Dean Cornish
Head of Data Platform Engineering @Chattermill
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WORK HISTORY
Head of Data Platform Engineering @Chattermill
Owned the long-term reliability, scalability, and cost discipline of Chattermill’s data platform, with a focus on enabling teams to operate independently rather than through personal throughput- Shifted the platform from “founder-led” engineering to a mature, team-owned system by codifying architectural patterns, decision frameworks, and operational guardrails. Enabled senior engineers to act as true technical leaders, reducing dependency on central approval while maintaining high standards- Led the organisation through a significant increase in platform load and operational complexity, including large-scale migration of legacy scenarios, sustained onboarding growth, and higher support volume, without corresponding increases in incidents or burnout- Drove a deliberate focus on stability, incremental improvement, and cost control rather than continual rewrites. Partnered with SRE and backend teams on cost-reduction initiatives, ensuring savings were achieved without compromising reliability or developer autonomy- Established a calm, blame-free operational culture with clear escalation paths and ownership boundaries. Actively protect the team from unrealistic timelines and poorly framed work, prioritising sustainable pace and long-term platform health- Measure success by outcomes rather than visibility: a platform that runs without day-to-day dependence on its leader, and a team that operates with confidence, clarity, and increasing independence.
SKILLS
ABOUT DEAN CORNISH
Senior engineering leader with deep experience designing, building, and operating large-scale data and platform systems in high-growth, product-led technology companies. Combines hands-on technical depth with pragmatic leadership, specialising in turning complex, legacy-heavy environments into stable, scalable platforms that teams can operate with confidence.Proven track record of leading data platform transformations, building and growing high-performing engineering teams, and establishing engineering standards that balance reliability, cost discipline, and developer autonomy. Known for translating business goals into clear technical strategy, creating calm and effective operating cultures, and scaling impact through people and systems rather than personal heroics.Core Expertise • Data platform architecture: large-scale ingestion pipelines, stream and batch processing, cloud data warehousing, and integration platforms (Kafka, Spark, Airbyte, Dagster, DBT, BigQuery, Redshift, Parquet) • Platform and infrastructure engineering: containerised systems, Kubernetes, cloud-native deployment, observability, reliability, incident management, and cost-aware system design • Backend engineering: extensive Java and Python experience building production-grade services and APIs • Cloud platforms: 10+ years AWS, 5+ years GCP, experience with hybrid and multi-cloud environments • Internal developer platforms and delivery tooling: CI/CD, GitOps, infrastructure-as-code, developer experience and observability platforms • Engineering leadership: technical strategy, team building, mentoring, hiring, performance management, and establishing sustainable engineering culture
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