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Kelsey Thomas
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Kelsey is a seasoned engineering leader with extensive experience in backend systems, team management, and enterprise product delivery. As Director of Engineering at Ethyca, she leads engineering strategy and execution for the company’s privacy infrastructure platform, overseeing a growing team of developers responsible for building scalable, compliant-by-design systems that serve both developers and legal teams.
Her career spans a range of technical roles across high-growth startups and enterprise-focused software companies. She brings a disciplined, systems-oriented approach to engineering leadership, grounded in real-world experience building production systems and managing technical teams in regulated environments.
Director of Engineering, Ethyca
Leads the engineering organization at Ethyca, overseeing backend, frontend, and infrastructure teams responsible for developing the company’s core privacy products. Manages team structure, hiring, cross-functional planning, and architecture to support scalable and compliant systems.
2022 – PresentEngineering Manager, OpenSesame
Worked on backend systems at a learning technology company, contributing to features that supported enterprise training and L&D programs. Gained experience in developing SaaS applications used by large corporate clients.
2021 - 2022Engineering Manager, Degreed
Developed production software in a fast-paced, product-led organization. Supported initiatives to expand Degreed’s enterprise learning platform, working closely with cross-functional teams to meet customer demands.
2018-2021Software Developer, Laitram
Early technical role at an industrial innovation firm. Built and maintained internal software systems, gaining foundational experience in production codebases and systems reliability.
2016 - 2018Kelsey is a rare combination of technical strength and people-centered leadership. Her ability to lead teams through the challenges of building compliant, scalable infrastructure makes her an integral part of Ethyca’s mission—and a key technical leader well-suited to scaling enterprise-grade engineering teams.