David Morton

VP of Engineering

Penngrove, California, United States24 yrs 2 mos experience

Most Likely To SwitchAI ML Practitioner

Key Highlights

Led engineering teams to scale platforms for hundreds of thousands of users.
Expert in building reliable systems that support business goals.
Hands-on experience with AI-assisted development workflows.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a SaaS engineering leader with a strong focus on scalable systems and team growth.

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Skills

Core Skills

Engineering LeadershipSoftware ArchitectureAgile DeliveryAi-assisted DevelopmentSystem ReliabilityDevops

Other Skills

Distributed TeamsHiring & Team BuildingPeople ManagementCloud ArchitectureElasticsearchBackend SystemsCross-functional LeadershipScalable SystemsNode.jsTypeScriptJavaScriptReact.jsGoogle Cloud Platform (GCP)Amazon Web Services (AWS)Firebase

About

I’m an engineering leader with a startup background who stays close to the code. I’ve spent most of my career joining companies early and helping them move from an initial product to a more scalable, reliable engineering organization. I’ve led small, high-impact teams (typically 5–10 engineers), hired and mentored developers, and remained hands-on in software architecture and delivery. I’m comfortable operating at multiple levels — writing and reviewing code, making architectural decisions, and driving execution across distributed teams, including a mix of onshore and outsourced engineers. My focus is on building practical systems that ship reliably and support real business goals. I actively use AI-enabled development as part of my everyday engineering workflow to move faster and explore ideas, while staying grounded in strong engineering fundamentals. Outside of work, I enjoy running and playing ice hockey.

Experience

24 yrs 2 mos

Total Experience

2 yrs 8 mos

Average Tenure

4 yrs 11 mos

Current Experience

Acquire.com

VP of Engineering

Jun 2021 – Present · 4 yrs 11 mos · Hybrid

Joined shortly after launch as an early engineering leader, partnering closely with Product and Finance to help scale the platform beyond its initial MVP.
Took ownership of engineering architecture and delivery, quickly ramping on a new stack (React, MobX, Node.js, Firebase, Google Cloud) and stabilizing an existing product built with an outsourced team.
Productized core legal transaction workflows by building standardized, guided document generation systems (LOIs, NDAs, asset purchase agreements) integrated directly into marketplace operations.
Established agile development and execution practices to improve predictability, delivery cadence, and cross-functional alignment.
Built and led a distributed engineering organization across the U.S. and offshore, with responsibility for hiring, performance management, and day-to-day execution.
Helped scale the platform to hundreds of thousands of users while supporting significant growth in annual revenue.
Designed and implemented internal analytics and reporting systems to support product insights and business decision-making.
Recently led the ground-up development of a new product (Metricable), using modern development practices and AI-assisted workflows to accelerate iteration.

Engineering LeadershipAgile DeliveryDistributed TeamsHiring & Team BuildingSoftware ArchitecturePeople Management+1

Epic for kids

Backend & DevOps Lead (Acquired By BYJU'S)

Jun 2018 – Jun 2021 · 3 yrs · Redwood City, California, United States · Hybrid

Led backend and DevOps engineering for a high-traffic consumer application, with responsibility for system reliability, performance, and delivery.
Took ownership of a platform experiencing regular downtime under load, diagnosing and resolving scalability issues through database optimization and backend performance improvements.
Introduced Elasticsearch to significantly improve search performance and reliability at scale.
Built and managed the backend and DevOps teams, hiring and leading a group of 7 engineers across core services and infrastructure.
Owned backend architecture and operational readiness, ensuring the platform could support sustained high-volume usage.
Guided the team through the transition to fully remote work during COVID while maintaining delivery and system stability.

ElasticsearchBackend SystemsSystem ReliabilityDevOpsSoftware ArchitectureCloud Architecture

Bizness apps

2 roles

VP of Engineering (Acquired by Think3!)

Promoted

Sep 2015 – Jun 2018 · 2 yrs 9 mos · San Francisco

Progressed from Senior Architect into engineering leadership, taking ownership of a large-scale mobile and web platform.
Led architecture and development across core platform systems supporting hundreds of thousands of deployed applications.
Managed multiple outsourced development teams while maintaining platform reliability and delivery.
Took on the most complex technical challenges across the organization and guided scalable solutions.
Supported the company through growth and eventual acquisition by Think3.

Senior Architect

Nov 2014 – Sep 2015 · 10 mos · San Francisco

Pni sensor corporation

Application Developer

Aug 2014 – Nov 2014 · 3 mos · Santa Rosa, CA

Built consume mobile applications utilizing PNI's custom sensors.

Rewired health

Lead Developer & Director Of Engineering

Nov 2013 – Aug 2014 · 9 mos · Novato, CA

Led development of an early-stage mobile product, taking ownership of architecture and delivery after an initial prototype failed.

Oleo apps inc.

Co-founder

Sep 2012 – Nov 2013 · 1 yr 2 mos · Burlingame, CA

Co-founded a mobile product startup, taking ideas from prototype through launch and fund raising.

Crowdstar

Director Of Engineering & Lead Developer (Acquired by GLU Mobile)

Mar 2009 – Sep 2012 · 3 yrs 6 mos · Burlingame, CA

Early engineering leader at a fast-growing consumer startup acquired by Glu Mobile. Led development of multiple high-scale consumer products and managed engineering teams during rapid growth.