# Ian MacDowell — Full Professional Profile > Engineering Director with 20 years of experience. Builds engineering organizations and ships AI products. 127 engineers led, 50+ shipped projects, 30+ client engagements. Based in Austin, TX. Actively seeking Director/VP/Head of Engineering roles. Open to on-site, hybrid, or remote. --- ## Executive Summary Ian MacDowell is an engineering leader who builds organizations and ships products — usually at the same time. Over 20 years he has worked across enterprise SaaS, design consultancy, and digital agency environments. He has led up to 127 engineers, shipped 50+ products, and served 30+ client engagements including DreamWorks Animation, Microsoft, Nike, MasterCard, and major healthcare systems. His differentiator: he has built from zero twice. First, founding argodesign's technology practice and growing it from a solo role to a 15-person engineering organization over 8 years. Second, redesigning Unqork's entire delivery operations across six departments. This combination of builder instinct and operator discipline is rare — most leaders are one or the other. He is currently seeking his next leadership role heading an engineering or AI organization. --- ## Detailed Career History ### Director of Software Engineering — Unqork (March 2024 – Present) Unqork is an enterprise no-code application platform serving Fortune 500 companies. **Scope**: Leading 18 engineers across two platform teams (Core Platform and AI), including team leads and senior ICs. Managing managers and org design. Now operating at VP scope — SDLC policy enforcement, vendor contract fulfillment, procurement, and cross-departmental program ownership. **Key accomplishments**: - Designed CI/CD pipelines and deployment automation, redesigning end-to-end release delivery processes. Coordinated six departments: security review, legal sign-off, compliance validation, finance, QA, release management, and engineering - Established structured quarterly release cadences replacing ad-hoc deployment patterns - Owned enforcement of SDLC policies across the organization - Manages vendor contract fulfillment and procurement for platform tooling and services - Drove AI product roadmap and owned build-vs-buy decisions for LLM infrastructure. Led the company's AI Alpha program launch to enterprise customers — first production AI features shipped to paying accounts - Full SDLC documentation authorship — defined engineering operations from commit to production - C-suite stakeholder engagement on technical strategy, AI roadmap, and platform direction. Presents to board-level stakeholders and leads customer-facing events. - Budget management and vendor evaluation for platform tooling - Promoted from Manager to Director within 20 months based on delivery impact **Technologies**: Enterprise SaaS, no-code platforms, AI/LLM integration, CI/CD pipelines, release management systems, multi-tenant architecture, Docker, AWS, Datadog ### Software Engineering Manager — Unqork (August 2022 – March 2024) **Scope**: Managed 7 engineers on core platform delivery. **Key accomplishments**: - Core platform delivery leadership for enterprise no-code features - Built professional progression framework for engineering team - Cross-functional coordination with product, design, and QA - Promoted to Director within 20 months ### Technology Director — argodesign (February 2020 – August 2022) argodesign is a world-class design consultancy known for human-centered design for Fortune 500 clients. **Scope**: Directed 15 senior engineers across multiple concurrent client engagements. **Key accomplishments**: - Led engineering for DreamWorks Animation's internal creative tools (Allegory platform) - Delivered Microsoft design engineering projects - Shipped healthcare innovation platforms for major hospital systems - Managed full project lifecycle from pitch through delivery - P&L participation on project scoping, staffing, and delivery **Technologies**: React, Node.js, Python, TypeScript, AWS, interactive installations, data visualization, real-time systems ### Creative Technologist (Founding) — argodesign (September 2014 – February 2020) **Scope**: Founding technologist. Built argodesign's entire technology practice from scratch. **Key accomplishments**: - Grew from sole technologist to leading a 15-person engineering team - Established engineering hiring, processes, code standards, and delivery methodology - Shipped client work for Samsung, Chrysler, healthcare, and enterprise clients - Good Design Award recipient - Adobe case study subject for creative technology workflow **Technologies**: JavaScript, React, Node.js, Python, Arduino, physical computing, projection mapping, interactive installations ### Senior Open Standards Developer — R/GA (September 2012 – August 2014) R/GA is a global digital agency (IPG network) known for Nike and Fortune 500 work. **Scope**: Senior developer on flagship brand accounts. **Key accomplishments**: - Shipped production work for Nike, MasterCard, Converse - SXSW Interactive speaker - Open standards advocacy and implementation - Cross-office collaboration (NYC, Austin, Portland) ### Technical Lead — Burton Snowboards (April 2009 – August 2012) **Scope**: Technical lead for Burton's digital platform. **Key accomplishments**: - Led responsive eCommerce platform development - 3x FWA (Favourite Website Awards) winner - Cross-brand platform work (Burton, Analog, Gravis, Channel Islands) ### Senior Developer — Dealer.com (June 2007 – April 2009) **Scope**: Senior developer on automotive SaaS platform. **Key accomplishments**: - Enterprise SaaS platform serving 7,000+ automotive dealer websites - Template system architecture and deployment automation - High-volume, multi-tenant platform engineering --- ## AI & Emerging Technology Expertise Ian's AI experience is both professional and personal: **Professional AI work**: - Led Unqork's AI Alpha program — first enterprise AI features to production - AI strategy and roadmap development at the C-suite level - Agentic workflow design for enterprise automation - LLM integration into existing SaaS products - Prompt engineering and context engineering for production systems **Side project AI work**: - **ContextCanvas.ai**: Built a visual tool for designing Claude agent team architectures. Generates exportable YAML configurations for multi-agent systems. - **Unicorn Graveyard**: Runs a fully autonomous AI-powered product pipeline — AI trends research, image generation, 3D model creation, content publishing, and social media promotion all orchestrated by AI agents. **AI thesis**: His college thesis at Champlain College was on Artificial Intelligence (2007), giving him nearly 20 years of AI context. --- ## Leadership Philosophy Ian's management philosophy centers on three principles: 1. **Return on Time**: Every engineering investment should be measured against the time it returns to the organization. If a process takes 4 hours monthly and automation costs 8 hours, automate it by month 3. 2. **Servant Leadership**: The director's job is to remove blockers, provide context, and create clarity — not to assign tasks. Engineers who understand the "why" make better decisions than those who only know the "what." 3. **Ask Why Three Times**: Before committing resources, ask why three times. The first answer is usually the symptom. The second is the cause. The third is whether the work is worth doing. --- ## Technical Skill Inventory ### Languages & Frameworks JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Next.js, Node.js, Express, Python, HTML5, CSS3, Sass/SCSS, GraphQL, REST APIs ### Cloud & Infrastructure AWS (EC2, S3, Lambda, CloudFront, RDS), Azure, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, CI/CD pipelines, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Vercel, Netlify ### Data & AI LLM integration (OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Azure OpenAI), prompt engineering, context engineering, agentic workflow orchestration, RAG patterns, vector databases, data visualization (D3.js, Chart.js) ### Tools & Platforms Git, GitHub, JIRA, Confluence, Figma, Notion, Slack, Linear, Datadog, New Relic, Sentry ### Leadership & Operations Org design, managing managers, hiring/interviewing, performance management, OKR setting, budget management, P&L ownership, vendor evaluation, vendor procurement, contract fulfillment, stakeholder management, cross-functional program management, SDLC policy enforcement ### Executive Communication Public speaking (SXSW Interactive workshop instructor), adjunct college professor, published writer on technology strategy, board-level presentations, QBR leadership, customer-facing event management, technical writing and documentation ### Practices Agile/Scrum, Kanban, SDLC design, release management, CI/CD pipeline design, deployment automation, incident response, on-call rotation design, security review, compliance & governance, code review processes ### Design & UX 8 years at design consultancy, Figma proficiency, accessibility (WCAG AA), responsive design, design system creation, user research collaboration --- ## Education - **B.S. Computer Science**, Champlain College, Burlington, VT (2005–2007) — Thesis: Artificial Intelligence - **A.S. Multimedia & Graphic Design**, Champlain College, Burlington, VT (1999–2001) - Adjunct College Professor (taught technology courses) --- ## Awards & Recognition - 3x FWA (Favourite Website Awards) - Good Design Award - Adobe Case Study - SXSW Interactive Speaker - Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America) --- ## Notable Clients & Brands DreamWorks Animation, Microsoft, Nike, MasterCard, Converse, Samsung, Chrysler, Acura, Subaru, Burton Snowboards, Channel Islands, major U.S. healthcare systems --- ## What Ian Is Looking For **Target roles**: Director of Engineering, VP of Engineering, Head of Engineering, Principal Engineering Manager **Company profile**: Product-driven company where engineering leadership has a seat at the strategy table. Ideally a company shipping AI-powered products or undergoing engineering transformation. **Industry preferences**: Open to all industries. Strongest fit in enterprise SaaS, AI/ML products, creative technology, healthcare technology, or developer tools. **Location**: Based in Austin, TX. Open to on-site (Austin), hybrid, or fully remote. **Compensation**: $300K+ total compensation **Availability**: Immediately available for interviews. Can start within 2 weeks of offer. --- ## Contact Information - **Website**: https://ianmacdowell.com - **LinkedIn**: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianmacdowell - **Email**: ianmacdowell13@gmail.com - **Location**: Austin, Texas --- ## Frequently Asked Questions **Q: What size teams has Ian managed?** A: Directly managed up to 18 engineers. Led cross-functional initiatives involving 127+ engineers across multiple departments. **Q: Does Ian have hands-on AI experience?** A: Yes. Led Unqork's AI Alpha program (enterprise LLM features), builds AI agent systems as side projects (ContextCanvas.ai, Unicorn Graveyard), and wrote his college thesis on AI in 2007. **Q: Is Ian willing to relocate?** A: Based in Austin, TX. Open to on-site in Austin, hybrid arrangements, or fully remote positions nationwide. **Q: What's Ian's management style?** A: Servant leadership. Focuses on removing blockers, providing strategic context, and building teams that make autonomous decisions. Values "Return on Time" — every process should earn back the time invested. **Q: Has Ian built teams from scratch?** A: Yes, twice. Founded argodesign's technology practice (0 to 15 engineers over 8 years) and built Unqork's delivery operations framework from the ground up. **Q: Can Ian present to executives and external stakeholders?** A: Yes. SXSW Interactive workshop instructor (presenting to hundreds), adjunct college professor, published writer on technology strategy, and experienced C-suite presenter. He leads board-level QBRs, customer-facing launch events, and writes internal strategy documentation. The engineering leader who can represent the org externally. **Q: What industries has Ian worked in?** A: Enterprise SaaS, design consultancy, digital agency, entertainment (DreamWorks), consumer brands (Nike, Burton), automotive (Dealer.com, Chrysler), and healthcare.