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Cristian E. Caroli
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role ~ Software Engineer & Manager
loc ~ Barcelona, Spain
mail ~ cristiancaroli@gmail.com
linkedin ~ linkedin.com/in/cristiancaroli
newsletter ~ hammerspacepodcast.com
cv ~ cristian_caroli_cv.pdf
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Engineering leader with 15+ years of experience delivering scalable systems, building high-performing teams, and driving product-led innovation.

Passionate about developer culture, platform strategy, and educational technology. Among others, I've spent time at Twitter, Chess.com, and ThoughtWorks.

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distributed-systems/ microservices/ event-driven-design/ high-availability/ observability/ cloud-architecture/ containerization/ infrastructure-automation/ deployment-pipelines/ team-scaling/ technical-strategy/ hiring-and-mentorship/ edtech/ gaming/ advertising-platforms/ logistics/
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## Director of Engineering @ ChessKid (Chess.com)
-- Mar 2025 - Present | Remote

Leading engineering at ChessKid, part of Chess.com, the world's number one kid-safe chess platform with over 13 million global users and more than 600K monthly actives.

- Hands-on with backend, mobile, and web systems while driving architecture, reliability, and product delivery.
- Partnering directly with the CTO and VPs, TLs and PMs across Chess.com to align technical execution, product strategy, and long-term platform growth.
- Driving the adoption of agentic coding practices across the team, integrating AI-assisted development into daily workflows.
- Focused on building high-performing teams and ensuring our little users have as much fun as possible without any downtime other than early bed times.
## Director of Engineering @ Stuart
-- Aug 2024 - Mar 2025 | Remote

Head of engineering for the Delivery Network Optimization convoy with 8 teams of engineers, analysts, data scientists, and product/program managers.

- Led 8 teams of ~40 engineers and managers across Europe.
- Built and maintained systems, routing algorithms, and internal tools to optimize delivery network performance.
- Dropped memes in #random (unofficially).
## Senior Engineering Manager @ Stuart
-- Feb 2023 - Aug 2024 | Remote

Oversaw technical leadership and performance of internal teams in the Supply & Demand organization regulating incentives and demand management.

- Facilitated collaboration between stakeholders and technical contributors.
## Engineering Manager @ Twitter
-- Aug 2021 - Feb 2023 | Remote

- Led 2 ad products teams (~12 engineers).
- Delivered Quick Promote and Simple Ads.
- Managed career growth and hiring.
- Led launch of Boost (iOS version).
## Tech Lead @ ThoughtWorks
-- Apr 2019 - Jul 2021 | Barcelona, Spain

- Led teams and technical delivery in AutoScout, ImmoScout and Zalando Warehouse.
- Facilitated React/TypeScript trainings and tech leadership workshops.
## Senior Consultant @ ThoughtWorks
-- Jan 2017 - Apr 2019 | Barcelona, Spain

- Delivered and maintained critical services.
- Built client relationships and aligned strategy.
- Contributed to internal and external events.
## Head of Product Design @ Chalk
-- Aug 2015 - Jan 2017 | Barcelona, Spain

- Co-founded Chalk, a fantasy sports site.
- Led product design and frontend development, brand identity, and UI.
## API Solutions Engineer @ 3scale
-- May 2015 - Aug 2015 | Barcelona, Spain

- Led API implementations for high-profile launches using the 3Scale API Gateway.
- Managed inductions of external teams into our architecture, code, support, and training for integrations.
## Game Developer @ Akamon Entertainment
-- May 2013 - May 2015 | Barcelona, Spain

- Built social games in mundijuegos.com where we had a daily revenue of ~$50k in a platform of +11M users.
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- Freelance developer and Adobe Flash instructor in Venezuela, delivering advergames and branded web experiences for local and regional clients.
- Built interactive marketing tools and Flash-based games for educational and commercial campaigns before transitioning to full-time software development.
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## Master in Cinematographic Direction
-- ESCAC, 2012

## Computer Science
-- Universidad Simón Bolívar, 2009
-- Thesis: Adaptive game environments based on player behavior. Exceptionally Good Mention
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- Siggraph Volunteer
- GIA USB (AI Group)
- CEIC USB
- JOINCIC Founder (Head of Image)
- Global Game Jam 2011 — Game Designer
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- Gamexpo, Caracas 2009 — Chester: Adaptive Storytelling
- JOINCIC, Caracas 2009 — Intelligent Environments for Videogames
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Storytelling Game Design AI Graphics UX Interactive Narratives
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