Product · Technology · Transformation · AI

I lead.
I coach.
I transform.

Senior product & technology leader with 25+ years across hi-tech, from embedded systems and networking to AI-first SaaS. I turn engineers into product builders, moving teams from delivery-focused execution to outcome-focused product leadership.

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Dominic Townsend, smiling, wearing round black glasses and a black roll-neck
25+ years leading
1M+ customers reached

How I work

Four things I won't compromise on

Outcome focused

I lead teams from delivery execution to outcomes that matter for customers and the business.

People first

I build, coach and empower cross-functional product teams to do their best work.

Pragmatic

The right lever, at the right moment, for the right problem. Never framework for its own sake.

Future ready

I prepare engineers and leaders for the rapidly evolving AI-first landscape.

Career highlights

Twenty-five years, measured in outcomes

  • 25+YearsSenior engineering & product leadership across hi-tech
  • 1M+CustomersReached across every product I've owned or led delivery for
  • +35NPS gainVerizon Connect compliance product, from below 0 to 35+ in 18 months
  • 8SectorsSaaS, networking, medical, energy, controls, telecoms, silicon, fintech
  • 10Leadership rolesFrom senior engineer to Director & Associate Director
  • 65+Engineers led10+ global teams across NZ, US, UK, Europe & Asia

How I lead

Trust first, evidence always

Lead with emotional intelligence

I build trust through empathy and self-awareness, so people bring me the real picture, not the version they think I want to hear.

Fix what's stalled

I step into failed transformations and stuck agile-lean rollouts, diagnose why they stalled, and get them moving again.

Own the whole business case

Budget, resourcing and risk sit alongside the roadmap, not after it. I'm accountable for ROI, not just delivery.

Design career pathways

I build structured development frameworks so growth from Graduate to Principal is designed, not left to chance.

Steer by evidence

I prioritise and decide by data, not by whoever's loudest in the room, and adjust course as the evidence changes.

Improve the system, not just the symptom

I look for what's structurally slowing a team down and fix the process, not just firefight what's in front of us.

Career journey

From silicon firmware to AI-enabled SaaS

  1. Phocas Software · NZ

    Software Engineering Leader · Product & AI Engineering

    Lead four cross-functional teams on AI-enabled FP&A SaaS under an Inspired product operating model; grew engineers Graduate→Principal; built internal AI tools including training small LLMs.

  2. Verizon Connect · NZ

    Associate Director, Software Development · Head of Compliance

    Owned strategy and delivery for the Compliance unit (~50 reports across NZ/US/India); ELD products connecting 1M+ vehicles; drove Continuous Delivery through build/test automation, lifting NPS from below 0 to 35+ in 18 months.

  3. Voyager Internet · NZ

    Software Practice Lead · Software & Testing

    Built and led 14 engineers across four squads on broadband/VOIP platforms; established an automation-first testing practice and fit-for-purpose agile ways of working.

  4. CCL & Leaven · NZ

    Delivery Lead · Agile–Lean Coach · Principal CSI Manager

    Led agile delivery across cloud and transformation engagements; stood up the Principal Continual Service Improvement function with ROI-led governance. Worked with the C-suite to understand and streamline their work.

  5. ARANZ Medical · NZ

    Director of Engineering

    Directed 26+ engineers across software, electronics, firmware, research and test in a regulated medical-device environment; recovered delayed wound-imaging products to market in about two months.

  6. Cavotec MoorMaster · NZ

    Controls Team Leader · Industrial Automation & HMI

    Led 8–12 controls engineers on PLC/HMI high-voltage mooring automation; Agile/Lean adoption removed hundreds of hours of rework and supported global FAT/SAT commissioning.

  7. Samsung, Cambridge · UK

    Senior Manager · Radio Firmware Group (Wi-Fi & Bluetooth)

    Led 20+ engineers across UK/Denmark/India/NZ delivering WLAN/BT silicon firmware; cut prototype cycle time from six months to two weeks (hundreds of thousands saved) through the CSR→Samsung transition.

  8. WhisperTech · NZ

    Principal Engineer · Software & Electronics

    Technical lead for embedded firmware and power electronics on micro-CHP control systems; re-architected safety-critical firmware and built a PC-based test harness with engine simulation.

  9. Allied Telesis Labs · NZ

    Software Department Manager

    Progressed from senior engineer to department leadership; led up to seven managers and ~65 engineers on L2/L3 networking firmware; turned around two stalled product deliveries on time and to budget via early agile adoption.

  10. Lincoln Ventures (now Lincoln Agritech) · NZ

    Research & Development Engineer

    Delivered applied R&D for industry and research partners; contributed to an image-based sensor using CMOS cameras and DSP for lift doors, generating valuable IP.

Education

  • Master of Electronic Engineering (MEng), University of Hull, 2000
  • Postgraduate Diploma (DipEng), Environmental & Ecological Electronic Engineering
  • Bachelor of Electronic Engineering (BEng Hons), University of Hull, 1994

My philosophy

Pragilism

Pragmatic · Agile · Lean(ist)

A blend of pragmatic, agile and lean thinking, Design Thinking and the Product Operating Model. Frameworks are tools, never the goal: the people, the organisation and the culture are what make any of it work.

Explore pragilist.com

Mnemonics is where it started. Pragilist is where it's going.

Beyond work

Still building things, just smaller

Engineering never stopped being a hobby. I've built home-automation projects on Arduino and Raspberry Pi: an RFID cat-flap, a remote-controlled home alarm, remote garage-door operation, a beer-fermenter controller, a PID-controlled coffee roaster and a large-screen cricket scoreboard.

The beer is real too: I've been brewing since 2015 as Broadleaf Brew House, home of Chief Scientist craft beer.

These days it's more apps than hardware: small, self-hosted tools built to actually get used.

See the Broadleaf Apps

Also: psychology, painting, reading, guitar, soccer, table-tennis, golf, tramping, running, cycling, card tricks and gadgets.

  • Chief Scientist Craft Beer logo, Broadleaf Brew House, since 2015: two foaming beer mugs above a gold pentagon badge
  • Krypton
  • HomeBrain
  • BrewBuddy
  • Rummikub
  • Kitchen-Pi

Let's talk

Have a team that needs to move from output to outcomes?

I'm always happy to talk about product leadership, engineering transformation and getting stalled change moving again.

or reach me directly

dominic@mnemonics.co.nz LinkedIn Download CV (PDF)