Stephen Dunn

About Stephen Dunn

Sr. Software Engineering Manager with 15+ years of experience within the Seattle area.Working in the creative software industry, the mission is simple: deliver tools that empower the world’s creators. But the execution is complex. I lead diverse, high-performing engineering teams at Adobe by putting the success of the team first.I don’t just manage; I take ownership of the standard. Whether I am building a backend team from the ground up to spearhead the 0-1 launch of Adobe’s first Generative AI monetization system, or scaling revenue through high-growth frontend eCommerce workflows, I am responsible for the success of the mission and the growth of the people all around me.I believe that an AI-first mindset is no longer optional, it is the cornerstone of modern engineering excellence. In an era where AI is fundamentally reshaping how we build and interact with software, I am committed to staying ahead of the curve, continuously evolving my technical depth and leadership strategies to ensure both I and my teams remain at the vanguard of innovation.There is no greater thrill than seeing a team fire on all cylinders to achieve what they thought was impossible. I am a culture focused leader who manages with empathy while maintaining the rigorous standards required to ship world class distributed systems and high availability software at scale.

Experience

1. Sr Manager, Software Development

   Adobe

   Jan 2019 — Present · Seattle, WA, US

   Delivered 7+ years of engineering leadership at Adobe with a primary focus on scaling high growth business segments. Spearheaded the foundational backend strategy for the Generative AI monetization mission while directing a global organization comprising an Engineering Manager, Architects, and Tech Leads. Managed the expansion of 9+ engineering teams including eCommerce, Enterprise, and SMB to drive consistent revenue growth.• – | Founded the backend engineering team for Adobe\'s foundational GenAI monetization layer and led the 0–1 development of a distributed Node.js, Express, and GraphQL architecture. Architected the system to handle RPS to ensure critical stability for Adobe\'s GenAI consumers.• /| Directed the technical roadmap for global eCommerce workflows across PHP, React, and microservice APIs. Scaled the Enterprise and SMB segments through data driven A/B testing and personalized customer features to drive measurable revenue growth.• | Created and matured 9+ teams from the ground up. Strategically handed off mature segments to regional offices (Romania/India) to pivot focus toward launching new high impact missions.• & | Spearheaded the aggregation of engineering metrics across the organization to deliver centralized visibility into team health and KPIs. Integrated data from JIRA, GitHub, and CI/CD pipelines to improve delivery predictability by 40%.• | Responsible for the real-time SLOs that customers expect from a 5-star product. Slashed alert noise by 35% through rigorous service level implementation to shift organizational focus toward high value delivery and long term system health.

Education

• Iowa State University

  BS, MIS

  2009

Skills

• Drupal
• Sql
• Linux
• Php
• Wordpress
• Javascript
• Html 5
• Ie6
• Oscommerce
• Css
• Html5
• Web Development
• Google Chrome
• Vim
• Data Analysis
• Crystal Reports
• Joomla
• Bash
• Tcl
• Opencart
• Java
• Ie8
• Postgresql
• Sphinx
• Photoshop
• Apache
• Lamp
• Jquery
• Slackware
• Msql
• Node.js
• Subversion
• Django
• Mysql
• Custom Software Development
• Wamp
• Xml
• Rest
• Firefox
• Nfs