Tom Counsell
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Tom Counsell

Engineering Leader | AI & Systems Architect | CTO

tomcounsell.com

linkedin.com/in/tomcounsell

github.com/tomcounsell

Available for consulting & leadership roles

Tom Counsell

Tom Counsell

Engineering Leader | AI & Systems Architect

LinkedIn GitHub Website

Professional Summary

Engineering leader with 15+ years building teams that ship and products that users love.
Currently serving as CTO at two AI-focused startups, Tom has been pioneering MCP server patterns for multi-agent marketing intelligence while simultaneously architecting psychological assessments that serve elite sports organizations including NBA teams and U.S. Special Operations.
Tom's decade of experience as CTO spans fintech, AI, and travel tech, raising $3.5M+ in funding, completing three successful exits, and repeatedly delivering systems that serve millions of users. At Official App, Tom directed IT through the acquisition then rebuild the engineering team inside Bumble Studio in six months without missing a sprint in the process. He excels at hiring exceptional teams, making decisive technical and strategic calls, and consistently shipping products that users love.

Core Competencies

Technical Leadership

Team Building, Agile/Scrum, Technical Architecture, Hiring & Mentorship, Strategic Planning

Backend & Data

Python, Django, Redis, ETL Pipelines, PostgreSQL, Real-time Systems, Blockchain, Web3

AI & Machine Learning

LLMs (Claude, GPT-4, Gemini), Model Context Protocol (MCP), PydanticAI, Agent Orchestration, Prompt Engineering, Multi-Provider Orchestration

Cloud & DevOps

AWS, Scaling Infrastructure, Microservices, API Design, React Native, Dart/Flutter

Professional Experience

CTO

PsyOptimal

psyoptimal.com

2024 - Present

  • Built AI-ready sports psychology platform from ground up, digitizing 25+ years of elite methodologies used by NBA teams and U.S. Special Operations
  • Architected normative analytics pipeline enabling coaches to benchmark athlete psychological profiles across team, league, and sport-wide data
  • Shipped bilingual platform (English/Spanish) serving 5 market verticals with full GDPR/CCPA compliance
  • Designed scalable assessment engine processing multi-dimensional psychological evaluations with real-time scoring
Python Django PostgreSQL AWS HealthTech

CTO

Fuse

fuse.is

2024 - 2026

  • Architected multi-agent AI platform using Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, enabling dynamic tool generation for Google Analytics, Google Ads, and Meta APIs
  • Built MCP server pattern months before Anthropic's industry standardization, positioning platform as early adopter
  • Engineered "zero hallucination" guarantee through verified data pipelines, eliminating AI-generated inaccuracies
  • Developed PromptTemplate system achieving 40% token reduction, reducing API costs and improving response times
  • Led engineering team from 0 to production MVP in 6 months with enterprise-ready multi-tenant architecture
PydanticAI MCP Claude GPT-4 Next.js Redis

Head of Engineering

Bumble Inc / Official

getofficial.co

2022 - 2023

  • Led complete technical transformation, rebuilding entire 8-person dev team in 6 months while maintaining sprint velocity
  • Integrated data pipelines reducing BI report latency by 75%, enabling real-time business intelligence
  • Managed technical handover of React Native app serving 100K+ MAU to Bumble Inc's engineering org
  • Aligned engineering practices with NASDAQ-listed parent company (Bumble Inc) standards and compliance requirements
  • Implemented Scrum methodology with zero missed sprint commitments during team transition period
React Native Data Pipelines Team Leadership Scrum

Cache Architect

SIMPLENIGHT

simplenight.com

2021 - 2024

  • Designed custom Redis-based caching system for 700K+ hotels worldwide, handling real-time inventory updates
  • Engineered real-time ETL processing handling 70GB/min of rates and availability data from multiple GDS providers
  • Reduced API response times by 85%, enabling sub-100ms booking flows for improved conversion rates
  • Implemented geospatial indexing for location-based hotel search across global inventory
Redis ETL Systems Geospatial Scaling

CTO

Intelligent Trading Foundation

intelligenttrading.org

2017 - 2020

  • Built ML-powered trading signals platform serving 50K+ crypto traders with real-time market analysis
  • Led open-source contributions attracting 100+ GitHub contributors and 2K+ stars across multiple repositories
  • Developed portfolio tracking and auto-rebalancing systems managing $10M+ in digital assets
  • Implemented machine learning models for price prediction and sentiment analysis across 200+ cryptocurrencies
Machine Learning Blockchain Python Open Source

Executive Director

Blockchain Hub Prague

bhubprague.com

2017 - 2019

  • Founded and led blockchain startup incubator supporting 20+ early-stage companies
  • Member startups collectively raised $6M+ in seed funding through ICOs and traditional VC
  • Built partnerships with local accelerator programs and university entrepreneurship centers
  • Organized 100+ weekly education events with volunteer advisors from established blockchain projects
Incubator Mentorship Fundraising Blockchain

Senior Engineering Team Lead

Agoda (Booking Holdings)

agoda.com

2016

  • Pitched and led greenfield product initiative for non-hotel accommodations to compete with Airbnb
  • Secured C-level executive buy-in and built dedicated 12-person department within 4 months
  • Architected product features that scaled to serve 40M+ MAU across 39 languages
  • Delivered inventory management system processing 100K+ property listings across Southeast Asia
Product Architecture API Design Scaling Leadership

Cofounder & Technical Director

Anou

theanou.com

2012 - 2015

  • Co-founded and scaled Morocco's largest artisan e-commerce platform to $1M+ annual revenue
  • Pioneered language-free mobile commerce UX enabling 200+ illiterate artisans to manage inventory and sales
  • Created economic impact funding 3 primary schools, healthcare programs, and 1,000+ jobs in rural communities
  • Built Python/Django platform connecting Moroccan artisans directly to international buyers, eliminating middlemen
  • Served as US Peace Corps volunteer during founding phase
E-commerce Python Django HCI Research Social Impact

Additional Roles

Strategic Advisor @ Chainstarters

May 2018 - Present | Asset tokenization platform, technical whitepaper author

Owner @ Yudame

Mar 2019 - Present | Mission-driven software consultancy

Open Source & Research

AI Projects

Open source AI experiments, agent frameworks, and tooling

github.com/tomcounsell/ai

Research

Technical research and deep-dives through Yudame

research.yuda.me

AI Lab

AI applications and experiments in production

ai.yuda.me

Education

Purdue University

B.S. Computer Science, 2009

Highlights

  • AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Singapore 2015
  • EOS Global Hackathon Finalist, Hong Kong 2018
  • Featured in World Development Report 2016, World Bank
  • Featured in Fast Company, 2015
  • US Peace Corps, Morocco, 2012-14
"Tom cares. He's a force multiplier that makes everyone around him better... the best engineer I've had the privilege of working with."
— Zac Stern, Bumble Inc
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© 2025 Tom Counsell