My Experience

Professional Resume

Over 20+ years of experience in Software Engineering, UX/UI Design, and leadership roles in various industries.

Christopher R McGuire
SVP

Christopher R McGuire

SVP, Head of Applications

UX/UI Design and Development

Connect with me

Summary

Accomplished SVP of Software Engineering & UX/UI Design, recognized for pioneering the front-end transformation at Citadel with the creation of the first UX/UI Frontend Design and Development team that set a benchmark for user-centric development with a thoughtful full-stack architecture. Adept in building and leading global teams to innovate, architect, and execute multiple real-time and data-intensive applications.

Education

Purdue University

B.S. Computer and Electrical Engineering

1996

Respected Colleagues

"Chris is a game-changing UI/UX expert and team leader, with a rare combination of modern technical skill on the best platforms, ability to partner with key business stakeholders, and a great instinct for workflow efficiency."

Chris Herringshaw

Chief Technology Officer at Janus Henderson Investors

"Chris is one of those rare people who gets every step of making a successful digital product. His ability to pair a solid strategy with top-tier design and development is unmatched and shows in the products he successfully creates."

Jason Eplawy

Owner at World Headquarters, Inc.

Work Experience

SVP, Head of Applications

2024 - Present

Mesirow

As Senior Vice President, Head of Applications at Mesirow, I spearhead the comprehensive application development strategy for the multiple business lines, ensuring the delivery of secure, high-quality software solutions. Focused on leading and mentoring a talented team of developers, enforcing rigorous coding standards, and maintaining software security the teams collaborates with business stakeholders and vendor partners to align technology roadmaps with business goals, gather feedback, and prioritize project initiatives. Leading the team and business to push the boundaries of technology offerings to elevate the businesses to the next level.

Head of UX / UI Design and Development

2021 - 2023

Akuna Capital

Serving as VP of Engineering, UX/UI Design, and Director of Front-End Development, I started a course of transformation at Akuna Capital. The team initiated the organization of application logs into a single, consolidated dashboard. In the face of team-building, I cultivated an environment of knowledge-sharing, significantly reducing onboarding time and boosting satisfaction. With this strategic and collaborative approach, I accelerated product delivery by 25%, merging speed with quality in a testament to efficient innovation. Firm-wide, I ignited discussions around defining career paths for the technology teams, helping to support the career progression of development and IT individuals.

Director of Application Engineering

2019 - 2021

SpiderRock Platform

During my tenure as SpiderRock's Director of Product Design and Engineering, I kicked off a process to modernize our application designs, nurtured a productive development team, and effectively transitioned our work processes amidst a global pandemic. A firm believer in the power of good design, I also implemented a design system library transforming UI/UX strategies across the firm.

Director of UX and UI Design and Development

2005 - 2019

Citadel, LLC

At Citadel, I held several roles, where I notably built and led a the largest UX/UI team with frontend engineering focus within the firm. I reduced UI development time by 50% by introducing styled control libraries that promoted consistency across applications and intuitive workflows. Additionally, the team increased performance with a scalable microservices architecture. I facilitated cross-departmental communication, fostered vendor relationships, and laid the foundation for effective product marketing and training campaigns.

Lead Tools and CM Engineer

2001 - 2005

GE Medical

At GE Healthcare, I designed various software tools and automated processes, significantly improving the efficiency of design and testing procedures. Apart from testing Radiology Information Systems and PACS software products, I was instrumental in implementing a digital document management system and advancing common design and test processes.

Lead Quality Assurance Engineer

1997 - 2001

Motorola

During my time at Motorola Mobility, I supported all stages of the software lifecycle for Motorola's GSM, GPRS, and UMTS products. I provided robust field support, designed an in-house GPRS IP Network, automated testing efforts, and contributed significantly to the testing of key functionalities within the telecommunication systems. As a team lead in Vancouver, I also coordinated cross-location test efforts and conducted training sessions for the local test team.

Technical Skills

Programming Languages

CSS
HTML
Java
JavaScript
.NET
SQL

Software

Adobe CS
Balsamiq
Figma
Git
Grafana
VS Code

Expertise

UX Design
UI Design
Frontend Development
Full Stack Development
Design System Libraries
System Architecture

Leadership & Soft Skills

  • Team Leadership
  • Strategic Planning
  • Mentorship
  • Cross-Team Collaboration
  • Innovation
  • Communication
  • Business Strategy
  • Change Management
  • Product Management
  • Stakeholder Management
  • Vendor Management
  • Technical Interviews

Key Achievements

  • Pioneered front-end transformation at Citadel by creating the first UX/UI Frontend Design and Development team

  • Reduced UI development time by 50% through the introduction of styled control libraries

  • Accelerated product delivery by 25% at Akuna Capital through strategic team building and knowledge sharing

  • Implemented design system libraries that transformed UI/UX strategies across multiple organizations

  • Led the development of scalable microservices architecture that significantly improved application performance