Oana Ciherean

• Managed a cross-functional team of UI/UX designers, engineers (front-end, back-end, AI, data), DevOps, and QA specialists applying Agile Scrum and Design Thinking to deliver an AI-powered MVP.
• Launched a chat-based web platform for indexing and navigating complex construction project knowledge bases.
• Evaluated multiple AI implementation options and advised on architecture and tech stack aligned with the client’s long-term goals.
• Defined product roadmap and backlog to ensure business-aligned development of AI use cases.
• Designed scalable RAG workflows integrating OpenAI Assistants API and enterprise document systems (SharePoint, Databricks).
• Planned and led API integrations across internal systems, platform components, and 3rd-party AI services (OpenAI, Azure AI Studio).
• Designed manual and automated test strategy for unit, integration, API, and performance, stress, and load testing.
• Scoped team capacity and led technical interviews for staff engineering and AI roles.

Tech: Next.js, Node.js, Python, FastAPI, Postgres, Azure Cloud, Azure AI Studio, Azure Cognitive Services, Langchain, Databricks, OpenAI Assistants API, Pinecone, and Azure Entra ID.

• Directed an Agile team across AI engineering, front- and back-end development, DevOps, and QA to deliver AI agent-based automations.
• Released MVP aligned with stakeholder priorities and operational needs, enabling non-technical users to interact with agents for daily HR and marketing operations.
• Architected scalable AI agent workflows leveraging OpenAI Assistants API, function calling, and n8n.
• Integrated agents with internal systems (Workday, SharePoint) and n8n for automation.
• Designed validation strategies, including unit, integration, and user acceptance testing for agent reliability.
• Recruited key engineering roles through technical screenings and scoped team expansion to meet project demands.

Tech: Next.js, Node.js, Python, FastAPI, Postgres, OpenAI Assistants API, n8n, Pipedream

• Guided the CEO in refining the product vision for an AI- and gaming-based language learning platform targeting pre-K and K students.
• Defined a multi-release product roadmap, starting with an MVP, to help the company focus amidst conflicting priorities.
• Managed engineering team and instructional designers to implement the MVP and subsequent releases.
• Reviewed, documented, and improved the technical architecture to support future scalability and product evolution.
• Audited engineering processes, standardized a custom Agile approach, and coached the team.
• Contributed to the design of a spaced repetition algorithm to support language acquisition goals.
• Built a team staffing plan aligned with business priorities and worked with recruitment to screen candidates.
• Synchronized dependencies across two other teams.

Tech: React, Node.js, TypeScript, GraphQL, Neo4j, AWS La
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I conceptualized and developed an AI-powered coding tutor designed to revolutionize learning.

My role was holistic, starting with market research to ensure product-market fit. I crafted the product design, focusing on intuitive UI/UX, resulting in wireframes, mockups, and user journeys that embody clarity and engagement.

As the project’s architect, I drafted the scope, devised strategic roadmaps for both immediate and long-term goals, and distilled the project backlog into actionable user stories. My technical background shone as I documented requirements and engineered a robust system design encompassing a relational database, integrated APIs (including OpenAI’s GPT-4), and a web platform. The AI algorithm, my proprietary design, combines generative data from GPT-4 with a curated learning path, creating personalized educational experiences.

My hands-on development approach, coupled with thorough alpha and beta testing involving real users, ensured a user-centric product ready for market introduction.

I developed a personal productivity tool that uses voice input and GenAI to streamline daily email management. The agent reads emails aloud, summarizes key points, and generates suggested replies using LLMs and voice-to-text processing. Built as a lightweight prototype for solo use, the tool integrates with Gmail and OpenAI APIs, offering hands-free interaction for improved focus and faster task handling.

• Created end-to-end complex ecosystem of seven mobile and web apps and 10+ back-end systems for fiber and wireless services, automating the full customer lifecycle—from self-service to CRM, billing, accounting, and network policy integration.
• Led seven remote cross-functional teams (50+ people), including PMs, designers, developers, QA, and DevOps, across the full SDLC.
• Standardized hybrid agile portfolio delivery processes using SAFe, Scrum of Scrums, and PI Planning, enabling recovery of a 3-month delay and accelerating the release frequency to monthly.
• Designed business process automations along the customer journey to improve conversion and retention for sales and marketing support.
• Architected ETL pipelines for data migration from various sources (APIs, XML, and CSV).
• Standardized documentation of user requirements, system design, and release notes.
• Designed manual and automated test strategy across system components.
• Built and managed a staffing plan and an integrated program timeline across multiple project streams.
• Standardized technical documentation practices for system design and backlog tracking at the department level.

Tech: .NET Framework, C#, Angular, Creatio CRM, SAP BRIM, WordPress, Ad providers

• Achieved leadership growth through new career paths and performance rubrics for design, engineering, testing, DevOps, support, and project management for individual contributors and people managers.
• Facilitated transition by creating an iterative change management plan and advised on the implementation.
• Designed a custom performance management strategy to foster cultural change in engineering.

• Architected an enterprise web platform solution used in 40 countries, reducing infrastructure and maintenance costs by 5x.
• Designed a multi-tenant search engine schema, business rule engine, and API endpoints based on legacy data and new functionalities and use cases.
• Coordinated a cross-functional team of engineers, testers, UI/UX designers, and 3rd level support engineers across all delivery stages.
• Designed ETL components for data retrieval and migration for internal APIs and legacy database systems.
• Defined the manual and automated testing strategy to ensure product quality and testing efficiency.
• Enforced technical processes for code reviews, unit testing, and CI/CD.
• Adapted the client’s V-model waterfall process by integrating Agile practices to improve velocity.
• Managed time and material contracts, tracked project costs, and ensured timely releases.
• Led user acceptance testing, and ensured traceability matrices, testing reports, and final release reports.
• Defined and coordinated a plan for data migration.

Tech: .NET Framework, C#, JavaScript, SQL Server, Apache Solr.

• Coordinated a team of 5-10 software engineers and testers to release a 3-tier enterprise web platform.
• Customized the client’s V-Model waterfall process with Agile methods for engineering flexibility. Organized Scrum demos and daily standup meetings.
• Coordinated the product releases involving technical and user acceptance testing activities, making sure the process required documentation was in place (traceability matrices and testing reports), and created final release reports.
• Created and monitored technical processes for code reviews, unit testing, continuous integration, and delivery.

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
• Led the discovery and planning workshop with the UI/UX designer and tech lead to define product direction.
• Created the product backlog, roadmap, and project timeline to align delivery with product goals.
• Defined and prioritized features for a new language learning component to support educational outcomes.

PROJECT DELIVERY MANAGEMENT
• Established team structure and created a resource allocation plan to ensure efficient execution.
• Supervised a cross-functional team of five UI/UX designers and engineers to deliver a key platform component.
• Released the product ahead of schedule and saved costs by coordinating design and development efforts efficiently.

TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP
• Oversaw engineering activities related to building the web front-end using React and Node.js, ensuring technical quality and alignment with platform architecture.
• Coordinated the design and implementation of the new front-end component for language learning support.

• Developed product strategy for an AI-enabled remote patient monitoring (RPM) solution, aligning innovation opportunities with patient needs and business goals.
• Identified and assessed emerging technologies such as AI and wearable integration to guide product direction and technical feasibility.
• Defined core product features and structured the roadmap, enabling stakeholder alignment across clinical, technical, and commercial teams.

• Led product discovery workshop with marketing, engineering, and strategy representatives.
• Designed product concept for a mobile app based on market analysis data about patient profiles.
• Created personas, empathy maps, and user journeys.
• Designed the technical solution for mobile app and EHR system integration, containing AI features for image recognition.
• Defined and scoped product MVP.
• Supported technical vendor interviews and selection.
• Created a financial model for new product development.
• Supported vendor selection for software development, creating the evaluation process, defining assessment criteria, reviewing RFPs, and conducting technical interviews with shortlisted vendors.

• Served as an agile coach and advisor for Medlex.AI, helping the project manager to plan and organize the startup’s engineering efforts of building an MVP and managing a remote team using Agile Scrum.
• Coached startup founders on agile development and Jira best practices.

• Audited the existing platform and WordPress technology stack and created a roadmap to streamline engineering and ensure on-time delivery.
• Created a team restructuring proposal and staffing plan to achieve the engineering goals.

• Audited engineering processes for a project suffering delays of over six months.
• Reverse-engineered the feature implementation status and created a rescue plan to bring the project back on track in three months.
• Coached the startup founders on product and engineering best practices.

• Managed the 1st phase of the migration of an enterprise web portal from a legacy Ruby on Rails architecture and implementation to React and GraphQL microservices.
• Created the structure and managed a remote team of 10 contractor engineers worldwide.

• Audited the feature completeness of a web platform for land management;
• Analyzed project and engineering management practices, consulted the company founders in new vendor selection, and supported them through the transition phase;
• Advised on legal aspects of engineering contracts and validated technology vendors;
• Coached the client’s team members in using Agile Scrum to manage software projects.

• Coordinated eight software developers for the first release of UMT 360. The UMT 360​ Enterprise Portfolio Management Web system was previously part of Microsoft Project Portfolio Management (PPM) solutions.
• Designed the architecture of software components, workflows, and data analysis modules for a financial management web platform.
• Documented and analyzed requirements, transformed them into technical tasks, and performed backlog grooming and prioritization.
• Created development processes for code review, source control, and bug and issue tracking.

Technologies used: Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Server, JavaScript, C#, .NET framework, SQL Server, SQL Analysis Services, OLAP Cubes, Workflow Foundation.

• Designed data integrations from various internal and external data sources and developed ETL components for data import.
• Implemented dashboards for data analysis in web systems, used by internal employees to monitor, identify, and troubleshoot problems for diagnostic machines.

As the CTO, I spearheaded the development of a robust system to manage analytics, HR processes, and operational automation for online courses, serving a large community of learners and educators. I designed and implemented a scalable database using PostgreSQL and Supabase, ensuring efficient data storage and retrieval.

I built an analytics dashboard to measure and enhance social impact that provided actionable insights into learner engagement and program effectiveness. Additionally, I developed low-code HR and course management systems in WordPress and Retool, streamlining teacher and student administration, and created a suite of process automation tools to optimize course operations. Beyond technical execution, I provided strategic leadership to my team, guiding junior engineers through best practices in software development and system design. This initiative significantly improved our nonprofit’s ability to manage resources, automate repetitive tasks, and make data-driven decisions to enhance the learning experience.

• Managed a team of front-end engineers for an internal tool that provided document management and approval automation; the system was built as an extension of Atlassian Confluence and was written in React and Node.js.
• Created the initial timeline and budget, recruited the team, and documented the product and technical requirements.
• Provided technical guidance to the team on architecting the system and finding solutions to complex issues that arise when developing web applications.

I provided technical leadership to the team of five engineers (one front-end, two back-end, and two database developers) to develop a web-based microloan platform for a startup in Southeast Asia. I designed and developed APIs, the back-end infrastructure, and integrations with Salesforce API on the .NET technology stack.

As lead software engineer, I was responsible for the full design and implementation of an internal desktop application used by one of the world’s largest commodity trading companies to track foreign exchange (FX) rates and forecast market fluctuations. The platform integrated data from multiple sources, including real-time APIs and manually uploaded CSV files, and transformed it into actionable insights for trading operations.

I built core data ingestion components, designed the system architecture, and ensured the platform was optimized for performance and usability by non-technical financial teams. The tool helped streamline FX analysis workflows and supported better-informed trading strategies.

• Helped the Toptal core team implement internal product and engineering processes using Jira and Confluence from the Atlassian suite.
• Acted as an SME and Jira and Confluence administrator. I consulted with the teams on how to migrate data from the old tools.

• Ran discovery and planning workshops with a team of five business stakeholders, UI/UX designers, full-stack and radius experts.
• Designed a multi-tenant telecom solution as a suite of web and mobile apps, CRM, SAP, and an internet AAA protocol management platform to be deployed nationwide.
• Created a product roadmap from MVP to scale and rollout plan at the country level.
• Developed product backlog, generated estimates, project timeline, and established implementation staffing plan.
• Created a technical RFP for a government tender offer.

I managed a team of 10 software developers, 2D and 3D artists, game designers, testers, and marketers for 10 months to release Disco Dave, a mobile game produced under the AmusedSloth brand.

Disco Dave was featured by Apple and received the “Best Kids and Family Game” award at Casual Connect, Tel Aviv, 2016. I created the entire game roadmap, decided on the major milestones, and coordinated the production activities, from the prototype, alpha, and beta testing sessions to the main release and then subsequent update releases. I established KPIs and defined art and game development processes using a hybrid of Kanban and Scrum. I also created project documentation templates, which helped reduce the studio’s production timeline from 2.5 years to just 10 months. The game was the studio’s first that broke even, reducing the loss that the studio had had with the previous titles.

The game was developed in Unity 3D and released worldwide on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Fire OS, as well as in local stores in China and Japan.

I managed a team of 10 software developers, 2D and 3D artists, game designers, testers, and marketers to release Super Pet Hero, a mobile game produced under the AmusedSloth brand.

Super Pet Hero is a mobile game that received the “Best Mobile Game” award at Casual Connect in 2017, Berlin. I created the entire game roadmap, decided on the major milestones, and coordinated the production activities, from the prototype, alpha, and beta testing sessions to the main release and the subsequent update releases. I established KPIs and defined art and game development processes as a mix of Kanban and Scrum. I also created project documentation templates, which helped reduce the studio’s production timeline from 2.5 years to 1 year.

The game was developed in Unity 3D and released worldwide on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone, as well as local stores in China.

The company was managing complex construction workflows (projects, payments, reporting) through multiple disconnected Excel files. This created data duplication and inconsistencies across teams, time-consuming manual reporting, and limited visibility into real-time project status and finances.

Mapped end-to-end workflows and identified inefficiencies in Excel-based operations. Translated findings into clear business requirements and defined a simple, user-friendly MVP focused on essential functionality. Designed a centralized platform for project tracking, payments, and real-time reporting, including OCR-based invoice processing and AI automations to reduce manual input. Created a phased roadmap with priorities, timelines, and cost/resource estimates, enabling structured execution and scalable development while ensuring alignment with stakeholder needs.

Replaced fragmented Excel workflows with a clear system design, improving visibility and reducing manual work. Enabled faster reporting, better decisions, and laid the foundation for a scalable, easy-to-adopt platform.

• **30+ ** — Data Privacy Issues Discovered and Fixed
• **40+ ** — Security Issues Discovered and Fixed

• Audit a legacy Django/Python healthtech monolith for HIPAA privacy and security risks.
• Identify how PHI was stored, accessed, logged, and shared.
• Review developer, database, third-party, and AI access to sensitive data.
• Create a practical remediation plan without requiring a full product rewrite.

• Audited the Django/Python monolith and mapped PHI data flows across the application.
• Identified and prioritized HIPAA risks in access control, logging, secrets, production data, and third-party integrations.
• Designed least-privilege and read-only access patterns.
• Added de-identification controls for safer use of developer and AI tools.
• Translated compliance requirements into a practical engineering remediation plan.

• Delivered a prioritized remediation roadmap for HIPAA readiness.
• Reduced risk of PHI exposure through code, production access, logs, and AI tools.
• Introduced privacy-by-design controls without rewriting the legacy platform.