Adam Harper

Engineering Leadership · Scalable Organisations · Applied AI Delivery

Engineering leader with 20+ years’ progression from developer to Head of Engineering, delivering at scale across SaaS, PaaS, ML, and AI/LLM systems.

I build organisations that scale through clarity, autonomy, and predictable delivery—aligning engineering with business outcomes and enabling teams to operate confidently without top‑down control.

Core Leadership Strengths

Designing High‑Performance Engineering Organisations

Shaping engineering organisations that scale fast, stay focused, and deliver at a high level.

Operationalising Strategy Into Predictable Delivery

Turning ambitious strategy into a disciplined delivery engine with clear metrics and relentless execution.

Scaling Applied AI From Prototype to Production

Developing AI/ML ideas from whiteboard to production—quickly, safely, and with real business impact.

Architecting Platforms for Velocity, Reliability & Efficiency

Driving platform evolution that removes friction and enables fast, reliable engineering execution.

Building Enterprise‑Grade Security, Governance & Trust

Establishing governance frameworks that support enterprise growth without slowing innovation.

Creating Clarity, Culture & High‑Trust Ways of Working

Leading cultures where clarity fuels autonomy, documentation drives alignment, and teams operate at their best.

Selected Achievements

Shipped ML Auto‑Marking in 3 Months

Delivered a production‑ready ML marking engine in 90 days, enabling real‑time marking and unlocking an 80% cost‑reduction opportunity.

Cut ML Onboarding From 6 Months to 2 Weeks

Re‑engineered an ML assessment platform into a dynamic workflow engine, scaling adoption 10× and slashing customer onboarding times.

Launched a New Product Driving 25–50% New MRR

Shipped a revenue‑generating SaaS product in 3 months while maintaining cadence—moving the business from “feature factory” to product‑led.

Cut Platform Costs by 70%

Modernised DevOps and platform foundations, reducing operational spend by 70% and boosting lead time performance by 40%.

Lifted Deployment Frequency by 30%

Introduced DORA metrics, clarified ownership boundaries, and enabled high‑frequency, low‑risk releases across all teams.

Evolved a flat engineering group into a scalable organisation

Built a management layer, developed new leaders, and onboarded three new teams into a clear operating structure.

Achieved Cyber Essentials + ISO 27001 Readiness

Delivered Cyber Essentials in 3 months and led ISO 27001 certification—clearing the path for enterprise contracts.

Led Technical Due Diligence for Acquisition

Owned engineering workstreams and produced all technical materials to support a successful acquisition by a GV‑backed company.

Open to Senior Leadership Opportunities

I’m exploring opportunities at Head of, Senior Director, or VP level where I can scale engineering organisations, mature delivery practices, and drive meaningful impact across SaaS, platform, and applied ML environments.