Personal Profile

Software Engineering Manager with 12+ years of progressive experience from backend development to leading cross-functional teams of up to 96 engineers across diverse technology stacks. Track record of scaling teams (from 3 to 21, from 40 to 96), rescuing failing projects, reducing client escalations to near-zero, and cutting cloud costs by 30%. Leverages a strong engineering foundation to bridge the gap between business vision and technical execution — ensuring realistic planning, measurable quality improvements, and predictable delivery in fast-paced, regulated environments.

Work Experience

Software Engineering Manager, DSK Bank

11/2025 – Present | Sofia, Bulgaria

Leading a cross-functional team of 8 engineers (Java backend, frontend, iOS, Android, QA automation, manual QA) and a System Business Analyst in a SAFe Agile environment, delivering banking software solutions.

  • Achieved 100% PI objective completion in the first full Program Increment under my leadership, establishing clear alignment between engineering capacity and business priorities
  • Reduced backlog defects by 87.5% (from 40 to 5) within a single PI cycle through prioritized defect triage and improved quality practices
  • Decreased technical debt by 30% by introducing structured tech debt reduction into sprint planning
  • Cut sprint-to-sprint carry-over by 80%, significantly improving delivery predictability and sprint commitment accuracy
  • Participated in 2 PI Planning events, bridging the gap between business stakeholders and engineering by translating business vision into realistic, achievable delivery plans
  • Fostered a culture of direct collaboration between business stakeholders and engineering by establishing joint discovery sessions — enabling the team to assess technical feasibility before committing to scope, resulting in more realistic goals and fewer mid-sprint surprises
  • Built strong cross-functional relationships across engineering and business units in a short tenure, becoming a trusted point of contact for delivery feasibility and planning

Software Delivery Manager, MentorMate (now Tieto)

06/2016 – 11/2025 | Sofia, Bulgaria

Progressed from Software Engineer to Senior Engineer to Delivery Manager within MentorMate, ultimately managing multiple cross-technology squads and owning the full client delivery lifecycle — from contract signing to team scaling, onboarding, and escalation management.

Augeo Marketing - Delivery Manager | ~2 years

  • Scaled the client engagement from ~40 to 96 engineers across PHP, Vue.js, .NET, Java, React, and MSSQL by leading squad formation, contract negotiations, onboarding, and offboarding
  • Managed multiple squads of 8–12 engineers, serving as the primary point of contact for all delivery, escalations, and account management
  • Reduced active client escalations by 50% within the first 4 months, then virtually eliminated them through proactive communication with teams and stakeholders
  • Partnered with Cloud & DevOps to optimize CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure utilization, reducing the client’s cloud costs by 30%
  • Wore multiple hats simultaneously: engineering manager, scrum master, account manager, and occasional hands-on developer when critical needs arose

Namu (Custom Vacations) - Delivery Manager

  • Took over a failing project with 3 months remaining and no working product — grew the team from 3 to 21 engineers and delivered a fully functional booking platform and internal sales lead tracking portal
  • Client extended the engagement by 1.5 years as a direct result of the successful turnaround
  • Tech stack: Next.js, PostgreSQL, Strapi, AWS EC2, Fargate

AstraZeneca - Configuration Manager | ~1 year

  • Managed build pipelines and release configurations for iOS and Android applications, handling app store submissions across platforms

DTNPF - Frontend Developer → Java Backend → Delivery Lead

  • Transitioned from frontend to backend development, then into a delivery leadership role managing a small team of 2 Java developers, 1 QA, and 1 business analyst

QuestarAI (Online Assessment) - Software Engineer → Senior Software Engineer

  • Developed backend systems for a K-12 online assessment platform enabling students to take standardized exams digitally
  • Specialized in QTI test import/export processing with complex XML validation and transformation
  • Part of a 10-person cross-functional team

Early Career — Software Engineer

06/2013 – 05/2016 | Sofia, Bulgaria

  • Managed delivery across 13 projects simultaneously at BSMB, one of which — Career Town — led the client to acquire the company based on the quality of the delivered product (Laravel, PostgreSQL, Varnish, Nginx)
  • Improved system stability and resolved security vulnerabilities for a background checking platform at It Cover Ltd (PHP, Zend Framework)
  • Developed social media games and promotional web applications for major brands including Wizz Air, Nescafé, and Milka at Interactive-Share M