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 make sure technical decisions fit the landscape, call out the anti-patterns and trust issues that slow teams down, and reduce complexity by removing unnecessary systems rather than adding more.
I mentor and coach continuously — it’s how I work, not an add-on. Teams perform better when they feel trusted, respected and supported.
The result: platforms that other teams actually want to use, and engineers who feel responsible and proud of what they produce.
Deep Technical Experience, Pragmatic by Default
Thirty years of professional experience across dozens of Fortune 500 companies — backend, frontend, microservices, distributed systems, Linux, Infrastructure as Code, and more languages and architectural styles than I care to list.
I’m a strong believer in automating the right things, not automating for automation’s sake. And 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.
If you want to build a high-performing, humane engineering organisation that delivers real value, let’s talk.