Dermot Dooley

Senior Engineering Manager with 15+ years’ experience building high-performing teams in Dublin. I lead with a people-first philosophy, grounded in the belief that when engineers feel safe, supported, and connected to the business strategy, they deliver their best work.

Feb 2019 – Present | CarTrawler, Dublin, Ireland

(Excluding Interim Director of Engineering period - see below)

• Lead and mentor multiple teams of 21–30 Engineers, including Engineering Managers and Tech Leads, driving strategy, organisational design, and long-term growth across multiple teams.

• Drove the continuous delivery of high-value strategic initiatives, including large-scale partner integrations (easyJet, AFKLM, American Airlines & Uber) and foundational platforms such as a Campaign CMS and Customer Portal.

• Orchestrated the dynamic scaling up and down of engineering teams +/-25% to balance development and progression of full-time staff (coaching, career development) with the engagement of trusted contracting partners for strategic projects.

• Modernised department operating model, including the implementation of a new organisational structure and a comprehensive Engineering Levels Framework to standardise career progression.

• Directed key Technical Strategy projects, such as the SnowPlow Advanced Analytics Launch and Performance Cost Optimisations (reducing AWS costs by 10%/€120k), ensuring platform scalability and data-driven decision-making.

• Delivered a Best-in-Class car imagery solution by leading the technical strategy and execution, resulting in annualised savings of $200K and enhanced user experience through 3D model enhancements.

• Championed Product & Technology culture, establishing recurring Engineering Days, in-office competitions and sharing sessions to foster innovation and significantly strengthening engagement and morale across the department.

Oct 2024 – May 2025 | CarTrawler, Dublin, Ireland

• Stepped in during a period of critical organisational change to lead a 10-squad department (Engineering, Architecture, Insights). Stabilised delivery pipelines and maintained 100% project delivery during a major leadership transition.

• Defined and executed the Departmental Engineering Strategy, ensuring technical roadmaps were directly mapped to overarching company commercial objectives and long-term scalability.

• Orchestrated departmental frameworks for OKRs, Agile adoption, and leadership forums, bridging the gap between technical execution and executive strategy while driving a diverse, high-performing culture through Women in Tech initiatives.

• Gained experience working as part of the Department Leadership Team, contributing to C-Suite level strategy and managing executive-level delivery pressures.

Oct 2017 – Feb 2019 | CarTrawler, Dublin, Ireland

• Led multiple cross-functional teams of 10-14 cross functional staff to successfully eliminate a critical backlog of partner requests, significantly increasing delivery throughput and stakeholder satisfaction.

• Optimised delivery efficiency by implementing rigorous process improvements and driving architectural de-coupling, reducing technical debt and streamlining the release cycle.

• Directed a multi-disciplinary team focused on the delivery of partner-facing web platforms and high-conversion upsell features.

• Standardised brand consistency and front-end efficiency by developing a centralised logo library and design system components, reducing redundant front-end effort.

• Partnered with Talent Acquisition to drive recruitment campaigns, successfully scaling the team with high-calibre engineering talent to meet increased project demands.

Apr 2013 – Oct 2017 | CarTrawler, Dublin, Ireland

• Built and maintained customised partner websites, supporting B2C brands. Improved performance and visibility through optimisation, dashboards, and standardisation projects.

2014 – 2017 | Technology University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

The Masters in Creative Digital Media provides a thorough grounding in the core skills and knowledge of digital media technologies and offers specialist production techniques dedicated to the specific needs of the digital media industry.

2006 – 2007 | IADT, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, Ireland

Intensive focus on interactive media production reinforced by advanced programming and UX principles.

2003 – 2006 | IADT, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, Ireland

Combined software engineering, multimedia authoring, and system design to deliver immersive digital experiences.

2000 – 2003 | Technological University Dublin, Ireland

Built a practical foundation in mechanics, materials, and structured problem-solving for engineering contexts.

Download CV (PDF)