Tamara Bernad
20 years of shipping software. 10+ years fronting a metal band. Currently at Deel, building features I no longer type myself.
- I show up where the problem is, not where the org chart says I should be.
- I treat hobbies as a second lab — patterns from the stage end up in production.
- I'd rather think clearly for 20 minutes than type for 4 hours.
I started in Java in 2005, moved through Flash and ActionScript (RIP), pivoted to iOS when Apple made that decision for everyone, co-founded a startup where I built the entire platform from scratch, led engineering teams of 20, and today I'm shipping features across React Native, React, and Node.js at Deel.
I work across the full stack because that's where problems actually live — not just in the layer you're assigned to. I've built for governments, major brands, and startups that didn't survive and ones that did. I've been a CTO, a Senior Director, and a senior IC. The through-line isn't the title. It's that I tend to show up where the problem is.
When I'm not at the keyboard, I front Steel God, a Spanish progressive power metal band. The same patterns I use to debug systems and lead technical design — I learned half of them on stage first.
Creating happy users, since 2005.
Experience
Senior Full Stack Software Engineer
Backend in Node.js and PostgreSQL, frontend in React, and now React Native — all in the Expenses domain. When Deel started introducing React Native I volunteered, having built mobile apps before. I raise my hand where the problem is.
Doing technical design and work that leans toward technical leadership, which is the direction I'm heading. AI-native since March 2026: no manual code, shipping with Claude, Cursor and git worktrees running in parallel.
Senior Director of Engineering / Engineering Manager
Started as the sole Engineering Manager, working closely with the CTO on a stealth startup. When the company was acquired by Latch we went from a small team to 300 people overnight. I became Senior Director of Engineering and managed a team of 20.
Navigated a merger, two reorgs, and leadership changes at the C-level — all while keeping delivery moving. When a critical project was at risk I stepped in to develop in Angular. Defined processes for releases, RFCs, PIRs, CapEx, and async collaboration across a distributed team.
CTO & Co-founder
Built the full platform from zero. First mobile app in Objective-C and Swift, backend in Node.js and MongoDB, custom backoffice in React, and all of it on AWS Elastic Beanstalk with CI/CD for both backend and mobile. Later migrated mobile to React Native.
Grew the engineering team from 0 to 5. Navigated the company through a B2C to B2B pivot and all the ups and downs of co-founding. Introduced observability and monitoring, automated testing, and 1-click deployment — reducing MTTR from over a week to a couple of days.
Skills: MERN Stack, TypeScript, React Native, Swift, Objective-C, AWS, CI/CD, Docker, MongoDB, REST API
Senior Fullstack Software Engineer
Digitalized cognitive tests for dementia diagnosis. Built offline-first support using IndexedDB with background sync, making tests reliable in any connectivity conditions. Used animation and game mechanics to implement the trail-making and token tests.
Moved to a backend-driven architecture that went from 4 fixed test variants to unlimited. Automated manual data transformation that previously took hours.
Skills: React, Redux, Node.js, PostgreSQL, Cypress, Jest, IndexedDB, Speech-to-Text
Technical Lead Mobile / Senior iOS Engineer
Introduced iOS development to the company, expanding its tech offering. Built the mobile team from 0 to 4 engineers. Deep work on offline sync, multithreading, and Core Data — making complex device-local storage smooth under real-world conditions.
Technical point of contact for clients. Initiated Gitflow and agile practices in the company.
Skills: Swift, Objective-C, Core Data, Multithreading, Background Session, REST API
Early Career — Web & Interactive
30+ graphically intense Flash/AS3 projects for agencies, museums, and events — 2D and 3D animation, physics, interactive installations, and data visualisation. The freedom Flash gave for what you could build was unlike anything that came after it.
Started in Java at LCFIB working on a knowledge-sharing social platform for Catalan institutions, which led me to design and implement a social network visualisation — the seed of everything that followed.
Skills: AS3, Flash, Java, HTML, CSS, Sass, PHP, MySQL, 2D/3D animation, data visualisation
Skills
- React · React Native · Angular
- Node.js (Express) · PostgreSQL · MongoDB
- Swift · Objective-C · Java · TypeScript
- AWS (Elastic Beanstalk) · Docker · CI/CD (Bitbucket, Bitrise)
- Jest · Cypress · Mocha · e2e, integration & unit tests
- Technical Design & System Architecture
- Engineering Management & Mentoring (teams up to 20)
- Agile / Scrum · Certified Scrum Master
- Remote & Distributed Team Leadership
- AI-native workflow (Claude, Cursor, git worktrees)
Off the Keyboard / On the Stage
I front Steel God, a Spanish progressive power metal band. People assume that's where I switch off from engineering. It's the opposite — the patterns I use to hold loose ends until a design resolves, sell a technical RFC, or debug a system I can't see, most of them I learned on stage first.
New single · New videoclips
Steel God is back in the studio. A new single drops in 2026, with two videoclips in production right now.
Follow on Spotify to get notified
Writing
Notes from 20 years of building, leading, and questioning what's about to change. All posts on LinkedIn →
The non-linear path
In a job interview, someone told me I needed more focus. I've been thinking about it for years. AI is about to make this kind of path more valuable, not less.
I haven't written a line of code since March 2026
I'm a senior full-stack engineer. I ship features in production every week. I just don't type the code anymore. Here's what changed in how I think.
Flash → HTML5: I've seen this AI movie before
In April 2010, Steve Jobs killed Flash. I read the letter at my desk in Barcelona where I was a senior AS3 engineer. The emotional shape of the AI shift feels familiar.
Education
Polytechnic University of Catalonia
Barcelona, Spain
ELISAVA
Barcelona, Spain
Certified Scrum Master
Stockholm, Sweden
Machine Learning Foundations
- Professor of Full-Stack Web Technologies — UPC Postgraduate (2019 – 2022)
- Native: Spanish, German
- Advanced: English, Catalan
- Basic: French