Richard
Brammer

Created a new department by merging teams and making a deliberate architectural decision — outsourcing UI Platform and establishing a clean domain boundary. Title formalised January 2026 following strategic reorganisation. Leading systems engineering across a 250+ engineering organization with 1500+ cross-functional stakeholders.

• ◆ Merged existing teams and outsourced the UI Platform, drawing a clean line between front-end engineering + API platform (in-house) and UX design (outsourced), reducing hand-off time by 30%
• ◆ Defined the SIS productization strategy and OKRs — SIE's internal equivalent of AWS — securing VP and Senior Director-level alignment on a product operating model with measurable KPIs
• ◆ Led the SIS API Platform mandate: evolved a cross-functional enablement team into a fully staffed, dedicated platform team of 15 engineers
• ◆ Drove host and network product architecture alignment across multiple teams via shared Kubernetes CRDs, improving scalability
• ◆ Shaped org design, hiring strategy, and team scaling across the department at director scope, managing up to 40 direct reports

Given a new department to build — defined its strategy, scope, and two-pillar operating model. Led a cross-functional team of 15 within a 250+ person engineering organisation, later scaling to 1500+ cross-functional stakeholders.

• ◆ Created the department strategy from scratch: UX alignment (design system) and API alignment (federated API) as two parallel pillars
• ◆ Drove adoption of internal tooling from 0 to 250+ weekly active sessions within 6 months — establishing it as an owned internal product platform
• ◆ Drove integration of Partner and Web Tools into the SIE-wide design system, improving consistency across 50+ projects
• ◆ Evolved the Federated API layer from GraphQL/UI to Kubernetes CRDs across Infrastructure, Network, and Cloud
• ◆ Owned cost centre, budgeting, and headcount justification at director scope, managing €2M+ annual budget

Inherited the Cloud Front End Engineering team supporting PlayStation Now cloud gaming operations. Managed a team of 8 engineers and delivered 15+ internal tools.

• ◆ Transformed a team building siloed internal tools with low adoption into one operating on product platform principles, increasing tool adoption by 400%
• ◆ Shifted the team from output-focused delivery to measurable product thinking with CI/CD pipelines, cutting release cycle from bi-weekly to weekly
• ◆ Laid the foundation for the internal UI tooling platform that became the standard for 50+ projects
• ◆ Built the team capability and operating model that justified expanding the remit into a full department

Embedded at client organisations as a senior-to-staff-level engineer and consultant. Led 10+ client projects across agile delivery, UX-driven development, and continuous improvement.

• ◆ Mentored 20+ senior and junior engineers as well as scrum masters across client teams
• ◆ Supported agile and UX-driven development practices and continuous improvement processes, reducing project delivery time by 25%
• ◆ Represented clients in meetings with their own customers on technology matters, including compliance and legal requirements
• ◆ Clients included Knauf, Vattenfall, and Siemens / Atos — delivered 12+ successful projects as tech lead

Digital mobile publishing agency — apps, websites, and digital products. Co-founded, built, and sold profitably to a successor. Developed 40+ apps and websites, managed 40 staff at peak.

• ◆ Co-founded the agency; brought in a co-CEO for the final four years to scale leadership
• ◆ Ran all business functions in the early years: sales, finance, hiring, delivery, and client management — grew revenue to €2M+ annually
• ◆ Developed 40+ mobile apps and digital products, including award-winning publications for Audi, Rolling Stone, and Auto Bild
• ◆ Led 25+ successful projects as tech lead, managing teams of up to 40 direct reports
• ◆ Sold the agency profitably to a successor after turning around a loss-making P&L to break-even

Industrial & software engineering as a service — regional branch, full profit-center ownership. Led 5+ engineering projects and managed all branch operations.

• ◆ Turned around a financially struggling location to break-even within 12 months, saving €500K in operating costs
• ◆ Structured one unorganised site into 4 functional departments
• ◆ Grew headcount to 40 staff across engineering, project management, customer success & operations
• ◆ Developed 2 individual contributors into people managers, improving team productivity by 35%
• ◆ Aligned local operations to HQ standards while building local customer relationships