016 – Aug 2018 · 2 yrsLed the engineering team responsible for delivering multiple software products and client projects.Show detailsHide details
Led the engineering team responsible for delivering multiple software products and client projects.
- Managed project delivery from business requirements and planning through development, testing, and release.
- Guided architectural decisions across e-commerce, CRM, CMS, real-time systems, and mobile application APIs.
- Worked with stakeholders to define priorities, scope, timelines, and technical expectations.
- Supported engineers through mentoring, code reviews, technical guidance, and regular feedback.
Senior Software EngineerAug 2014 – Aug 2016 · 2 yrsTook ownership of complex projects and guided technical implementation across multiple client solutions.Show detailsHide details
Took ownership of complex projects and guided technical implementation across multiple client solutions.
- Designed and developed scalable e-commerce, CRM, CMS, real-time, and API-based applications.
- Made technical and architectural decisions for performance, maintainability, and scalability.
- Mentored junior developers and improved engineering standards, testing, and release processes.
Software EngineerAug 2013 – Aug 2014 · 1 yrDeveloped custom web and mobile solutions for clients across different industries.Show detailsHide details
Developed custom web and mobile solutions for clients across different industries.
- Built e-commerce platforms, CRM systems, CMS solutions, and APIs for mobile applications.
- Translated business requirements into reliable, maintainable software features.

E-Learning Platform

Sep 2010 – Aug 2013 · 3 yrs

Customer-facing and internal business systems for an e-learning provider.

Software EngineerSep 2010 – Aug 2013Developed both customer-facing and internal business systems for an e-learning platform.Show detailsHide details
Developed both customer-facing and internal business systems for an e-learning platform.
- Built and maintained the public website, delivering a reliable experience for platform users.
- Developed an internal operations CRM supporting day-to-day workflows and business processes.
- Worked across the full development lifecycle, including implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance.

Areas of focus

Technology strategy & investment: Translating business objectives into roadmaps, budgets, and investment priorities, and partnering with C-level leadership on company strategy.
Architecture at scale: Distributed and event-driven systems, payments, high-volume data processing, and cloud-native ecosystems built for reliability and performance.
AI-driven software delivery: Embedding AI across development, testing, review, documentation, analysis, and operations to build an AI-first operating model, not a set of tools.
Organizational design: Ownership models, hiring, delivery frameworks, performance systems, and the structures that let organizations scale without losing accountability.
Reliability & operations: Production readiness, incident response, observability, L2/L3 support, and the governance that keeps high-scale platforms dependable.
Platform modernization: Rebuilding legacy systems and delivering modern replacements, including migration planning, risk management, and 0 → 1 product delivery.

Education

Yerevan State University of Economics
Master's Degree, Finance
2006 – 2008
Yerevan State University
Bachelor's Degree, Physics
2002 – 2006

Domains

FinTech
Trading
Payments
Real-time transactional platforms
Digital entertainment
E-commerce
Large-scale consumer products

Let's talk.

A leadership role, an advisory engagement, or a technical problem worth a conversation.

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