Shay Brennan-Kelly

Shay Brennan-Kelly

Founder & Lead Engineer, SpectrumCoach

◎ Dublin, Ireland

Biography

About Shay

Shay Brennan-Kelly is a Staff/Principal-level full-stack software engineer with over 10 years of experience designing and delivering secure, scalable applications across start-ups, regulated SaaS platforms, and enterprise environments. Known for translating complex requirements into maintainable, high-quality solutions while mentoring engineers and driving best practices, Shay has strong expertise in cloud architecture, technical leadership, and accessibility-first development. Currently founding SpectrumCoach, an accessibility-focused SaaS platform, Shay continues to champion inclusive technology and diversity leadership.

Professional Experience

Founder & Lead Engineer

Sep 2025 - Present · SpectrumCoach

Building accessibility-first SaaS platform for neuroinclusive coaching using TypeScript, React and Python. Designed modern React TypeScript frontend optimised for WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards. Developed APIs for authentication, scheduling, client workspaces, and billing. Delivered full-stack features through AWS cloud deployment.

Principal Software Engineer (Contract)

Apr 2025 - Sep 2025 · Fidelity Investments

Delivered production-grade AI/ML platforms in Python and Java, meeting compliance and quality standards. Embedded CI/CD quality gates and testing frameworks. Mentored engineers on API standards, code review practices, and architectural design patterns.

Lead Cloud Security Architect / Principal Engineer

May 2022 - Feb 2025 · valid8Me

Led solution design and delivery of regulated AML/KYC SaaS platform using microservices on AWS. Built secure REST APIs for internal and third-party applications. Migrated monolithic services to AWS, improving resilience and scalability. Cut bugs 50% through quality checks implementation. Mentored 10+ engineers across 30+ global engineering group.

Engineering Manager (Cybersecurity & Privacy)

Sep 2020 - Apr 2022 · Travizory

Delivered cloud-native SaaS systems for government border security. Architected Kafka-driven microservices supporting real-time data pipelines on AWS. Led full-stack platform development for COVID travel health certification POCs. Implemented automated security testing in DevSecOps workflows.

Freelance Consultant

Jun 2020 - Sep 2020 · Shaynanigans

Improved API performance 25%, cut AWS costs 40%, and delivered clear technical documentation.

Software Engineer, Product Engineering

Jul 2019 - Jun 2020 · HubSpot

Built and maintained internal sales support systems using Java, MySQL, React while improving documentation and release processes to enhance cross-team collaboration.

Software Engineer

Aug 2018 - Jun 2019 · Consensys

Built blockchain KYC products for trade finance, integrating APIs and smart contracts using React and TypeScript.

Software Engineering Consultant

Jul 2015 - Jul 2018 · Accenture

Built enterprise software in private and public sectors, including a reporting tool saving €500k annually.

Education

Self-Employment for Persons with Disabilities Programme

2025 · TU Dublin · Grade: In Progress

Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Cybersecurity

2022 · TU Dublin · Grade: First Class Honours

Higher Diploma in Financial Technologies

2018 · National College of Ireland · Grade: First Class Honours

BSc in Computer Science Software Engineering

2015 · Maynooth University · Grade: First Class Honours