Strategic Technology Leadership
- Aligns tech execution with business vision and investor expectations
- Leads €MM+ product initiatives in high-stakes, regulated industries
- Defines product and engineering strategy from MVP to scale
CEO at Solidmatics · Fractional CTO
Vygandas Pliasas
Engineering leader. 20+ years. Hands still on the keyboard.
CTO, head of engineering and consultant for companies in regulated industries. He builds high-performing teams, ships AI and LLM products, and makes the architecture calls himself. Healthcare under EU MDR and FDA rules, SaaS, e-commerce and marketplaces.
Coding since he was 13The summit
40engineers ledin one org
From a solo freelancer in 2006 to running Web, iOS, Android, backend and QA on Class IIb clinical software.
People led · 2006 → today
See the full career
Companies he has worked at, as an employee, contractor or consultant
Track record
The Numbers Behind the Title
Twenty years in software, the last eight running engineering and product. Straight from the work, not the pitch deck.
2006
Since
writing production code, after picking it up at 13
40
Engineers led
on €30M+ clinical features at a Class IIb health-tech
€800k+
EU R&D grant
orchestrated out of €1.8M+ total, with roadmap and delivery on him
50%
Engineering cost
the most he has cut it by, while uptime and delivery speed went up
1,000/mo
New signups
from marketing he set up himself as CTO/CPO of an AI startup
AI & LLM
In production
products shipped since 2024, from system architecture to agent orchestration
Work experience
From First Commit to a 40-Engineer Org
Twelve years writing production code before leading anyone. Since then he has led teams of up to 40 engineers, with the same hands on the keyboard. Pick a role to see what he did there.
- People led directly
- Individual contributor years
- Summit: 40 engineers
Summit · 2022
40 engineers at Huma
Aug 2025 – 2026 · 1+ yr
Saaga Solve
CTO / CPO
- 14–23 direct reports
- Contract
- Remote, US
- 32 h/week
US startup building AI Powered Marketers, an LLM chat for marketing and SEO experts. Started as fractional CTO and grew into running both engineering and product.
- Took over the product roadmap and stood between the CEO and the engineers
- Restructured the whole team around better-suited people at lower cost
- Started tracking finances and runway; ran 3 shakedown rounds of random expenses
- Architected the v2 system himself to replace the vibe-coded v1
- Led security improvements on v1 and made it run async on AWS Lambda, ready to scale
- Hired and managed the Head of Marketing, signing off on initiatives, designs and content
- Hired a Content Manager and set up the workflow with the CEO and content team
- Built a cold email outreach system and trained the CEO to run demos
- Ran his own marketing playbook, bringing in 1,000 new signups a month
- Hired a designer and led product UI and UX improvements
- Researched LLM agent implementation: deep agents and orchestration
Jun 2025 – Jan 2026 · 7 mo
Rivile
Head of Engineering
- 2–12 direct reports
- Contract
- Hybrid, LT
- 20 h/week
Accounting and ERP platform, one of the largest and best-known bookkeeping companies in Lithuania. Started as management consulting.
- Led the core engineering team stabilizing and optimizing the whole cloud ERP platform
- Worked with vendors to optimize third-party integrations and performance
- Built the core roadmap and led its implementation
- Led the initiatives that reduced the issue count
- Assessed chain of command, requirement flows and bottlenecks, then executed the improvement plans
Aug 2023 – Jun 2025 · 1 yr 10 mo
Aesthetidocs
Head of Engineering
- 15 direct reports
- Contract
- Remote, UK
- 40 h/week
UK startup building AI-driven software that runs the whole aesthetic clinic.
- Took over the entire product from agency developers and rewrote the SDLC
- Hired and led a new team: backend, frontend, QA, design and product
- Built an internal operations team and drove the tech and product roadmap
- Architected new infrastructure, implemented CI and deployments, created QA environments
Mar 2022 – Apr 2023 · 1 yr 1 mo
Huma
Engineering Manager / Product Manager
- 40 direct reports
- Contract
- Remote, UK
- 40 h/week
Digital-first care and research. 300+ employee health-tech, $250M+ raised from top VCs, software certified as a Class IIb medical device.
- Led 40 engineers on €30M+ clinical features used in clinic deployments
- Owned delivery velocity across Web, iOS, Android, Backend and QA
- Implemented OKRs across the whole engineering department to align with regulatory and business milestones
- Built career plans and upskilling initiatives for the team
Jan 2020 – Mar 2022 · 2 yrs 2 mo
Toptal
Engineering Manager
- 8 direct reports
- Contract
- Remote, US
Global marketplace for the top 3% of freelancers. $1B+ valuation, fully remote.
- Grew from engineer to EM to a dual EM/PM role across cross-functional squads
- Hired, mentored and upskilled engineers into team leads and managers
- Led the team with the highest eNPS in the org
- Ran 4 company-wide hackathons and initiated the A/B infrastructure overhaul
Jun 2019 – Jan 2020 · 7 mo
Velocity Black
R&D Manager
- 15 direct reports
- Full-time
- On-site and remote, LT / UK
Luxury concierge platform for elite members. UK startup, $30M+ raised, acquired by Capital One. Started as consulting, then full-time.
- Opened and led the Vilnius branch: hiring, legal, ops, support and government relations
- Orchestrated an €800k+ EU R&D grant out of €1.8M+ total; oversaw roadmap and delivery
- Shaped product strategy, hired 15+ developers, bridged London HQ with Baltic operations
- Architected the flagship project and built its team, improving app effectiveness with ML
Aug 2018 – Jun 2019 · 10 mo
ScreenCloud
Team Lead
- 6 direct reports
- Contract
- Remote, UK
UK digital signage platform. Led a remote team of six.
Jan 2018 – Aug 2018 · 7 mo
SearchNode
Team Lead
- 2 direct reports
- Contract
- On-site, LT
His first team lead role, with two direct reports.
Sep 2017 – Jan 2018 · 4 mo
HomeToGo
Senior Front-end Developer
- Individual contributor
- Contract
- On-site, LT
Vacation rental search marketplace.
Jul 2015 – Aug 2017 · 2 yrs 1 mo
KAYAK
Senior Software Engineer
- Individual contributor
- Full-time
- On-site and remote, LT / DE / US
Metasearch for flights, hotels and rental cars. Acquired for $1.8B, 100M+ monthly users.
- Built and optimized SEO-focused pages and experiments that drove organic traffic
- Contributed React UI components and micro-features across product areas
- Delivered growth hacks tied to PR campaigns, boosting page visibility and rankings
- Learned to work with enormous real-time traffic
2006 – Jul 2015 · 9+ yrs
Earlier roles
Developer, freelance and in-house
- Individual contributor
- Contract and full-time
- Lithuania and Germany
Freelance from 2006, then contract and full-time roles in Lithuania and Germany, including the travel marketplace Comvel.
- Comvel GmbH · Developer · 2014–15, remote for Germany
- Softify · Developer · 2013–14, Lithuania
- Present Connection · Front-end Developer · 2013, Lithuania
- Baltic Car Equipment · Developer · 2012, Lithuania
- Freelance · Developer · 2006–12
Most roles since 2018 began as short-term freelance contracts and grew into long-term engagements. They are listed as core work experience.
Areas of impact
Where He Brings the Most Experience
Drawn from the whole career. These are the areas where he has done the most work and made the biggest difference.
Systems Thinking and Process Design
- Scalable architectures, SDLCs and workflows across departments
- Engineering cultures built on autonomy, feedback and accountability
- OKRs and performance systems that give the whole org clarity and focus
High-Impact Team Building
- Hires and mentors cross-functional teams: backend, frontend, mobile, QA, PM, design
- Coaches senior engineers, EMs and PMs into more effective leaders
- Restructures underperforming departments into focused, outcome-driven units
Product Execution and Delivery
- Product discovery, roadmap definition and stakeholder alignment
- Delivery across squads, from early-stage MVPs to production-scale rollouts
- Complex integrations with external systems such as SNOMED CT and ERPs
Operational Efficiency and Cost
- Engineering costs cut by up to 50% while uptime and delivery speed improved
- Inefficient outsourced vendors replaced with lean, in-house teams
- Automated workflows in recruiting, QA and product operations
Risk, Compliance and Quality
- ISO, GDPR, EU MDR Class IIb and FDA compliance for digital health
- High-integrity development under audit and documentation requirements
- Quality gates and testing protocols for mission-critical systems
AI, LLM and R&D
- Building AI and LLM products since 2024, when they became feasible
- Technical discovery and proof-of-concept work for new initiatives
- Internal labs and exploratory squads that test technical hypotheses
Regulated industries
Regulatory Experience in Engineering Leadership
Engineering where audits, traceability and patient safety are part of the job. Including Class IIb medical devices, the same regulatory class as surgical tools like laparoscopes.
ISO 13485
Medical device quality management
Software delivered inside ISO 13485-certified environments, with traceability, documentation and audit readiness built into the process.
EU MDR Class IIb
Medical device certification
Led engineering teams building mobile health apps certified as Class IIb medical devices, with rigorous risk management, validation and documentation.
FDA 21 CFR 820
Quality system regulation
Structured engineering practices for software submitted as part of US digital health solutions.
GDPR
Personal and health data
Systems handling sensitive personal and health data, secure by design, with full audit trails.
MHRA · CE · UKCA
UK and EU market approval
Software deployed in regulated clinical settings across the UK and EU, backed by compliant documentation and SDLC practice.
ISO 27001
Information security
Certified infrastructure and practices for data security, access control and system integrity in health-tech.
Sectors
Sectors and Business Models
Mostly B2B SaaS, with deep stints in healthcare, travel marketplaces and e-commerce.
Healthcare
Hospital-at-Home, clinical trial platforms, aesthetic medicine CRMs and patient management systems, at Huma and Aesthetidocs.
SaaS
Most of the career, through full-time roles, consulting engagements and his own products.
B2B and B2C
Roughly 80% of the companies he has worked with or consulted for are B2B. The other 20% is B2C, usually tied to performance marketing or e-commerce optimization.
Marketplaces
Worked at KAYAK, HomeToGo, Comvel and Restplatzbörse/Ferien, all travel and accommodation marketplaces. Consulting for several more on engagement and conversion.
E-commerce
Most of his projects. Integrated payments from one-time purchases to subscriptions, plus vendor payout distribution and margin handling.
Ad-tech and Mar-tech
Ran a marketing agency focused on CRO, ROAS and ROI for e-commerce clients. Built a SaaS that synced e-shop products, picked top performers, created and deployed Google Ads, and kept optimizing bids and availability on clicks and conversions.
Social networks
Built a fully functional social network for modeling agencies and photographers scouting for models. Engagement loops and sticky, purpose-driven experiences.
Feedback
What People Say
Managers, peers, people who reported to him and clients. There are many more. These are kept word for word.
Vygandas can work at any level of an organization and excel.
“I was lucky to be the Team Lead that hired Vygandas into Toptal. … After I departed Toptal, he took over my position as Team Lead and it worked out very well for everyone involved.”
Gustavo Saiani
Senior Applied AI Engineer · former Team Lead at Toptal
Vygandas was employee #1 of our Lithuania branch, and his hard work was crucial in getting the new office and team up and running.
I worked closely with Vygandas on a day-to-day basis as the product manager of the team he managed. We frequently discussed ways to optimize the team and to prioritize features. It was truly a pleasure working alongside Vygandas as he will go above and beyond to support his team. He excels when it comes to capacity planning and providing high-level estimates on LOE for the initiatives on the roadmap. His management style is pretty straightforward - ensure that everyone is equipped to succeed. This includes removing blockers, researching the unknowns, and getting the right people in the room. This mentality is the reason for the success of the team, why his direct reports thrived and how the Product team was able to manage stakeholders and expectations. I would highly recommend Vygandas for a management position at any company that requires building strong teams and effective, strategic planning.
Vygandas is great to work with and brings a depth and breadth of experience. He's thoughtful and detail-oriented and is able to switch quickly from big-picture planning to granular project management.
Great professional and team leader. Very calm and friendly professional. Feels like everything will be ok, all the time. This helps maintain the team morale in the right place. When calling him to a Design Brainstorming or Process, he is the one that provides the boldest ideas. I really hope we get to work together again in the future.
Vygandas is a great leader & manager with deep knowledge & experience in many different areas – marketing, programming, management, sales, etc. I have worked closely with him for 6 months on a day-to-day basis and have only the best things to say. He made sure that our team runs proficiently and performs consistent results. Vygandas is an ambitious, hard-working and results-oriented leader. The thing I loved the most about working with him is that he has an easy-going attitude and doesn't resist going the extra mile when sharing his professional knowledge with co-workers.
Vygandas and I worked together on growth initiatives, primarily on roadmapping and prioritization. Vygandas does a great job in managing his engineering team and collaborating across the engineering organization to make sure that his team works on high impact projects. While I only worked with Vygandas for a few months, I enjoyed his leadership style and hands-on approach to scoping.
Vygandas was a great technical partner and support helping as I built out the MVP for my SAAS business. He was patient and offered tons of value as we architectured the initial tech stack!
Vygandas is a very creative person who knows how to materialize complex ideas into reality easily. It's because he has strong IT background and management skills which let him to see end picture in the beginning of new project. Vygandas comes up with creative solutions to difficult problems and know how to manage all process to seek best result on time.
Press and podcasts
In the Press
Quoted on AI costs, interviewed on building tech teams, and covered for opening an R&D center in Vilnius.
CIOFeature · Apr 2026
Without controls, an AI agent can cost more than an employee
I always say AI is a tool, not a replacement for your brain.
On why coding agents run through APIs without limits get expensive, and how per-team budget caps keep the spend tied to the value shipped.
Podcast
Consulting Spotlight · Software Oasis
From Developer to Strategic CTO: Transforming Tech Teams
Moving from agencies to in-house teams, assessing technical maturity, running remote teams and the metrics that show development is working.
Listen to the episode (opens in a new tab)Podcast
The KAJ Masterclass LIVE
3 Crucial Tips for Building Winning Tech Teams
How to stop paying for agencies that don’t deliver, build a high-performing in-house team, and line the tech strategy up with business goals.
Listen to the episode (opens in a new tab)More coverage
- Apr 2026MetaintroWhen AI costs more than the worker it replaced. Cites his CIO interview. (opens in a new tab)
- 2019Invest LithuaniaLithuanian team to build key products for Velocity Black (opens in a new tab)
- 2019DelfiUK-based tech firm establishing developer team in Vilnius (opens in a new tab)
- 2019LRTLondon startup Velocity Black opens a technology center in Vilnius (opens in a new tab)
- 201915minVelocity Black to set up a technology center in Lithuania (opens in a new tab)
- 2019Vilnius.ltFast-growing London startup to open a technology center in Vilnius (opens in a new tab)
- 2016LRT RadioGuest on “Centas eurą augina” (opens in a new tab)
Own products
Products He Builds Alongside Client Work
Client work comes first. These keep his hands on the keyboard: the same architecture, hiring and AI calls he makes for clients, tested on his own products.
Own productCo-founder
Kodanote
Social media, without the second job.
An AI social media partner for busy business owners. Send a line of text, a photo or a twenty-second voice memo. Kodanote writes the post in your voice, makes the visual and queues it for your approval.
- Learns the business from its website, profile and CV
- One long memo becomes several posts, each with its own visual
- Publishes to LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok and 5 more
Solidmatics
AI Manager
Know what every team you run actually did this week.
It reads the work your teams already produce (the code, the tickets, the messages, the meetings) and tells you in plain English what actually moved. The same read he does by hand for clients, now on a schedule.
See AI Manager
Recent stack
He Still Writes the Code
Coding since he was 13, and he builds products, not just teams. This is the stack he works in, top to bottom, from the model layer to the deploy pipeline.
Principle
No vendor lock-in. The right model for each job, switchable in minutes.
Principle
Customer data separation is enforced by the system, never left to the AI.
Principle
One set of contracts across API, web and mobile, so nothing drifts.
LLM layer
No lock-in to one AI vendor. Each task gets the model that fits its cost and quality, and switching takes minutes.
- OpenRouter
- Claude Opus
- Claude Sonnet
- Claude Haiku
- Gemini Flash
- OpenAI
AI architecture
Agents split into focused sub-agents with tightly scoped tools, so they stay predictable. Customer data stays separated by design, not by trusting the model.
- LangGraph
- deepagents
- Sub-agents
- Validated tools
- Python
- FastAPI
- Signed run tokens
Backend
Built to serve many customers on one platform from day one. API, web and mobile share the same data contracts, so they never drift apart.
- NestJS
- TypeScript
- Node
- Java
- Spring Boot
- Laravel
- PHP
- C#
- Postgres
- MySQL
- MongoDB
- Drizzle
- Redis
- BullMQ
- Socket.io
- WebSockets
- OpenAPI SDKs
- Zod
Web
Fast React front ends on a shared component library, with automated tests that click through the product like a real user.
- React
- Next.js
- Vite
- Redux Toolkit
- TanStack Query
- RTK Query
- shadcn
- Tailwind
- Storybook
- Playwright
Mobile
React Native when one codebase is enough, fully native iOS and Android when the product needs it.
- React Native
- iOS
- Android
- Swift
Platform
Proven services for sign-in, payments, background jobs, error tracking and deploys. No reinventing what already works.
- Clerk
- Stripe
- Inngest
- Sentry
- New Relic
- Mailgun
- Twilio
- Railway
- GitHub Actions
Infrastructure
All of AWS defined as code, secrets encrypted, and a fresh environment for every pull request, so changes get tested before they merge.
- AWS
- Terraform
- Terragrunt
- ECS Fargate
- Aurora
- Valkey
- CloudFront
- Lambda
- DynamoDB
- SOPS
- Docker
Workflow
One repository per product, strict automated code checks, and AI coding agents built into the daily workflow.
- Biome
- knip
- Claude Code
- Codex
- Cursor
- MCP
Built With His Own Hands, Recently
Agent engine
Turns agent teams that users draw on screen into working AI hierarchies at runtime. Memory is isolated per customer, requests are routed by intent, and every call logs its token cost.
Python · FastAPI · LangGraph
Plug-in tool registry
Site crawling, Lighthouse audits, Semrush and Ahrefs data run as serverless functions and turn into agent tools automatically.
AWS Lambda · DynamoDB
Billing ledger
Double-entry ledger with usage-based pricing on Stripe, so every charge can be traced back to what was used.
NestJS · Stripe
Real-time and SDKs
A WebSocket relay on API Gateway, plus typed SDKs generated from the API and shipped through a private npm registry.
API Gateway · OpenAPI · npm
Education
Degrees and Training
A bachelor’s in information systems and a master’s in software engineering, plus hundreds of additional courses on Udemy and LinkedIn Learning.
- 2026 –
CFI Education Inc.
In progressFinancial Planning & Analysis Professional (FPAP™). 46 courses, 28 required.
- 2023
Cambridge Judge Business School
Strategic Thinking for the CXO. 8-week module.
- 2011 – 13
Kaunas University of Technology
Master’s, Software Engineering
- 2007 – 11
Kaunas University of Technology
Bachelor’s, Information Systems
- 2004 – 06
Vilnius University Young Programmers’ School
Programming basics and mathematics
Let’s Talk
30 minutes on a call. No pitch. Tell Vygandas what is broken and he will be straight with you: a fractional CTO fixes it, or you need something else.
Book a Call with Vygandas (opens in a new tab)