Engineering Leadership
Over the past 12 years, I’ve experienced the full journey of a startup Swrve—from its birth in a fast-paced market to scaling it to nearly 200 people. Along the way, I’ve built and grown engineering teams, designed hiring process and initiatives, designed scalable architectures, managed people and teams, created culture and values, help integrated two acquired products, and ultimately contributed to the successful acquisition of Swrve by MessageGears in late 2022. This journey has equipped me with a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of what it takes to be a capable and impactful engineering leader.
Building Connected Teams
I’m passionate about building teams and communities where empathy and genuine connections create a bond that drives productivity, ownership, and purpose. I believe that when people feel truly connected to their each other, they unlock the power to shape a business’s trajectory in meaningful ways.
Want to build a team that’s more connected, confident, and collaborative?
Software Engineering Consultant
With over 15 years of hands-on engineering experience, I excel at tackling complex technical challenges and delivering scalable, efficient solutions. From designing robust architectures and optimising system performance to integrating acquired product tech and building seamless platforms, I bring a practical, problem-solving mindset to every project. My experience spans the full development lifecycle, from code to infrastructure, deployment to operations and more. As a consultant, I offer not only proven engineering skills but also the ability to quickly adapt, dive deep into systems, and deliver impactful results that drive business success.
What people say about Ciarán?
In my 23 years in software development, Ciarán is, without a doubt, one of the most exceptional leaders I’ve worked with. He creates an inclusive and collaborative culture where every team member feels heard and valued. Ciarán’s leadership is defined by his ability to balance immediate priorities with long-term strategy, ensuring sustainable value for both the team and the business. He fosters an environment where people feel supported, empowered, and focused, eliminating unnecessary distractions to let teams thrive. His commitment to building a positive, purpose-driven culture sets him apart as a truly transformative leader.
Ciarán led our team for many years in Swrve, then MessageGears, as we built out many core features for the Swrve backend systems. He’s an excellent team lead, and an absolute wizard at AWS cost control. Can’t recommend him highly enough!
In my experience of working with Ciaran for over ten years, he is a trusted problem solver who excels at whatever a situation demands. He has a broad skill set and is as comfortable leading a team to scope, plan, and deliver a year-long project as he is committing code, debugging infrastructure, or taking a pager call in the middle of the night. He has an eye for viewing engineering projects through the lens of customer and business value – sensing when a solution is too little or too much. Ciaran works comfortably with team members across the entire org-chart to inform his view. Innovative yet pragmatic, he always focuses on delivering real value to customers.
Get in contact with me
I’m always open to new opportunities—whether that’s leading high-scale engineering teams, optimizing infrastructure, or running team-building workshops for companies in any space.
• Engineering Leadership & Consulting – Helping teams scale infrastructure, optimize cloud costs, and improve developer velocity.
• Technical Advisory – Guiding startups and scale-ups on technical architecture, hiring, and product engineering.
• Team-Building & Communication Workshops – Strengthening collaboration and team culture through team bonding workshops, helping teams communicate with confidence, build trust, and work more effectively together.
If you think I can help, or just want to connect, feel free to reach out! 🚀