McLeod Bob-Manuel

Software Engineer, Product Engineer and Technology Researcher

About

I am a software engineer, product engineer and technology researcher. I use software as a tool for business and personal problems, and I choose the stack to fit the problem, not the other way round.

I work as an intrapreneur: I look for the cost, risk or missing product a business has learned to live with, prove an alternative with a working build, and then own it through to production. At Yativo that meant replacing a third-party crypto provider with infrastructure we built ourselves, which turned the crypto line from a cost centre into a core revenue product.

At MacLeod Technologies I work as a technology researcher, contributing to products and publishing research on AI, storage and financial infrastructure.

Location: Santiago, London, Lagos and remote worldwide.

How I work

  1. Start from the problem, not the stack

    The language, framework and vendor follow from the problem, the team and the constraints.

  2. Earn the mandate with a working proof

    A small build that works changes more minds than a deck. Then it has to survive production.

  3. Correctness before features

    When software moves money, being right every time is the feature. Everything else is built on it.

  4. Documentation is part of the product

    If a customer cannot integrate it, it does not exist. Docs, SDKs and examples ship with the code.

Experience

  1. 2024 – present

    Acting Chief Product Officer

    Yativo

    Leads product engineering for the crypto platform: wallets, cross-chain settlement, card issuing, compliance and developer experience. Took it from an in-house proof of concept to a core revenue product.

  2. Technology Researcher

    MacLeod Technologies

    Product studio and research practice. Ships Tend, built Yactiva for Yactiva LLC, and publishes research.

  3. 2022 – 2025

    Frontend Lead

    Zinari Finance

    Led frontend engineering and API documentation for a US fintech platform through its transition into Yativo.

  4. 2023 – present

    Software Engineer

    Quocreo Technologies

    Product and platform engineering. Organised the company's software development hackathon.

  5. 2021 – 2022

    Frontend Engineer

    Xpletsquare

    Product work in Vue and Nuxt, integrated with backend services.

  6. 2018 – 2021

    Software Developer

    Independent

    Took client problems from requirements to shipped software in government, geospatial, healthcare, non-profit, retail and media.

Toolkit

Tools I have shipped production work with, grouped by what they are for.

Languages
TypeScript · JavaScript · Python · Java · Swift · Solidity · SQL · Go
Product surfaces
React · Vue and Nuxt · Angular · Astro · Next.js · SwiftUI · React Native
Platform and data
Node.js · NestJS · Express · PostgreSQL · MongoDB · Redis · Queues and workers · Docker · GCP · Vercel · CI/CD
Financial infrastructure
Wallet infrastructure · Multi-chain settlement · Stablecoins · Card issuing · Compliance screening · Reconciliation
Developer experience
REST API design · SDKs in five languages · MCP-ready documentation · Sandboxes

Education

  • BSc Information SystemsMiddlesex University, London
  • Bachelor's degree, Agricultural Economics and ExtensionUniversity of Port Harcourt
  • Advanced Diploma, Computer Software EngineeringNIIT