Dermot Dooley
I'm a Senior Engineering Manager based in Dublin.
For the past 15+ years I've been building software teams that are genuinely
good to work in, and that consistently deliver.
I care deeply about the people I lead, and I've found that when you get
that right, the engineering tends to follow.
• I've spent the last 13 years at CarTrawler, growing from a front-end developer into a Senior Engineering Manager, and along the way, managing the entire engineering department as Interim Director of Engineering.
• What I love most about this work is the people side of it. I manage managers, lead multiple teams, and spend a lot of my energy making sure engineers feel supported, challenged, and set up to do their best work. I genuinely believe that happy, motivated teams build better products, and that's been the thread running through everything I've done.
• Day to day, that means helping teams plan and align their roadmaps to company strategy, removing the blockers that slow people down, and making sure what we build actually moves the needle for the business. I've been lucky enough to do that at scale, across multiple teams and disciplines.
• I started my career writing code, which I think makes me a better leader — I understand what engineers need, what frustrates them, and what good looks like. That technical foundation, combined with a genuine love of developing people, is what I bring to every role.
— At CarTrawler, I have operated at the forefront of technology leadership — holding roles such as Senior Engineering Manager and Interim Director of Engineering 🚀 — where the mandate was never just to manage, but to architect the future. In these capacities, I have been responsible for shaping organisational design, scaling high-performing teams, and delivering strategic initiatives that align technical innovation with business objectives. My leadership has focused on building resilient engineering structures, embedding scalable practices, and ensuring that technological advancement directly accelerates company growth and market competitiveness 📈 — because "move fast and break things" was never really the brief.
— I am deeply committed to cultivating strong cross-functional collaboration, mentoring the next generation of leaders 🌱, and fostering environments where teams are empowered to excel — not just survive the sprint. My approach blends strategic vision with hands-on execution — ensuring that engineering strategy, organisational growth, and technology delivery are always tightly integrated — because a strategy that lives only in a slide deck isn't really a strategy. Over the course of my career, I have consistently delivered technology solutions that not only solve complex problems but also unlock new opportunities for business success 🔓 — though occasionally the most complex problem was the meeting that could have been an email.
🏢 Experience
A little more about my work experience history.
🎓 Education
A little more about my education background.
Get in touch
Feel free to reach out if you'd like to know more or explore working together.
More about me
When I'm not managing engineering teams, I'm usually spending time with my wife and 2 boys. While I do attempt to play golf I also try to squeeze in a motorcycle trip to Europe each summer.