Jamie Sefton

Engineering Leader · Glasgow, UK

Jamie Sefton

Head of Engineering

Turning complex technical challenges into simple, scalable solutions and building the teams that deliver them.

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About Me

I'm an Engineering Leader and Technology Strategist from Liverpool, UK, currently based in Glasgow, Scotland, working in engineering leadership and technology transformation. I enjoy turning complex technical challenges into simple, elegant solutions that drive real business impact.

My job is to build engineering teams that are functional and high-performing, while also being collaborative and innovative. Moreover, I bring strategic thinking to technology decisions and ensure teams are equipped to scale from startup to enterprise level.

Over 15+ years, I've had the privilege of building and leading engineering teams that have shipped products used by millions of users. I've helped companies navigate through successful exits and technology transformations, always with a focus on people-first leadership and sustainable growth.

15+
Years Experience
Enterprise
Scale Products
6+
Industry Sectors

Experience

Enigmatic Smile

Head of Engineering

January 2024 – Present

  • Scaled the engineering organisation from start-up to scale-up, introducing leadership roles, delivery processes, and a long-term engineering roadmap.
  • Built and managed cross-functional teams across Mobile, Frontend, Backend, QA, and DevOps, expanding the team with 11 new hires in 6 months.
  • Implemented professional development frameworks to support career growth and retention, fostering a high-performance, learning-driven culture.
  • Directed strategic and technical planning for next-generation infrastructure and services, with a focus on scalability, automation, and quality.
  • Increased delivery efficiency by introducing agile processes and cross-functional collaboration, reducing cycle times and improving release predictability.
  • Established a culture of engineering excellence, introducing standards for code quality, CI/CD automation, and robust QA practices.
  • Partnered with business stakeholders to align engineering priorities with company strategy, enabling faster time-to-market for new products and features.

Freelance

Backend Engineer

June 2022 – Present

  • Designed and implemented a comprehensive business suite covering employee management, time tracking, and payroll processing, enabling operational efficiency for SMEs.
  • Developed bespoke online booking systems for both internal operations and customer-facing platforms, tailored to specific business needs.
  • Built hardware integration tools connecting EPOS systems with custom game-scoring sensors, bridging software and physical devices for seamless data flow.
  • Created a digital signage management platform, including scheduling, asset control, and a companion Android application to power screen displays.
  • Engineered a status monitoring and alerting tool providing real-time uptime checks, performance metrics, and proactive notifications.
  • Delivered custom integrations for Unify WiFi, including captive portal flows and administration dashboards, enhancing user experience and network control.
  • Engaged with clients end-to-end, from requirements gathering to deployment, ensuring solutions were scalable, reliable, and aligned with business objectives.

RLDatix

January 2021 – December 2023 (3 years)

Engineering Manager

January 2023 – December 2023 (1 year, 11 months)

  • Managed multiple engineering squads through direct leadership of Lead Developers, ensuring high-quality delivery across global product lines.
  • Accountable for overall product delivery across multiple regions, balancing local requirements with global strategy.
  • Partnered cross-functionally with Product Management, QA, and Customer Success to align priorities and drive impactful outcomes.
  • Introduced and scaled delivery processes, from sprint execution to quarterly planning, improving predictability and alignment.
  • Coached and developed engineering leads, fostering growth and supporting a culture of accountability and ownership.

Lead Developer

August 2021 – February 2022 (7 months)

  • Line-managed a squad of 3–5 developers, providing technical direction, mentorship, and career guidance.
  • Ensured squad delivery met quality and performance standards, balancing speed with long-term maintainability.
  • Designed and solutioned new product features for R&D, enabling innovation and technical scalability.

Senior Developer

January 2021 – August 2021 (8 months)

  • Contributed to feature development and regression resolution within a cross-functional squad.
  • Collaborated closely with QA and Product Owners to refine requirements and deliver customer-focused solutions.
  • Championed engineering best practices to maintain code quality, reliability, and performance.

Parallax

October 2015 – January 2021 (5 years, 4 months)

Head of Backend Development

October 2016 – January 2021 (4 years, 4 months)

  • Led the backend engineering team, combining line management with hands-on development across a wide range of client projects.
  • Scaled the team from 2 developers to 10+, taking ownership of recruitment, onboarding, appraisals, and project planning.
  • Delivered large-scale IoT and Smart City platforms, enabling city-wide control and connectivity solutions.
  • Oversaw technical delivery across multiple projects, ensuring quality, scalability, and alignment with client objectives.
  • Introduced team processes and best practices to improve collaboration, delivery predictability, and code quality.

Senior Developer

October 2015 – October 2016 (1 year, 1 month)

  • Focused on backend development for client websites and bespoke systems, collaborating closely with frontend engineers and designers.
  • Built new features and maintained existing client platforms, ensuring functionality, reliability, and long-term maintainability.
  • Contributed to technical solutioning and architecture discussions, laying the foundation for future backend growth.

LITTLE Agency

Web Developer

May 2014 – October 2015 (1 year, 6 months)

  • First engineering hire, responsible for establishing the foundations of the agency's web development offering and scaling capability for future growth.
  • Designed and implemented processes, tooling, and frameworks to support efficient and repeatable bespoke website builds.
  • Delivered e-commerce platforms and bespoke web solutions tailored to client needs, balancing functionality, usability, and performance.
  • Played a key role in enabling the expansion of the development team by setting technical standards and onboarding practices.

Rejuvenate Productions

Web Developer

March 2012 – August 2013 (1 year, 6 months)

  • Completed a placement year as part of university studies, continuing part-time thereafter due to strong performance and client impact.
  • Delivered end-to-end development of bespoke websites, contributing across both frontend and backend.
  • Built custom e-commerce solutions tailored to client requirements, improving usability and business efficiency.
  • Gained early professional experience in client delivery, working within real-world project constraints and collaborating with designers and stakeholders.

Skills

Core Competencies

Engineering Leadership Agile Delivery SCRUM Scaling Teams Product & Roadmap Strategy Security & Compliance PCI DSS, SOC2, ISO27001 Mentorship & Career Development

Technical Toolbox

PHP (Laravel, Symfony, Phalcon) Node.js Python HTML CSS (Sass & Less) JavaScript React Vue.js React Native Microservices REST APIs MySQL MSSQL MongoDB Terraform Helm Kubernetes CI/CD Pipelines Observability AWS

Integration Toolbox

Stripe DOJO WorldPay Rightmove Zoopla WhatsApp OpenAI NewRelic Bugsnag DataDog Freeagent SalesForce Twilio Algolia HubSpot Ooyala

AI & Emerging Technologies

Generative AI Strategy LLM Adoption ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, Claude AI-Assisted Development Workflows Secure AI Usage & Governance Prompt Engineering AI Enablement & Training

Education

BSc Computing (1st Class Hons)

Leeds Beckett University

2010 – 2014

A Levels

Halewood Academy

2008 – 2010