Marc-Daniel Ortega - Director of Engineering | Platform

Q: Where is Marc-Daniel based?

Marc-Daniel is based in La Fajolle, France .

Q: What languages does Marc-Daniel speak?

Marc-Daniel speaks the following languages: French (Native), English (Advanced), Spanish (Advanced) .

Q: How many years of experience does Marc-Daniel have?

Marc-Daniel has at least 25 years of experience. During this time, Marc-Daniel has worked in at least 6 different roles and for 7 different companies . The average length of individual experience is 4 years and 7 months . Note that Marc-Daniel may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.

Q: What is Marc-Daniel's latest experience?

Marc-Daniel's most recent position is Director of Engineering | Platform at Veriff .

Q: What companies has Marc-Daniel worked for in recent years?

In recent years, Marc-Daniel has worked for Veriff , ShipMonk , NewStore , and HelloFresh .

Q: Which industries is Marc-Daniel most experienced in?

Marc-Daniel is most experienced in industries like Information Technology , Banking and Finance , and Telecommunication . Marc-Daniel also has some experience in Automotive , Retail , and Food and Beverage .

Q: Which business areas is Marc-Daniel most experienced in?

Marc-Daniel is most experienced in business areas like Information Technology , Product Development , and Project Management . Marc-Daniel also has some experience in Operations , Quality Assurance , and Business Intelligence .

Q: Which industries has Marc-Daniel worked in recently?

Marc-Daniel has recently worked in industries like Information Technology , Retail , and Food and Beverage .

Q: Which business areas has Marc-Daniel worked in recently?

Marc-Daniel has recently worked in business areas like Information Technology , Operations , and Quality Assurance .

Recommended expert

La Fajolle, France

Experience

Jan 2025 - Present

1 year 3 months

Spain

Director of Engineering | Platform

Veriff

Mandated by the CPTO to restore engineering leverage and reset platform strategy across core platform capabilities.
Led the organisational and technical realignment of platform teams (~40 engineers), redefining ownership boundaries, developer experience foundations, and platform operating models.
Transitioned the organisation from infrastructure-centric execution to platform-as-a-product thinking, improving autonomy for product teams and reducing cross-team dependency.
Introduced a pragmatic platform maturity framework to close feedback loops, reduce organisational friction, and improve delivery predictability.
Partnered with executive leadership to embed long-term systems thinking and support sustainable product velocity.

Apr 2024 - Oct 2024

7 months

Czech Republic

Director of Engineering | Platform (Contract)

ShipMonk

Engaged on a strategic mandate to stabilise platform delivery during a period of operational pressure across fulfilment systems.
Streamlined operating models across four engineering teams (~25 engineers), reducing delivery toil by approximately 50% and restoring focus on high-value work.
Reintroduced DORA metrics and SLO-based alerting to rebuild operational discipline and improve delivery transparency during peak operational periods.
Recovered approximately 3% engineering capacity across a 70-engineer organisation through CI/CD improvements and platform simplification.
Reduced operational dependency on central SRE teams by enabling self-service platform capabilities for product teams.

Feb 2022 - Apr 2024

2 years 3 months

Germany

Director of Engineering | Platform

NewStore

Led the scaling and stabilisation of a global omnichannel SaaS platform supporting international retail operations.
Restructured five platform teams (~30 engineers), clarifying ownership, simplifying delivery models, and restoring predictable delivery.
Reduced infrastructure costs by 40% and transaction costs by 70%, significantly improving platform unit economics.
Rebuilt integration and extensibility foundations, accelerating systems integrator onboarding from months to weeks.
Expanded the platform across 10+ countries under complex fiscal and hardware regulations while maintaining annual SOC 2 compliance.

Nov 2020 - Feb 2022

1 year 4 months

Germany

Director of Engineering | Data

HelloFresh

Mandated to transform fragmented data teams into a coherent data platform enabling data-driven decision-making at scale.
Reorganised three data squads (~20 engineers) into a platform-oriented operating model enabling product teams to publish and consume trusted data products.
Delivered a PII-compliant Data Mesh ecosystem enabling multi-million-dollar operational and strategic decision-making.
Established self-service data platform capabilities improving developer experience for non-data engineering teams.
Introduced DORA metrics and SLO-based alerting across the data ecosystem to improve delivery reliability and incident response.

Jan 2020 - Aug 2020

8 months

Germany

Director of Engineering

Frontier Car Group (OLX)

Brought in during a post-merger phase to stabilise engineering execution and realign product and engineering teams.
Re-established effective agile operating models across three cross-functional teams (~30 engineers), restoring predictable delivery cadence.
Improved DORA metrics and reduced bottlenecks between engineering, product, and operational teams.
Accelerated integration of local teams following acquisition by OLX.

May 2016 - May 2018

2 years 1 month

Netherlands

Engineering Manager

De Persgroep Nederland

Led engineering teams responsible for the stability and evolution of Autotrack, a high-traffic automotive marketplace serving private buyers and dealers.
Built and scaled two cross-functional teams (~15 engineers), eliminating reliance on external consultants and strengthening internal engineering capability.
Reduced infrastructure costs by 50% while improving platform reliability from 95% to 99.5% SLA.
Led the migration to the next generation platform (v3.0) with zero downtime, ensuring uninterrupted service for a high-volume marketplace.
Established high-frequency delivery practices with lead time for change under one day and multiple deployments per day.
Contributed directly to business growth by improving returning customer rates by approximately 20%.

Oct 1998 - May 2016

17 years 8 months

France

Senior Software Engineer | Lead Engineer | CTO

Various organisations including Thales, BNP Paribas, Bouygues Telecom, Infovista, Irdeto and Eligotech

Built deep engineering and leadership foundations across enterprise software, telecom, and SaaS environments.
Worked with organisations including Thales, BNP Paribas, Bouygues Telecom, Infovista, Irdeto, and Eligotech, delivering complex distributed systems across regulated and large-scale production environments.
Led architecture, platform development, and delivery of mission-critical systems spanning telecommunications infrastructure, financial systems, and enterprise software platforms.
Co-founded and served as CTO of Coordialis, building an early SaaS platform providing AFNOR-normalised address and telephone data services for enterprise applications.
Developed early expertise in distributed systems, large-scale production environments, and cross-team engineering coordination that later informed leadership roles in global SaaS organisations.

Engineering Manager

Hudson’s Bay Company

Founded and delivered the Cart domain for a large retail commerce platform in under one quarter.
Built and led a high-performing engineering team delivering multiple platform domains with rapid release cycles.
Led the integration of Salesforce with legacy systems across five teams (~15 engineers), completing a complex cross-system migration in under nine months.

Industry Experience

See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time.

Experienced in Information Technology, Banking and Finance, Telecommunication, Automotive, Retail, and Food and Beverage.

Information Technology

Banking and Finance

Telecommunication

Automotive

Retail

Food and Beverage

Business Area Experience

See which departments and functions this freelancer has contributed to most.

Experienced in Information Technology, Product Development, Project Management, Operations, Quality Assurance, and Business Intelligence.

Information Technology

Product Development

Project Management

Operations

Quality Assurance

Business Intelligence

Summary

Executive technology leader specialising in platform strategy, organisational design, and large-scale engineering systems.

Over three decades of experience rebuilding delivery foundations in complex technology organisations across SaaS, marketplaces, data platforms, and regulated environments.

Known for restoring engineering leverage by aligning platform architecture, team topology, and business strategy.

Regularly engaged to stabilise delivery systems, reduce structural drag, and enable sustainable product velocity.

Author of The Leadership Chronicles series exploring systems thinking, engineering craftsmanship, and durable organisational excellence in modern technology organisations.

Selected Impact

Reduced infrastructure costs by up to 40% and transaction costs by 70% through platform modernisation.
Rebuilt platform organisations of up to 40 engineers to restore ownership clarity and delivery leverage.
Enabled international SaaS platform expansion across 10+ countries under complex regulatory constraints.
Restored delivery systems under operational pressure using DORA metrics, SLO-based alerting, and platform operating models.

Thought Leadership

Author – The Leadership Chronicles

An Evolution for a Revolution
Gears, Triggers and Systems
Foundations of Excellence

Published work explores systems thinking, engineering craftsmanship, and organisational design in modern technology companies.

Skills

Executive Technology Leader | Cto | Vp Engineering
Platform Strategy & Platform-as-a-product
Engineering Operating Models & Team Topologies
Systems Leadership & Organisational Design
Scaling Delivery Systems
Developer Experience & Platform Ecosystems
Cost, Reliability & Risk Management
Data Platforms & Distributed Systems
Executive Alignment & Technology Strategy

Languages

French

Native

English

Advanced

Spanish

Advanced

Education

Oct 1993 - Dec 1996

INSA Toulouse

PhD · Applied Physics · Toulouse, France

Oct 1988 - Jun 1993

INSA Toulouse

Engineer · Applied Physics · Toulouse, France

Statistics

Experience

Total positions 8

Experience in Information Technology 21.5 y

Avg length 3 y 2 m

Longest experience 17 y 7 m

Global Experience

Countries worked in 5 (Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, Netherlands, France)

Primary country Germany

Expertise

Recent roles Director of Engineering | Platform, Director of Engineering | Platform (Contract), Director of Engineering | Data

Main industries Information Technology, Banking and Finance, Telecommunication

Main business areas Information Technology, Product Development, Project Management

Qualifications

Highest degree Doctorate

Profile

Created

March 2026

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Frequently asked questions

Do you have questions? Here you can find further information.

Where is Marc-Daniel based?

Marc-Daniel is based in La Fajolle, France.

What languages does Marc-Daniel speak?

Marc-Daniel speaks the following languages: French (Native), English (Advanced), Spanish (Advanced).

How many years of experience does Marc-Daniel have?

Marc-Daniel has at least 25 years of experience. During this time, Marc-Daniel has worked in at least 6 different roles and for 7 different companies. The average length of individual experience is 4 years and 7 months. Note that Marc-Daniel may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.

What roles would Marc-Daniel be best suited for?

Based on recent experience, Marc-Daniel would be well-suited for roles such as: Director of Engineering | Platform, Director of Engineering | Platform (Contract), Director of Engineering | Data.

What is Marc-Daniel's latest experience?

Marc-Daniel's most recent position is Director of Engineering | Platform at Veriff.

What companies has Marc-Daniel worked for in recent years?

In recent years, Marc-Daniel has worked for Veriff, ShipMonk, NewStore, and HelloFresh.

Which industries is Marc-Daniel most experienced in?

Marc-Daniel is most experienced in industries like Information Technology, Banking and Finance, and Telecommunication. Marc-Daniel also has some experience in Automotive, Retail, and Food and Beverage.

Which business areas is Marc-Daniel most experienced in?

Marc-Daniel is most experienced in business areas like Information Technology, Product Development, and Project Management. Marc-Daniel also has some experience in Operations, Quality Assurance, and Business Intelligence.

Which industries has Marc-Daniel worked in recently?

Marc-Daniel has recently worked in industries like Information Technology, Retail, and Food and Beverage.

Which business areas has Marc-Daniel worked in recently?

Marc-Daniel has recently worked in business areas like Information Technology, Operations, and Quality Assurance.

What is Marc-Daniel's education?

Marc-Daniel holds a Doctorate in Applied Physics from INSA Toulouse and a Master in Applied Physics from INSA Toulouse.

What is the availability of Marc-Daniel?

Marc-Daniel is immediately available full-time for suitable projects.

What is the rate of Marc-Daniel?

Marc-Daniel's rate depends on the specific project requirements. Please use the Meet button on the profile to schedule a meeting and discuss the details.