# Zoe Nolan (@zoenolan.me)

Profile: https://sifa.id/p/zoenolan.me
Headline: Senior Technical Leader | Trusted Infrastructure for High-Stakes Systems

## About

Senior technical leader and systems engineer with 28 years of experience spanning GPU architecture, real-time video systems, large-scale distributed platforms, institutional blockchain infrastructure, and climate analytics. Hands-on engineering depth, down to the silicon level. Combined with executive-level ownership as Head of Engineering and CTO in regulated financial environments.

Proven across high-scale consumer platforms (Skype, 500M+ daily users), tier-one bank and central bank infrastructure, regulated DeFi, and AI-enabled product development. A pragmatic builder who moves between strategy and implementation, de-risks complex technical bets, and builds teams that execute in ambiguous, high-stakes settings.

## Career

- **Senior Blockchain Engineer at Fnality** (Feb 2026 - Present)
  Remote
  Working on the Fnality payments system, leveraging my work at Clearmatics on Utility Settlement Coin.
- **Senior Consultant at CGI** (Jan 2024 - Feb 2026)
  Nottingham, England, GB · Hybrid
  Joined BJSS; acquired by CGI in 2025.
  
  • Provided technical and leadership mentorship to the client's newly appointed tech lead, accelerating their effectiveness
  • Hands-on React and TypeScript development within a UK government codebase
  • Delivered the complete migration of a high-scale gaming platform from .NET to Go microservices with zero downtime, serving 20M daily users
- **CTO at Zien** (Nov 2026 - Nov 2023)
  Hybrid
  Technology executive for a hybrid physical/digital art and blockchain platform.
  
  Key Achievements
  \- Built an NFT platform whose work was later acquired by the Centre Pompidou for its permanent collection
  \- Owned technology strategy, architectural decisions, security posture, product roadmap and vendor relationships
  \- Established the engineering organisation from scratch — hiring, defining culture, and implementing delivery processes
  \- Delivered a production platform with >99.9% uptime across blockchain, AI, and frontend systems
  \- Designed and built a conversational AI interface as the primary user interaction model
  \- Led engineering across blockchain, cloud infrastructure, and full-stack product development
- **Head of Engineering at Swarm** (Jul 2021 - Oct 2021)
  Remote
  Engineering lead for the first BaFin-regulated decentralised finance platform.
  
  Key Achievements
  \- Launched the world's first BaFin-regulated DeFi/AMM platform, managing $100M+ in assets
  \- Led a distributed team of 18 engineers across 7 countries, improving alignment and delivery cadence with a focus on KYC and AML
  \- Architected cross-chain paths, oracle flows, and the migration to Polygon L2
- **Founding Engineer at Zien** (Jun 2018 - Oct 2021)
  Hybrid
  Bootstrapped Zien from whiteboard concept to investor-ready prototypes while working full-time in senior engineering roles.
  
  Key Achievements
  \- Designed and built the core backend architecture, APIs and early prototypes.
  \- Established the initial infrastructure, CI/CD pipelines and development workflows.
  \- Produced technical artefacts and prototypes used in seed fundraising and due diligence.
  \- Built the foundations that enabled a smooth transition into the CTO role post-funding.
- **Senior Software Engineer at Global Parametrics** (Aug 2020 - Jun 2021)
  London, England, GB · Hybrid
  Developer for climate analytics and Ethereum-based parametric insurance systems.
  
  Key Achievements
  \- Built climate analytics pipelines processing 89T+ data points for actuarial modelling
  \- Developed an on-chain oracle integrating real-world climate event data into Solidity smart contracts
  \- Created serverless APIs for pricing and risk models (Python, Postgres, BigQuery, GCP)
  \- Delivered CI/CD automation across the product portfolio, standardising engineering practice
- **Head of Engineering at Cleamratics** (Apr 2016 - Jul 2020)
  London, England, GB · On-site
  Led engineering for institutional blockchain settlement systems.
  
  Key Achievements
  \- Led technical due diligence for a $12M Series A, presenting architecture to institutional investors
  \- Architected blockchain settlement systems for tier 1 banks, including UBS, HSBC, Barclays, Santander, and Deutsche Bank, supporting $1T+ in potential settlement volume for Utility Settlement Coin/Fnality consortium
  \- Worked with the Bank of England, the Federal Reserve, and the ECB on regulatory alignment
  \- Scaled engineering from 4 to 22 across 5 time zones with 90%+ retention
  \- Created the company-wide progression framework, improving retention by 25%
  \- Delivered EVM extensions, tokenised assets, and interoperability protocols for the USC consortium
- **Software Engineer 2 at Skype** (Jan 2013 - Mar 2016)
  London, England, GB · Hybrid
  Core engineering for global real-time messaging and video systems.
  
  Key Achievements
  \- Scaled the real-time messaging platform to 500M daily active users with 99.9% uptime
  \- Delivered a C++ video encoder/decoder to 100M+ Android users
  \- Built the chatbot infrastructure enabling automated two-way communication across Skype
  \- Served as Scrum Master for an 8-person distributed team; mentored a graduate engineer to mid-level
- **Graphics Software Engineer at Intel** (Aug 2003 - Jan 2013)
  Bristol, England, GB · On-site
  Software engineer across GPU architecture, video compression, and driver development through multiple acquisitions (3Dlabs to ZiiLABS to Intel). 
  
  Key Achievements
  \- Developed a real-time H.264 encoder using GPU microcode for ZiiLABS media processors
  \- Built a machine-learning-based rate control algorithm for video quality optimisation
  \- Implemented hierarchical motion estimation in GPU microcode
  \- high-performance bitstream encoding for ARM platforms
  \- Developed analysis and testing tools (Perl, Ruby, C++) for GPU microcode R&D
  \- Delivered Windows kernel-mode GPU drivers achieving full WHQL certification
  \- Ported DirectX, OpenGL, and 2D drivers to Windows 64-bit
  \- Contributed to GPU architecture planning and media processor product strategy
- **Software Engineer at Pivotal Games** (Feb 2002 - Aug 2003)
  Bath, England, GB · On-site
  Gameplay and engine programmer for The Great Escape (PS2, Xbox, PC).
  
  Key Achievements
  \- Served as lead PlayStation 2 engineer for a AAA title
  \- Owned bug triage and internal processes, administering the Bugzilla system
  \- Developed gameplay features in C++, collaborating closely with designers and producers
  \- Enhanced internal cross-platform game engine (C++ & microcode)
- **Architecture Engineer at STMicroelectronics** (Jun 2000 - Feb 2002)
  Bristol, England, GB
  GPU architect and technical lead for media codec development.
  
  Key Achievements
  \- Formed and led the ST200 VLIW codec team, managing junior engineers and interns.
  \- Built prototype MP3 and JPEG decoders for the ST200 architecture.
  \- GPU architecture design with a focus on shader processors and modelling.
  \- Developed a behavioural GPU model in C++ for architecture validation.
- **Programmer at Aqua Pacific** (Oct 1997 - Jun 2000)
  On-site
  Gameplay, tools, and engine developer across PC and PlayStation.
  
  Key Achievements
  \- Built a stack-based virtual machine for point-and-click adventure games
  \- Developed scene graph, collision detection, and an arcade flight model in C++
  \- Maintained version control (SourceSafe) and email server infrastructure
- **Web Author at Headland** (Aug 1996 - Sep 1996)
  Nottingham, England, GB · On-site
  Early web development role.
  
  Key Achievements
  \- Designed and maintained client websites using early-generation web tooling
  \- Provided content updates and early UX improvements

## Skills

### Technical
- C#
- C++
- CSS
- Git
- Go
- HTML
- Java
- JavaScript
- Perl
- Python
- React
- Ruby
- Solidity
- TypeScript
### Other
- microcode

## Education

- **University of Hull** — MSc, Computer Graphics and Virtual Environments   (Sep 1996 - Aug 1997)
- **University of Hull** — BSc, Software Engineering (Sep 1993 - Jul 1996)

## Languages

- English (native)

## Links

- GitHub: https://github.com/zoenolan
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoenolan/
- Blog: https://www.wordsaboutbytes.blog/
- Fediverse: https://mastodon.social/@zoenolan
- hackernews: https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=zoenolan
- orcid: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9888-9276