Stephen Lester

Commander
DISC Type : D

Director of Platform Engineering at Bolt

Traverse City, Michigan, United States

Overview

Stephen is an engineering leader with over 25 years of experience specializing in platform modernization, DevOps, and scalable infrastructure for AI, crypto, and mobile. Described by colleagues as having a "Midas touch" for IT, he excels at transitioning organizations from legacy systems to modern, service-oriented architectures. He is a graduate of Georgia Southern University.

Outside of his engineering leadership, Stephen has a creative and technical side. He is a videographer and drone operator with a portfolio of film work listed on IMDb. He also runs an IT blog, Burnin-Media, where he publishes articles to help others solve complex technical challenges.

Unique fact: Stephen has served as a First Camera Assistant on a music video and has credits on IMDb for his film work.

Personality Overview

Very Quick

Risk-Taker

Decisive

They are not always relationship oriented.  They take a lot of pride in personal achievements. They like to move fast and expect the same from others.

Topics They Care About

Platform Modernization
His career focuses on transitioning companies from legacy monolithic workflows to modern, scalable microservices and service-oriented architectures.
DevOps Culture
He has a long history of implementing DevOps and SRE best practices to improve software delivery, increase velocity, and reduce cognitive load on engineering teams.
AI & Crypto Infrastructure
His current role at Bolt involves driving scalable engineering strategies specifically for the company's AI, crypto, and mobile platforms.

Media Appearances

Stephen has no verified media appearances

Work History

6-2024
Director of Platform Engineering at Bolt
6-2024 - 7-2024
Lead Platform, Principal Engineer at Bolt
10-2021 - 5-2024
Platform Tech Lead/ Interim Director of Platforms at Ripple
2-2019 - 10-2021
DevOps Engineer at Wowza Media Systems
6-2018 - 2-2019
DevOps Engineer at Everyday Health Inc.

Education

2013 - 2015
Bachelor’s Degree from Georgia Southern University
2009 - 2013
CS from Georgia State University Perimeter College

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : N/A Location : Traverse City, Michigan, United States Job Level : N/A Designation : Director of Platform Engineering at Bolt
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Insights For Selling To Stephen

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Help them weigh the risks by sharing objective proof points without becoming too analytical
  • Objectively showcase the impact that your product creates
  • Be respectful but crisp

DONT's

  • Don’t be in a rush to invite them for a social meet and greet
  • Do not hesitate from asking counter questions, just avoid challenging their authority
  • Avoid being too verbose

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Stephen is

  • Confidence in impact is paramount to them, followed by a sense of achievement and ROI.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Stephen

  • If they decide not to go ahead, they will say no without hesitation.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Stephen move?

  • They can reach decisions fairly quickly if they are convinced.
  • Can Stephen take some risk or not?

  • They don’t mind risks but can be quite binary about them.

You And Stephen

Personality Compatibility


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