Tom Counsell

Engineering Leader | AI & Systems Architect

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