KENNETH BOUCHER
Chicago,IL
Summary
People-first engineering leader with 15+ years scaling high-performing teams through organizational change, agile transformation, and strategic delivery. Expert in coaching engineers into senior roles, introducing agile practices to unstructured environments, and delivering initiatives that drive measurable business impact.
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
Work History
Founder / Indie Developer
Boucher Works LLC
06.2024 - Current
- Developing Duck Survivors, a roguelike game using Unity engine, leveraging AI-powered development tools (Claude, GitHub Copilot) for rapid prototyping, code generation, and debugging.
- Integrated LLMs into development workflow for game mechanics, asset creation, and documentation, demonstrating practical application of AI-assisted engineering.
- Exploring AI-driven content creation for YouTube using voice synthesis and video generation tools.
Engineering Manager / Technical Principal
Valtech
04.2024 - 05.2025
- Maintained team stability and delivery continuity during Valtech's acquisition of Kin + Carta, navigating management changes, consulting approach shifts, and organizational restructuring while shielding team from disruption and retaining 100% of direct reports through transition period.
- Led 12 engineers through fintech platform migration from PCF to OCP, delivering 7 backend service transitions that reduced annual infrastructure costs by 25% while maintaining zero downtime for critical financial services.
- Directed mobile frontend development team of 10 engineers, launching new mobile transaction capabilities for fintech client that expanded customer access and increased mobile-driven revenue by 30%.
- Established transparent client communication practices and agile delivery rhythms that earned formal recognition from executive leadership and became model for other project teams.
- Guided 10-person team through front-end re-architecture for agriculture tech client, introducing modern development practices and modular architecture that improved deployment frequency by 40%.
Technical Principal
Kin + Carta
04.2018 - 04.2024
- Led cross-functional teams of 12+ engineers across multiple client engagements, adapting agile frameworks to each client's organizational context and maturity level while maintaining consistent delivery velocity.
- Drove company-wide improvements to hiring pipeline, onboarding processes, and performance review frameworks, resulting in 40% reduction in time-to-productivity for new hires and improved retention rates.
- Conducted proactive risk assessments during project planning phases, identifying technical and organizational blockers early and implementing mitigation strategies that prevented costly delays on 15+ client projects.
Engineering Lead / Application Engineer
The App Business / Kin + Carta
07.2014 - 04.2018
- Established engineering standards and best practices across diverse client portfolio (retail, navigation, media), providing technical direction and architectural guidance for mobile-first applications serving millions of users.
- Built and scaled mobile engineering team through strategic hiring, conducting 50+ technical interviews and championing diversity initiatives including anonymized resumes, bias awareness training, and expanded recruitment channels to reach underrepresented demographics.
- Created technical mentorship program that accelerated knowledge sharing and best practice adoption across engineering teams, reducing onboarding time and improving code quality.
Senior Software Engineer
3Squared
04.2011 - 07.2014
- Drove technical modernization including coding standards implementation, Git migration from SVN, and improved development workflows that increased team efficiency and code quality.
- Established university recruiting partnerships to build engineering talent pipeline, conducting campus presentations and technical assessments.
Junior Developer
Realistic Digital
10.2009 - 01.2011
- Developed mobile and web applications including a #1 ranked Quiz Game as early-career software engineer, building foundation in full-stack development.
Education
BSc - Computer Science
University of Leicester
Leicester09-2008
Skills
Team Development Coached 8 engineers into senior and leadership roles through individualized mentorship, building structured development plans that resulted in 6 promotions over 4 years
Agile Transformation Introduced agile practices to 5 teams operating in waterfall environments, establishing ceremonies and metrics that improved delivery predictability and reduced cycle times by 35%
Change Leadership Maintained 100% team retention and delivery continuity through major acquisition, navigating management changes and organizational restructuring while shielding engineers from disruption
Strategic Delivery Led initiatives delivering 25% infrastructure cost reduction and 30% mobile revenue increase through complex migration projects and new product capabilities
CORE COMPETENCIES
Leadership & People Development
Team building • Personalized coaching & mentorship • Performance management • Hiring & retention • Career development planning • Succession planning • Cross-functional collaboration
Agile & Delivery Management
Scrum • Kanban • Feature-driven development • Agile transformation • Process improvement • Risk management • Stakeholder communication • Strategic planning • Project management
Change Management
Organizational transitions • Team stability during disruption • Scaling teams • Acquisition navigation • Cultural transformation
Technical Background
Mobile (Swift, Kotlin, iOS, Android) • Full-stack (JavaScript, C#, React, Spring, Node.js, SQL) • Cloud platforms • System architecture
Timeline
Founder / Indie Developer
Boucher Works LLC
06.2024 - Current
Engineering Manager / Technical Principal
Valtech
04.2024 - 05.2025
Technical Principal
Kin + Carta
04.2018 - 04.2024
Engineering Lead / Application Engineer
The App Business / Kin + Carta
07.2014 - 04.2018
Senior Software Engineer
3Squared
04.2011 - 07.2014
Junior Developer
Realistic Digital
10.2009 - 01.2011
BSc - Computer Science
University of Leicester