My name is Richard Bown. I’m a software engineering leader who brings product thinking to engineering teams – and not through workshops or presentations or certifications, but just by underlining who the customers really are, and how they are best served and building trust within teams to perform.
I work with organisations that are doing all the right things – DevOps, Infrastructure as Code, platform teams, maybe even Team Topologies – but are struggling to make it all click.
What I Do
- I work as either a Senior Engineer or an Engineering Manager, inside or alongside your teams.
- I ensure technical decisions fit the landscape, and automation and debt are not ignored.
- I ask questions about code ownership, responsibility, silos and knowledge to clarify boundaries.
- I call out anti-patterns of trust or practices that slow teams down.
- I set a good example by addressing day-to-day problems as they arise and modelling good behaviour.
- I love to mentor, coach and support team members who may be struggling.
- I like to reduce complexity by removing unnecessary systems and products, not by adding more.
- This turns platforms into products that other teams actually want to use and makes teams and individuals feel responsible and proud of what they produce.
- So you’re not just getting an engineer or an interim manager – you’re getting a vehicle for driving sustainable engineering change.
Deep Technical Experience, Pragmatic by Default
I have thirty years of professional technical experience in corporate software development at literally dozens of Fortune 500 companies.
- Backend, frontend, microservices, and distributed systems
- Comfortable across languages, platforms, and architectural styles
- Linux specialist, with solid Windows and networking experience
- Strong believer in Infrastructure as Code – without automating for automation’s sake
Even if I don’t know a specific technology, I almost certainly know the pattern behind it.
DevOps & Platform Engineering That Developers Trust
I help organisations:
- Simplify and automate existing workflows.
- Improve efficiency without slowing teams down.
- Deliver internal platforms as self-service products.
- I’m not a fan of long and unnecessary meetings. We keep agile processes lightweight and humane.
I mentor and coach continuously – it’s how I work. Teams perform better when they feel trusted, respected, and supported.
Selected Case Studies
From DevOps Coach to Platform Product Owner
Brought in as a DevOps coach, I quickly moved into a hands-on product role, building internal GitLab, Artifactory, and SonarQube platforms. These became successful self-service products used across the organisation.
Requirements Over Specs
Hired as a technical product manager and asked to write detailed specs, I instead pushed for team autonomy – forcing managers to articulate requirements, not solutions. Management was uncomfortable. Developers thrived. Even though the management didn’t agree, the developers loved it. I’d make the same call again!
Fixing a Broken Platform Team
Joined a platform team with toxic dynamics and unclear direction. I challenged blockers, forced strategic decisions, reduced technical debt, and helped rebuild the team into a smaller, stronger group that delivered more—and enjoyed the work again.
I’ve worked as a senior engineer, systems administrator, platform lead, product owner, technical product manager, and Head of Engineering. I prefer to work as either a Senior Engineer or an interim Engineering Manager. I’m currently available for long-term contract or short-term consulting gigs.
If you want to build a high-performing, humane engineering organisation that delivers real value, let’s talk.