From Backend Engineer to Operations Executive

Act I: The Engineer (2015-2020)

I started as a research assistant at Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, working on metaheuristics and optimization algorithms. It was academic, theoretical work—but it taught me how to break down complex problems systematically.

In 2017, I joined TECRO as a backend developer. This is where I fell into payment processing. I learned ISO 8583 message formats, built transaction routing engines, and debugged why payments failed at 2am.

Payment systems are deceptively complex. A simple card transaction involves dozens of systems. I learned by breaking things in production and fixing them fast. I started leading small technical teams, understanding how engineering decisions ripple through the entire business.

In 2019, I joined Mercado Libre—Latin America's largest e-commerce platform. I worked on high-availability infrastructure serving millions of daily transactions. I learned how companies at scale think about reliability and saw what excellent operational frameworks look like.

But I missed building something from the ground up. In 2020, I returned to TECRO—not as a developer, but as COO.

Act II: The Builder (2020-2025)

The transition from backend engineer to COO wasn't a clean pivot. I learned how to evaluate ideas not just technically, but operationally and commercially.

TECRO needed to scale. We were 30 people with ad-hoc infrastructure. So I built it. I established HR processes, finance systems, and commercial structures that allowed us to scale without bureaucratic bloat.

The Results: Over four years, we scaled to 60 people. Revenue doubled. We maintained profitability and low turnover. We built a company culture that valued both technical excellence and operational discipline.

My technical background became essential. When systems broke, I could translate between "the database is deadlocking" and "we need to delay this deliverable."

Recently, I joined TECRO's board of directors, moving into strategic planning: evaluating M&A opportunities and setting long-term direction.

Act III: What's Next

In January 2026, I'm stepping away from TECRO to take a 3-month cultural sabbatical and explore what comes next.

I'm interested in operations leadership roles where my hybrid technical-operational background creates strategic advantage. Companies where operations leadership needs to understand the technical complexity that drives the business.

I'm also actively researching OpenFinance and OpenBanking—exploring the infrastructure required for the next wave of fintech innovation.