04_Dan_Cochran_Engineering_Leadership_Resume

DANIEL T. COCHRAN
Engineering Leader — Organization Scaling, AI-Assisted Development, Platform Strategy
[email protected] | 647-294-8104 | Toronto, ON, Canada
SUMMARY
20+ years of software engineering experience, the last 4+ years leading cross-functional engineering organizations of up to 17 people spanning ML, Data Science, Data Engineering, QA, and Infrastructure.
Grew AI-assisted development tool adoption from 25% to 86% daily active usage by evaluating and rolling out GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, and Windsurf across the engineering organization.
Migrated production OpenAI systems to Azure OpenAI, improving compliance posture, reliability, and enterprise-grade security for AI-powered features.
Owned SOC 2 audit outcomes for the engineering group, coordinating cross-functional efforts to maintain and strengthen the organization's security posture.
Reduced Datadog monitoring costs by approximately 40% through quarterly cost audits and a shift from on-demand to plan-based pricing.
Led the decomposition of a legacy monolith into a scalable, service-oriented architecture, increasing deployment independence across mission teams.
CORE COMPETENCIES
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Senior Manager, Software Development	Jan 2022 – Mar 2026
Loopio Inc. | Toronto, ON
Led the decomposition of a legacy monolith into a scalable, service-oriented infrastructure architecture, increasing deployment independence across mission teams.
Championed AI-assisted development workflows org-wide, evaluating and introducing GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, and Windsurf; grew daily active usage from 25% to 86%.
Managed the migration of production OpenAI systems to Azure OpenAI, improving compliance posture, reliability, and enterprise-grade security for AI-powered features.
Oversaw SOC 2 audits for the engineering group, coordinating cross-functional efforts to maintain compliance and strengthen the organization's security posture.
Expanded scope to lead ML, Data Science, Data Engineering, QA, and Infrastructure teams (11-17 engineers) spanning platform reliability, cost efficiency, security posture, and AI integration strategy.
Reduced Datadog monitoring costs by approximately 40% by transitioning from on-demand to plan-based pricing through quarterly audits.
Built and scaled a DevOps team focused on deployment automation, reducing manual release overhead and improving pipeline reliability across the engineering org.
Partnered with senior Engineering, Product, and Design leadership on roadmap planning, headcount decisions, and budget initiatives.
Software Development Manager	Nov 2019 – Jan 2022
Loopio Inc. | Toronto, ON
Led QA Automation, Search, and CRM teams across three concurrent product areas, growing the QA team from 1 to 6 engineers across North America and India.
Led multiple R&D cycles applying ML techniques to improve search accuracy and spearheaded the extraction of search functionality into a standalone service.
Institutionalized sprint retrospectives, structured story kickoffs, and post-delivery reviews, embedding continuous improvement into team rituals.
Introduced velocity tracking, technical acceptance criteria, and Alpha/Beta release stages, later adopted as departmental standards across all mission teams.
Manager, Business Software Development	Oct 2017 – Nov 2019
a4Media Inc. | Toronto, ON
Managed 14 people across 3 offices in Canada and the US, delivering the latest version of a multi-screen advertising platform for top-10 US telecom clients.
Directed delivery of the platform's backend services managing targeting data, with third-party integrations including AppNexus and the Engage TV planning platform.
ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE
Senior Full Stack Developer | Audience Partners Inc., Toronto (2015–2017) — led a new development team building a next-generation digital advertising platform; product success contributed to acquisition by Altice USA
Lead Developer | Percy3D Media, Toronto (2011–2015) — took a rendering farm from prototype to a stable, scalable platform with a client API
Lead Developer | Stagename Inc., Toronto (2008–2011) — built an expandable platform integrating with Facebook, WAP, Web, and iPhone applications
Senior Developer | Fiver Media (formerly Riptown Media), Toronto (2007–2008) — front and back end development for Bodog's fantasy sports properties
Lead Developer | Tucows.com, Toronto (2002–2007) — built and led an internal tools team, including an RSS aggregation system and multiple reporting applications
EDUCATION
BCS, Computer Science, University of New Brunswick
May 2001
TECHNICAL SKILLS
Python (Django, Flask, CherryPy), JavaScript (Angular, React, jQuery), PostgreSQL, MySQL, ORM (SQLAlchemy, Django ORM), CSS (Sass), Vagrant, Ubuntu, RedHat, Unit Testing, Regression Testing, E2E Testing, Azure OpenAI, GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Windsurf, Datadog
BUSINESS ANALYSIS & METHODS
Hiring, Mentoring & Team Development, AI-Assisted Development Strategy, Agile Leadership, Agile Development Methodologies, SDLC, OKRs, Product Roadmap Planning, Process Management, Platform & Infrastructure Strategy, Cross-Functional Stakeholder Management, Organizational Design, Budget & Cost Optimization, Compliance & Security Oversight, SOC 2