Aurélien Meunier

My main objective was to lead the Product & Tech department's efforts (6 developers, 1 PO + CPO) and organize this entire LegalTech startup (19 people). The fully remote work mode required particularly precise coordination and communication.

Key actions included:

🔶 Implementing the Shape Up method to increase team efficiency and focus more on the product

⏱️ Transitioning to asynchronous work to maximize flexibility and results

⛵ Delivering the first version of the product (V1)

💪🏻 Organizing and motivating the team for a collaborative work environment

🫂 Facilitating a seminar to address structural issues, align everyone, and launch V1 efforts

⚙️ Establishing a craftsmanship culture: moving to trunk-based development, CI/CD efforts, architectural and practice improvements.

Beyond technical and product aspects, I paid special attention to the human factor. I worked closely with the team to foster a motivating and collaborative atmosphere. I am proud to say that by the end of my tenure, the team was well-organized, efficient, and had scaled up.

This full-time mission at Code is Law exemplifies my commitment as an interim CTO to not only tackle technical and product challenges but also to foster a positive team culture, leading to improved productivity and overall success.

I assisted a team of developers working on digital twin tools in telecommunications (see http://acernis.fr/) in building a SaaS platform. I supported them, first through a software audit, and then for several months by contributing to their codebase and improving their stack.

💡 In-depth tech audit, with key risks, improvement opportunities, and strategic recommendations to optimize software architecture.

⚙️ I had a free hand to make significant changes to the product architecture, notably leading to a performance improvement of the Web application (> x10 on the heaviest pages 🚀🚀🚀)

💼 Technical mentor for the team, sharing diverse advice and stimulating the personal and professional growth of the team's developers.

🎯 Guiding the technical strategy to ensure sustainable optimal performance.

👨‍💻 Leveraging my expertise in Django, Django Rest Framework, Python, and React

As a Craftsmanship expert, my mission was to promote and accelerate the application of software craftsmanship best practices across the Tech & Product department at D-EDGE. I specifically aimed to empower teams and spread the adoption of DevOps practices to help them achieve their goals more effectively, increase their impact, and improve their job satisfaction.

Achievements:

🤯 I conducted audits for 25 teams and organized over 10 retrospectives and agile workshops

📊 I developed a detailed report highlighting key areas for improvement both individually and across the entire Tech department

💬 I presented these findings to the entire Tech executive team, which were very well received

🆕 I launched initiatives to foster knowledge sharing among 250 staff members, such as reading clubs, unconferences, and internal meetups

Why was this crucial?

To remain competitive and outperform in the market, organizations must maintain a rapid pace. At the heart of this acceleration lies software (*). It is a fact that the highest-performing software engineering teams outperform their peers by an order of magnitude, and this astonishing performance is attributed to the adoption of the right methodologies (DevOps, CI/CD, agility, etc.). This challenge is particularly difficult in a hyper-growth environment.

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As the first Engineering Manager at D-EDGE, my role expanded to various high-importance projects over time.

Key achievements:

💪🏻 I orchestrated the operational aspects of merging an Accor department into D-EDGE (over 75 people), which involved understanding their full architecture and organization, acclimating them to a startup environment, ensuring their productivity remained intact, and maintaining production efficiency.

🐘 I successfully scaled the Nantes Tech office from a single person to a team of 30 between 2020 and 2022 – a difficult feat achieved during the COVID pandemic in the hospitality sector.

⚡ Our Nantes teams set the benchmark for velocity, thanks to our persistent efforts to refine our agile methodologies (I transitioned several teams to a Shape-Up-like approach).

📈 I grew a core team from 5 to 25 members in under six months.

🛠️ I designed and led workshops for over 25 participants.

My responsibilities were vast, with a particular focus on inter-team collaboration and process improvement within engineering and product teams. Key areas included:

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As a Co-organizer of D-EDGE Tech Meetups, we discuss technical and organizational aspects of scaling a tech startup.

Not only did I co-organize these meetups, but I also presented key topics:

Separation of view and "brains" in JS, using state machines and state charts (using XState)

Remote onboarding of developers

With over 20 successfully organized meetups, the shared knowledge and insights have benefited numerous tech professionals.

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As a Lead Developer, I orchestrated the operations of several teams and products, demonstrating my versatility and leadership.

My portfolio covered two distinct products:

While I was new to D-EDGE and my colleagues and I were adapting to the changes COVID brought to our personal and professional lives, I managed to quickly build my network within the company and take on numerous responsibilities.

These roles were in addition to my daily responsibilities as Lead Developer: