Nick Zylkowski
Head of Engineering at Qonto
Hi, I'm Nick — a senior engineering leader with 10+ years in FinTech and e-commerce.
I currently lead backend teams at Qonto (€4.4B fintech unicorn) and previously worked mostly in the e-commerce industry. Throughout my career, I've progressed from software engineer to lead to director, scaling teams from 10 to 45+ engineers while delivering significant business value through new product launches and platform optimisations. I've helped structure teams, navigate hyper-growth, and lead through major reorganisations whilst keeping people engaged and productive.
What drives me is developing the next generation of engineering leaders. I've mentored engineers into their first management roles, helped managers grow their scope, coached ICs to principal level, and developed a lead through to manager and ultimately my director-level successor.
My Mentoring Topics
- Scaling engineering teams and organisational design
- Technology strategy, architecture reviews, and platform decisions
- Delivery optimisation through KPI-driven management practices
- Performance management frameworks and career development
- Leading through reorganisations and maintaining team engagement
- Stakeholder management and executive-level communication
- Cloud infrastructure optimisation (AWS, Kubernetes, Terraform)
- Building remote/hybrid engineering cultures
- Transitioning from IC to management and management to director-level roles
My approach:
I believe in practical, honest mentoring focused on achieving tangible results rather than theoretical discussions.