Nikolay Kondikov
Technology Leader
Sofia
Summary
Technology Leader experienced in software development, project management, and strategic planning. Achieved significant growth by building a Kubernetes-native AI orchestration platform and scaling engineering teams from 16 to 80, delivering over 30 projects across North America and Europe. Focused on aligning technical architecture with business outcomes and driving organizational success through comprehensive operational management.
Overview
2
2
Languages
3
3
Certifications
22
22
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Vice President, BU Sirma.AI Enterprise
Sirma.AI Enterprise
10.2024 - 06.2026
- Built Sirma.AI Enterprise from concept to production a Kubernetes-native agentic AI orchestration platform shipped from zero to v1.0.0 in under 12 months. Owned the full product lifecycle: roadmap, UX, architecture, model strategy, pricing, and go-to-market. Forbes ICT Company of the Year 2026.
- Designed the platform end-to-end as API-first: every capability - agent creation, workflow execution, knowledge ingestion, and policy enforcement - exposed via REST APIs, enabling programmatic integration without UI dependency. Built the end-user experience in parallel: workflow builder, agent configuration panels, credential management, and monitoring dashboards optimized for non-technical users building complex automations.
- Architected multi-agent orchestration supporting specialized agents (Recruiter, Coder, and custom domains), collaborative multi-agent teams, and end-to-end agentic workflows with structured data extraction and auto-generated JSON schema validation from unstructured inputs. Built enterprise RAG pipelines ingesting PDFs, policies, and manuals into vectorized knowledge bases - turning scattered corporate knowledge into queryable enterprise memory.
- Defined agent behavior architecture: autonomy levels, guardrails, escalation paths, fallback strategies, and observability for production workflows. Designed a self-evolving agent ecosystem (“Spiral of Progress”): a continuous Observe → Evaluate → Mutate → Improve loop with multi-dimensional evaluation covering accuracy (LLM-as-judge), quality (agent-as-judge), performance (latency/memory), and reliability (tool call validation), golden dataset testing, and human-in-the-loop approval gates before production deployment.
- Owned model strategy for 500+ LLMs including OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure, Bedrock, Gemini, Mistral, DeepSeek, and self-hosted models via Ollama and vLLM, designing unified tool-use schemas and cost/performance tradeoff frameworks across providers to optimize AI deployment.
- Built real-time voice AI infrastructure with LiveKit (WebRTC/SIP) enabling bi-directional streaming, real-time STT/TTS, and telephony integration for customer-facing agent deployments, enhancing user interaction through natural conversation capabilities.
- Built a Policy Administration Module enforcing GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, ISO 27001, SOC 2, NIS2, and DORA across all agent interactions: pre-prompt PII and secrets inspection, post-response sanitization to prevent data leaks, and a zero-persistence data processor model enabling enterprise AI adoption without compliance risk. Delivered via air-gapped Kubernetes deployments (AWS EKS, Azure AKS, on-premise K3s) with GitLab CI, Harbor registry, ArgoCD GitOps, Helm, Weaviate, and Grafana/Prometheus observability. Completed 47-control vendor security self-declaration for Schwarz Digits.
- Led strategic partnership with STACKIT/Schwarz Digits to position platform as managed service on Germany’s sovereign cloud; negotiated credit-based pricing and a three-tier deployment model, influencing enterprise pricing strategies and driving pre-sales initiatives for marquee accounts.
- In parallel, designed and personally operate an autonomous "AI Software Factory" for an independent product initiative: a multi-agent SDLC pipeline (spec → user stories → code → tests → pull request) built on Claude Code and the BMad Method, where a fleet of specialized AI agents handles requirements analysis, architecture, implementation, and QA end-to-end. My role is limited to approving specs and reviewing PR descriptions before merge.
- Architected the governance layer: risk-based test design (P0–P3 prioritization), automated acceptance-test-driven development, and a holdout validation-scenario set that AI agents cannot access or modify - ensuring test coverage reflects real functionality rather than agent-optimized metrics.
- Built a tag-driven CI/CD release pipeline (development/preview/stable/hotfix channels) on GitHub Actions with trunk-based Git branching and semantic versioning, giving full environment-promotion governance while agents handle all implementation work.
- Integrated five MCP servers (GitHub, Context7, Sequential Thinking, Sentry, Memory) into the agent pipeline for live documentation retrieval, automated PR creation, complex multi-step reasoning, production-error triage, and cross-session institutional memory.
- Sirma Group Holding (BSE & Frankfurt-listed, 800+ engineers)
Member of the Management Board
Sirma Group Inc. dba Panaton Software
01.2017 - 06.2026
- Oversaw corporate strategy, budgeting, and risk management for the Sirma Group subsidiary.
- Self-motivated, with a strong sense of personal responsibility.
- Worked effectively in fast-paced environments.
- Skilled at working independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
Multiple Senior Roles
Sirma Solutions
01.2016 - 10.2024
- Member of Management Board: Shaped strategic direction, technology investment decisions, and organizational design for core services subsidiary.
- Director of Technology Services BU, North America: Owned P&L and led Sirma’s North American technology services business unit scaling the engineering team from 16 to 80 and delivering 30+ client projects across real-time analytics, fraud detection, IoT, e-commerce, and engagement platforms for US enterprise accounts.
- Alongside client delivery, led the design and build of three IP products within the business unit - each solving problems encountered in the field and later shipped as standalone platforms.
- Developed Kanin.io, a real-time velocity analytics engine in Rust with Redis/Kafka, processing 10K+ transactions/second with sub-second query response for financial fraud detection; re-architected for Kount (acquired by Equifax) in Go and DynamoDB, establishing their production fraud scoring infrastructure at scale.
- Co-created PureInfluencer (acquired by Emergence), a real-time visitor engagement and attribution platform for automotive and RV dealers, utilizing ML-based behavior scoring and dynamic offer delivery to achieve 30%+ lift in high-intent leads. Co-inventor of the underlying tracking patent (US 2022/0109731 A1).
- Salexor - a SaaS CRM and marketing automation platform for retail, deployed to 2,500+ businesses across North America and Europe. Real-time visitor profiling, AI-powered live chat, email automation, behavioral flows, and full analytics. Integrated with Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, HubSpot, and Klaviyo.
- Sirma Solutions (Sirma Group subsidiary)
Senior Technical Project Manager - Outsourcing Partners
Wacom Europe GmbH
06.2015 - 12.2015
- Oversaw outsourced software development partnerships for Wacom’s European operations, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives. Coordinated cross-functional delivery across distributed teams, facilitating timely project completion and effective communication.
- Led cross-functional teams to deliver complex technical projects on time and within budget.
- Implemented agile methodologies to enhance project efficiency and team collaboration.
- Developed comprehensive project plans, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and stakeholder expectations.
Engineering Leadership
Sirma Solutions
05.2007 - 06.2015
- Software Development Manager: Hands-on engineering leader: wrote production code while leading multiple Java/Spring development teams delivering enterprise platforms across loyalty, IoT, voice communications, and insurance. Introduced agile methodologies across the organization.
- Built Loyax — full-stack enterprise loyalty management platform for retail chains and malls, integrating Java/Spring/PostgreSQL backend with native Android and iOS consumer apps, loyalty campaigns, customer tiering, coalition programs, promoter tablet app, and in-mall self-service kiosk, deployed across multiple markets to enhance customer engagement.
- Shipped Panaton Conferencing Platform — real-time voice conferencing with web, mobile, and CRM integration across a full Java/Spring backend stack. Delivered Sirma ISG insurance broker web platform end-to-end, including team staffing and delivery management.
- Shipped Panaton Conferencing Platform — real-time voice conferencing solution with web, mobile, and CRM integration using full Java/Spring backend stack, and delivered Sirma ISG insurance broker web platform end-to-end, overseeing team staffing and project delivery for improved client service.
- Led team of 6–15 engineers to deliver enterprise client projects amid three simultaneous technology waves, pioneering mobile development pre-app store era by building end-to-end systems with native Android, iOS, and BlackBerry apps. Introduced Adobe Flex for rich internet applications, delivering responsive, data-driven enterprise UIs before HTML5 alternatives. Established Java/Spring Framework as core backend foundation for sustained engineering growth, combining hands-on development with team leadership across multiple concurrent projects.
Senior Software Developer
Zoiper.com / Securax
01.2007 - 05.2007
- Developed VoIP/SIP client and security systems, gaining early exposure to real-time communication protocols.
- Led development of scalable software solutions using Agile methodologies and modern programming languages.
- Mentored junior developers, enhancing team skills and fostering a collaborative environment.
- Streamlined code review processes, improving quality assurance and reducing release cycle times.
Senior Software Developer
Element
07.2004 - 01.2007
- Developed full-stack enterprise software solutions, enhancing application functionality and user experience. Built engineering skills in Java, .NET, and web technologies to support diverse project requirements.
- Led development of cross-platform applications using VoIP technologies and integrated communication solutions.
- Mentored junior developers, enhancing team performance through code reviews and knowledge sharing.
- Designed and implemented scalable software architectures to improve system efficiency and reliability.
Education
Master of Science - Industrial Management
Technical University of Sofia
Sofia01-2006
Bachelor of Science - Computer Systems and Technologies
Technical University of Sofia
Sofia01-2003
Skills
Product Roadmap & Vision
AI Product Innovation
0→1 Product Delivery
Product management
AI / Agentic Workflows
AI Development Lifecycle
UX & Interaction Design
Agile Methodologies
Enterprise Architecture
Cloud Strategy
P&L management
Compliance Management
Strategic planning
Partnership development
Talent Management
Analytical decision making
Project management
Strategic leadership
Certification
STACKIT University: Partner Fundamentals, Cloud Engineer Fundamentals
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
Forbes Business Awards 2026 - Company of the Year, ICT Recognized for Sirma.AI Enterprise platform. Issued by Forbes Bulgaria., 2× Best of Show - CES 2015 Awarded for Energous (NASDAQ: WATT) embedded-cloud-mobile IoT infrastructure. Issued by CES.
PATENT
Systems and Methods for Real-Time Tracking of Client Data Access US 2022/0109731 A1 | Published Apr 7, 2022 | Application No. 17/197,863 Co-inventor of a system for real-time tracking and ML-based scoring of client device sessions to detect anomalous behavior and trigger proactive actions. Assignee: PureInfluencer LLC.
Timeline
Senior Vice President, BU Sirma.AI Enterprise
Sirma.AI Enterprise
10.2024 - 06.2026
Member of the Management Board
Sirma Group Inc. dba Panaton Software
01.2017 - 06.2026
Multiple Senior Roles
Sirma Solutions
01.2016 - 10.2024
Senior Technical Project Manager - Outsourcing Partners
Wacom Europe GmbH
06.2015 - 12.2015
Engineering Leadership
Sirma Solutions
05.2007 - 06.2015
Senior Software Developer
Zoiper.com / Securax
01.2007 - 05.2007
Senior Software Developer
Element
07.2004 - 01.2007
Master of Science - Industrial Management
Technical University of Sofia
Bachelor of Science - Computer Systems and Technologies
Technical University of Sofia