Serhii

Serhii Mytkin
Software Engineering Team Lead | Full Stack Developer

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✓ Have legal permission to cross the border of Ukraine (available for international relocation/travel)

Professional Summary

Software Engineering Team Lead with 10+ years of experience designing, developing, and leading scalable web applications
and high-performing engineering teams. Expert in building automation systems, performance optimization, and AI-driven tools
that improve efficiency and accessibility. Proven track record in leading cross-functional Agile teams (3-8 engineers), mentoring
developers, and fostering inclusive, diverse team cultures. Experienced in recruiting talent, managing performance, and creating
environments where engineers thrive. Strong technical expertise in Node.js, React/Next.js, TypeScript, cloud architectures (AWS,
Vercel), and machine learning applications. Empathetic leader with real-world understanding of accessibility challenges and
commitment to building products used by millions.
 Soft Skills & Cross-Cultural Leadership

International Team Leadership: Successfully led and collaborated with distributed engineering teams spanning four
continents - from Africa to South Korea, across the United States and Canada. Navigated cultural differences, varying English
communication styles, and diverse working temperaments by investing time in understanding each team member's cultural
background, history, and communication preferences. Built trust through cultural awareness, humor, and genuine interest in
team members' perspectives, resulting in cohesive, high-performing teams despite geographical and cultural barriers.

Executive & High-Profile Stakeholder Management: Extensive experience conducting regular strategic meetings (2-3 times
per week) with company owners, C-level executives, and investors. Successfully managed relationships with high-profile
stakeholders including Hollywood actor/investor Mark Wahlberg, film producers, and venture capital partners. Served dual role
as technical leader and product manager, translating complex technical architectures into business value propositions and
converting stakeholder visions into actionable technical roadmaps. Involved in all critical business decisions including technical
strategy, budget allocation, hiring decisions, project timelines, and feature prioritization.

Communication Excellence: Recognized by team members as "talented, open-minded, very smart, with excellent geography
knowledge and exceptional technical abilities." Skilled at adapting communication style for diverse audiences - from explaining
API architectures to engineers, to presenting ROI projections to investors, to discussing user experience with Hollywood
creatives. Strong ability to bridge technical and non-technical worlds, making complex technology concepts accessible and
compelling.

Innovation & Technology Adoption: Passionate advocate for embracing cutting-edge technology and AI-driven
development. Successfully led team transitions to modern tooling including AI-assisted development, automated testing
frameworks, and cloud-native architectures. Made difficult decisions to maintain team standards, including performance
management of engineers resistant to technological evolution, ensuring the team remained competitive and innovative.

Cultural & Emotional Intelligence: Leveraged geographical knowledge and cultural curiosity to build strong rapport with
international team members. Created psychologically safe environments where diverse perspectives were valued. Personal
experience as lymphoma survivor with ongoing accessibility challenges brings unique empathy and human-centered
perspective to leadership approach, fostering inclusive culture where all team members feel valued and supported.

Experience

Founder / Lead Developer - Blinkerly Tech (EU)
January 2025 – Present
Founded and lead innovative company focused on WordPress performance optimization, managing technical strategy
and product roadmap.
Developed Node.js-based plugin with React admin dashboard that automatically improves website performance, SEO,
and accessibility scores.
Implemented machine learning algorithms for intelligent code optimization and automated WebP conversion.
Managed cross-functional collaboration with EU partners, designers, and stakeholders across multiple time zones.
Established DevOps practices including CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and cloud deployment strategies.
Defined technical best practices and coding standards for scalable, maintainable architecture.

Lead Full Stack Developer / Technical Product Manager - Reel Wheels
January 2024 – January 2025
Team Composition: Managed cross-functional team including NextJS Developer, Full Stack Developer (self), Backend
Developer, and UX/UI Designer.
High-Profile Stakeholder Management: Conducted minimum 1 weekly strategic meeting with company owners and
investors, with additional 2-3 sessions per week during critical project phases. Participated in at least 5 direct meetings
and calls with actor/investor Mark Wahlberg and Hollywood film producers, presenting technical roadmaps, product
demos, and strategic recommendations.
Dual-Role Leadership: Served simultaneously as Lead Developer and Technical Product Manager, bridging gap between
technical implementation and business vision. Translated creative ideas from Hollywood executives into actionable
 technical specifications and development sprints.
Full-Cycle Platform Development: Built Next.js/React-based e-commerce platform from ground up for renting and
selling movie production vehicles and specialized equipment to film industry. Architected microservices backend with
Node.js, integrated payment processing, real-time inventory management, and booking systems.
Strategic Decision Making: Directly involved in all major business decisions including technical architecture choices,
budget allocation, hiring strategy, feature prioritization, timeline commitments, and go-to-market planning. Provided
technical feasibility assessments for investor presentations and funding proposals.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Coordinated closely with Backend Developer on API design and database optimization,
while working with UX Designer to ensure Hollywood-grade visual polish and user experience. Implemented Agile
methodology with daily standups and weekly sprint reviews.
Technical Delivery: Developed custom analytics dashboard for tracking equipment utilization, revenue forecasts, and
customer behavior. Implemented advanced search with filters for vehicle specifications, availability calendars, and
location-based services.
Quality & Performance: Established code review processes, implemented automated testing with Jest and Cypress, and
ensured mobile-responsive design for on-location access by production teams.

Lead Full Stack Developer & Engineering Team Lead - DealerTower
June 2019 – December 2023
Team Composition: Led and grew international engineering team from 2 to 8 members, including 2 Next.js Developers, 1
Senior Backend Developer, 2 UX/UI Designers, 1 DevOps Engineer, plus cross-functional collaboration with QA and Product
teams.
International & Cross-Cultural Leadership: Managed distributed team spanning four continents - from Africa to South Korea,
across United States and Canada. Navigated diverse communication styles, varying English language nuances, and different
cultural temperaments. Built strong team cohesion by investing time in learning team members' cultural backgrounds, histories,
and local contexts. Used humor, cultural awareness, and genuine curiosity about geography and regional differences to create
psychologically safe environment where all voices were heard and valued.
Executive Stakeholder Management: Conducted regular strategic meetings (2-3 times per week) with company owners,
C-level executives, and key investors. Actively participated in all critical business decisions including technical architecture
strategy, annual budget planning, hiring and team expansion, feature roadmap prioritization, timeline commitments,
vendor selection, and go-to-market strategies.
Recruitment & Team Building: Led end-to-end recruitment process including job description creation, technical
interview design, candidate evaluation, and onboarding programs. Successfully hired and onboarded 6 engineers over 4
years, focusing on building diverse, balanced team with complementary skill sets. Created welcoming onboarding
experience that reduced time-to-productivity for new hires.
People Development & Mentoring: Managed 3-6 direct reports at any given time, conducting regular 1-on-1s (bi-
weekly minimum), quarterly performance reviews, and annual career development planning. Mentored team members
from junior to senior levels in React/Next.js architecture, TypeScript best practices, Node.js patterns, Test-Driven
Development (TDD), and professional soft skills. Team members described leadership style as "talented, open-minded,
very smart, with excellent geography knowledge and exceptional technical abilities."
Technical Excellence & Innovation: Championed adoption of cutting-edge technologies and AI-driven development
practices. Led successful team transition to GitHub Copilot, OpenAI API integration, and automated testing frameworks.
Made difficult but necessary performance management decisions, including terminating engineer who refused to adopt
AI-assisted development tools, ensuring team remained competitive, innovative, and aligned with modern software
engineering practices.
Transformative Platform Architecture: Architected and delivered revolutionary automated website generator that
replaced manual PHP installations with Python microservices orchestration, Node.js RESTful APIs, and React/Next.js admin
dashboards. This system reduced website delivery time from 2-3 weeks to just a few hours - a 95% reduction in
deployment time.
Business Impact: Technical innovations and team scalability improvements directly resulted in sixfold increase in client
base (from approximately 30 to 180+ dealership clients), dramatically improving company revenue and market position.
Reduced developer dependency for content updates, empowering clients with self-service capabilities.
Design System & Component Library: Designed and implemented comprehensive modular component library and
design system used across 200+ automotive dealership websites. Ensured consistent branding, reduced code duplication,
 and enabled rapid website customization while maintaining quality standards.
Agile Leadership: Facilitated all Agile ceremonies including sprint planning, daily standups, sprint reviews, and
retrospectives. Managed backlog refinement with product stakeholders, prioritized technical debt alongside feature work,
and maintained sustainable pace for team. Successfully balanced business pressures with engineering quality and team
well-being.
AI & Machine Learning Innovation: Developed groundbreaking AI-powered chatbot using OpenAI GPT models that
could autonomously build dealership websites based on natural language conversations with dealers. System interpreted
dealer requirements, selected appropriate templates, populated content, and configured features - demonstrating
practical application of conversational AI in B2B SaaS.
Cloud Infrastructure & DevOps: Led technical decision-making for cloud migration to AWS, implementing Docker
containerization, Kubernetes orchestration, and CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions. Reduced deployment failures by
80% and improved system reliability to 99.8% uptime.
Knowledge Sharing & Technical Growth: Facilitated regular technical workshops, brown bag lunch-and-learns, and
documentation initiatives. Created internal wiki for architectural decisions, coding standards, and troubleshooting guides.
Fostered culture of continuous learning where team members regularly shared discoveries and best practices.
Accessibility Champion: Championed WCAG 2.1 AA/AAA accessibility standards across all products, conducting
accessibility audits, implementing screen reader compatibility, and training team on inclusive design principles. Personal
experience with peripheral polyneuropathy provided unique insight into importance of accessible digital experiences.
Cross-Functional Partnership: Built strong collaborative relationships with Product Management, UX Design, QA
Engineering, Customer Success, and Sales teams. Regularly translated technical complexity into business value for non-
technical stakeholders, and advocated for engineering needs in product planning discussions.

Lead Full Stack Developer - DatGate Heavy Machinery Department
March 2023 – December 2023
Team Composition: Led development as primary Full Stack Developer with support from 1 Backend Developer and 1 Designer.
E-Commerce Platform for Heavy Equipment: Designed and developed comprehensive web service for selling Komatsu
heavy machinery and construction equipment. Built Next.js/React frontend with Node.js backend, creating sophisticated
 product catalog for bulldozers, excavators, loaders, and specialized construction vehicles.
Technical Architecture: Implemented complex filtering system for equipment specifications (tonnage, engine power,
hydraulic capacity, operating weight), integrated with inventory management and real-time pricing engine. Developed
custom CMS for equipment specifications and technical documentation.
Stakeholder Management: Conducted regular meetings (2-3 times weekly) with company leadership and industrial
equipment dealers. Translated technical machinery specifications into user-friendly digital experiences for construction
company buyers and fleet managers.
Cross-Functional Leadership: Collaborated with Backend Developer on database optimization for large equipment
catalogs and high-resolution imagery. Worked with Designer to create professional, industry-appropriate interface for B2B
heavy machinery sales.
Business Integration: Integrated quote request systems, financing calculators, and dealer locator functionality.
Implemented lead generation tools and CRM integration for sales team follow-up.
Performance Optimization: Ensured fast load times despite heavy imagery and technical specifications, implementing
lazy loading, image optimization, and efficient database queries for equipment search functionality.

Shopify Developer - Freelance / Remote
April 2019 – June 2019
Developed custom Shopify themes and functionalities for global clients through Upwork and Freelancer platforms.

Senior Web Application Developer - International Remote Team
August 2017 – January 2019
Collaborated with distributed Agile teams (6-10 members) across US, Europe, and Asia using Scrum methodology.
Mentored 2 junior developers in Vue.js, Laravel patterns, and professional development practices.
Participated in code reviews, pair programming sessions, and technical design discussions.
Delivered large-scale web applications serving millions of users using Vue.js, Laravel, Node.js, and MySQL.
Worked closely with product managers, UX designers, and QA engineers in cross-functional capacity.
 Implemented CI/CD pipelines and automated testing strategies to ensure code quality and rapid deployment.

Web Developer - TemplateMonster
April 2015 – April 2017
Developed and maintained web templates and CMS modules (OpenCart, WordPress).
Worked extensively with HTML, CSS, JS, jQuery, and PHP.

Education

Master’s Degree, Artificial Intelligence Systems
Petro Mohyla Black Sea State University, 2010 – 2016

Leadership & Management Skills

Team Leadership: Led teams of 3-8 engineers across multiple projects and organizations
People Development: Mentoring, coaching, career development, and performance management
Recruitment: Hiring and onboarding engineers, building diverse and balanced teams
Agile Practices: Scrum Master experience, sprint planning, backlog management, retrospectives
Stakeholder Management: Managing relationships with technical and non-technical stakeholders, investors, and
executives
Culture Building: Creating inclusive, psychologically safe environments where engineers thrive
Cross-functional Collaboration: Working with Product, UX, QA, DevOps, and business teams
Technical Communication: Translating complex technical concepts for diverse audiences
Knowledge Sharing: Facilitating workshops, brown bags, and documentation initiatives
Technical Skills

Languages: JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Java EE Agile Tools: Jira, Confluence, Trello, Azure DevOps,
GitHub Projects
Frontend: React.js, Next.js (Pages/App Router), Vue.js,
HTML5, CSS3/SASS/Tailwind AI/ML: OpenAI API, Machine Learning algorithms,
Natural Language Processing, TensorFlow basics
Backend: Node.js, Express, Laravel, RESTful APIs,
GraphQL Design Tools: Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite

Databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis Version Control: Git, GitHub, Bitbucket, Git workflows
(trunk-based, GitFlow)
Cloud & DevOps: AWS (S3, EC2, Lambda), Docker,
Kubernetes, Vercel, CI/CD pipelines Best Practices: Pair Programming, Code Reviews,
Continuous Delivery, DevOps, Microservices Architecture
Testing: Jest, Cypress, Test-Driven Development (TDD),
End-to-End Testing Accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA/AAA, ARIA, Screen Reader
Testing

Cover Letter

Dear Hiring Team,

As a Software Engineering Team Lead with 10+ years of experience, I bring a unique combination of technical expertise,
international team leadership, and high-profile stakeholder management to your organization. My career spans leading
distributed engineering teams across four continents (Africa, South Korea, US, Canada), managing relationships with
Hollywood executives and investors including Mark Wahlberg, and growing teams from 2 to 8 engineers while driving
transformative business results.
At DealerTower (2019-2023), I led an international team of 8 engineers (2 Next.js developers, 1 backend developer, 2
designers, 1 DevOps), navigating cultural differences and time zones while maintaining 2-3 weekly executive meetings. I
architected an automated platform using Python microservices and Node.js/React that reduced deployment time by 95%
(from weeks to hours), growing the client base sixfold to 180+ clients. I championed AI adoption including OpenAI-
powered chatbots, managed full recruitment cycles, and mentored engineers from junior to senior levels. My team
described my leadership as "talented, open-minded, very smart, with excellent geography and technical abilities."

At Reel Wheels (2024-2025), I served dual roles as Lead Developer and Technical Product Manager for a Hollywood
movie production equipment platform. I conducted weekly meetings with company owners and investors, participated in
5+ calls with Mark Wahlberg and film producers, and was involved in all business decisions including budget, hiring, and
strategy. I led a cross-functional team building a Next.js/React e-commerce platform with advanced inventory
management and booking systems.

At DatGate Heavy Machinery (2023), I developed a Next.js e-commerce platform for Komatsu heavy equipment sales,
managing stakeholder relationships and leading technical implementation with backend and design support.

Currently at Blinkerly Tech (2025-present), I founded a company developing Node.js-based WordPress performance
optimization tools with machine learning algorithms, managing EU partnerships and technical strategy.

I excel at building inclusive, psychologically safe team cultures through cultural awareness, continuous learning initiatives,
and accessibility-first design. My Master's degree in Artificial Intelligence Systems, combined with expertise in Node.js,
React, TypeScript, AWS, Docker, TDD, and Agile practices, enables me to deliver scalable solutions while fostering
engineering excellence.

As a stage IV lymphoma survivor living with peripheral polyneuropathy, I bring deep empathy and firsthand
understanding of accessibility challenges, driving my commitment to building inclusive products that serve millions of
users.

I would welcome the opportunity to bring my technical leadership, cross-cultural communication skills, and proven track
record of team development and business impact to your organization.
Sincerely,
Serhii Mytkin
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