Available for leadership roles & interim engagements
Alex Lakatos
Fractional CTO | Engineering Leadership | AI Consultancy
15+ years of engineering leadership with hands-on experience in AI, cloud architecture, and scalable product development.
About
I've built and led engineering organizations from the ground up, scaling teams to 60+ engineers globally. I've defined long-term technology strategies, modernized legacy systems, and driven open-source adoption in fintech, payments, and developer tools.
Over the course of my career, I’ve spearheaded the evolution of open protocols and developer ecosystems, positioning them as industry leaders in interoperable systems. I’ve built Developer Relations from the ground up, enhancing onboarding, documentation, and API usability to drive adoption. Additionally, I’ve led global developer advocacy initiatives, defining regional strategies to expand technical reach and impact.
Today, I work with founders and companies on fractional or project-based engagements, combining strategic leadership with hands-on execution. Whether it’s a 2-day-a-week advisory role, a 3-month interim CTO mandate, or a long-term leadership position, my approach is the same: understand the business, build the right structure, and ship with discipline.
Technology Strategy
Aligns business goals with scalable, future-proof technical roadmaps and architecture.
Engineering Leadership
Builds and scales high-performing engineering teams with clear ownership and accountability.
AI & Cloud Architecture
Designs and deploys AI-driven, cloud-native solutions for efficiency, scalability, and innovation.
Product Development
Turns ideas into production-ready products with a focus on user needs and market fit.
Developer Experience
Optimizes tools, workflows, and documentation to empower engineering teams.
Startup Scaling
Guides startups through technical growth, fundraising, and operational scaling.
Experience
Interledger Foundation
Chief Technology Officer · July 2021 – Present
Lead the technology strategy for the Interledger Foundation, overseeing engineering, open-source infrastructure, developer ecosystem, security, and technical direction for the Interledger Protocol, Open Payments and Web Monetization.
- Defined and executed the Foundation's long-term technology strategy across multiple engineering teams.
- Led the evolution of the Interledger ecosystem, including Rafiki, Open Payments and supporting developer tooling.
- Grew and mentored a globally distributed engineering organization from 0 to 60 engineers.
- Built technical partnerships with payment providers, central banks, NGOs and financial institutions.
- Represented the Foundation internationally through conferences, standards discussions and technical leadership.
- Helped position Interledger as a leading open protocol for interoperable digital payments.
Fidel
Developer Relations Manager · June 2020 – July 2021
Built and led Fidel's Developer Relations function, bridging engineering, product and the developer community.
- Established the company's Developer Relations strategy from the ground up.
- Improved developer onboarding, documentation and API usability.
- Created a continuous feedback loop between developers and product teams.
- Increased awareness through technical content, talks and community engagement.
- Partnered with engineering leadership to improve the overall developer experience.
Nexmo
JavaScript Developer Advocate · May 2017 – June 2020
Served as technical lead for developer advocacy initiatives while helping shape product direction for communication APIs used by developers worldwide.
- Led advocacy efforts for the Conversation API and Client SDKs.
- Maintained the official Node.js SDK and CLI used by thousands of developers.
- Relocated to Singapore to define the 2020 APAC Developer Relations strategy.
- Hired and mentored Developer Advocates across multiple regions.
- Delivered presentations and workshops at international conferences and community events.
- Built relationships with developer communities, increasing product adoption and gathering strategic product feedback.
Contracting
Senior Front End Developer · July 2016 – May 2017
Provided architecture and front-end engineering consulting for early-stage startups.
- Designed greenfield React applications and reusable component libraries.
- Helped teams establish modern front-end architecture and development workflows.
Early Career
Front End Engineering, Technical Leadership & QA · 2010 – 2016
Built a foundation in front-end engineering, software architecture, technical leadership and open-source quality engineering across startups, enterprise software and Mozilla.
- Ovo Energy — Front End Developer, 2015–2016. Modernized customer-facing applications using AngularJS and Aurelia, built reusable UI components, and delivered broadband and customer onboarding platforms.
- Xoomworks Romania — Technical Lead, Web & QA, 2014. Led Web Engineering and QA, established the company's QA practice and training academy, and defined engineering processes and technical standards.
- EBS Romania — JavaScript Consultant, 2013–2014. Led front-end architecture for enterprise healthcare and financial applications, introduced AngularJS practices, and established JavaScript and performance guidelines.
- Softvision / Mozilla — Test Developer, 2010–2013. Worked with the Mozilla Foundation on Firefox quality engineering, developing JavaScript-based automation and contributing to open-source testing infrastructure.
Get in touch
If you’re thinking about your next stage of growth, let’s talk.
I work with organizations through permanent leadership roles, fractional engagements, and interim CTO positions. We can start with a conversation and see where it leads.