Mykhailo (Mike) Severa

Product Engineer • Entrepreneur

michael.svr@gmail.com · linkedin.com/in/msevera · github.com/msevera · msevera.com

Summary

Product engineer with 15+ years of experience building and shipping web and mobile products.
Former Co-founder, Product Engineer, and CTO at a Y Combinator and a16z crypto-backed company.
Skilled in JavaScript/TypeScript, React, NodeJS, GraphQL, microservices, MongoDB and Google Cloud.
Currently focused on AI-native development — agents, RAG, vector search, and real-time voice.

Skills

Languages
TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Solidity
Front-end
React, Next.js, React Native, Redux, Tailwind, CSS
Back-end
Node.js, NestJS, GraphQL, REST, Microservices
Databases & Messaging
MongoDB, Redis, Kafka, RabbitMQ
AI/ML
RAG, LangGraph, Vector Search, SST/TTS, PipeCat, OpenAI API, Voice Assistants
Cloud & DevOpss
Google Cloud, Firebase, Docker, Kubernetes, Vercel, Travis CI, CI/CD
Web3
Ethereum L1/L2, Alchemy, Subgraph, WalletConnect, OpenZeppelin, Hardhat
Management & Leadership
Technical leadership, product strategy, team building, agile development

Experience

Co-founder & Product Engineer, Gogue AIMay 2025 – Present

  • Co-founded an AI-native learning startup; partnered with a growth-focused co-founder while owning product, technology, and design.
  • Designed and built an AI-powered learning app that delivers personalized audio lectures from non-fiction books and online research, featuring audio lectures generation, AI chat, and a real-time voice assistant.
  • Led and executed full-stack development — from mobile (React Native) to backend services and infrastructure (Docker, Kubernetes, GCP/Firebase) — delivering the product end-to-end.
  • Architected a microservices-based backend integrating vector search, multi-agent orchestration, forced alignment, and real-time speech processing.
Skills & Tech Stack: TypeScript, Python, React Native, React, Next.js, Tailwind, Node.js, NestJS, Apollo GraphQL, GraphQL, Kafka, WebRTC, OpenAI, LangGraph, MongoDB (Vector Search), Redis, Firebase, Docker, Kubernetes, GCP, Vercel.

Co-founder & Product Engineer (CTO), Launcher Labs (YC W21, formerly Newzip)Jan 2021 – 2024

  • Co-founded venture-backed startup, overseeing all technology and product architecture.
  • Architected a reusable backend framework (NodeJs, GraphQL, MongoDB, Redis, RabbitMQ) that enabled the team to ship new features daily and pivot quickly during MVP phases.
  • Built and launched 7+ products in Web3 and consumer apps, including Launchcaster, Frameboard, and Newzip Livestream.
  • Hired and managed a team of engineers; drove technical strategy while remaining hands-on in development.
Skills & Tech Stack: TypeScript, JavaScript, React Native, React, Next.js, Tailwind, Node.js, NestJS, Apollo GraphQL, GraphQL, MongoDB, Firebase, Redis, RabbitMQ, Docker, Kubernetes, GCP, Travis CI, Vercel, Web3, Solidity, Ethereum L1/L2.

Front-end Tech Lead, MokriyaAug 2018 – 2021

  • Led front-end team for KW.com (Keller Williams) property search platform.
  • Collaborated with backend and product to deliver performant, scalable UI in React and GraphQL.
Skills & Tech Stack: JavaScript, React, Node.js, Apollo GraphQL, GraphQL, Microservices, Google Cloud Services, GitHub

Founder & Product Engineer, LiberbeeAug 2017 – 2018

  • Founded and launched a marketplace for selling, swapping, and buying books; owned product vision, architecture, and engineering.
  • Designed and built the platform end-to-end: REST API (Node.js, Express, MongoDB, Elasticsearch) and client web app (React/Redux with server-side rendering for SEO and performance).
  • Introduced advanced search with Elasticsearch, geo-services, and dynamic asset bundling to improve speed, UX, and discoverability.
Skills & Tech Stack: Javascript, React, Redux, Sass, Webpack, Node.js, Express, MongoDB, Redis, Elastic Search, Kibana, DigitalOcean, GitLab

Full‑stack Developer & Product Researcher, Forbytes2012 – 2017

  • Led front-end architecture and UI/UX design for Trademax, one of the largest furniture retailers in the Nordic region; grew the solution into a multichannel e-commerce platform with custom back-office tools.
  • Improved usability and conversion through UX analysis, responsive redesigns, and A/B testing, leveraging Google Analytics and HotJar insights.
  • Introduced server-side rendering for React (isomorphic JavaScript) to deliver SEO-friendly performance improvements.
  • Led a front-end team (hiring, mentoring, architecture decisions) that delivered scalable, SEO-friendly e-commerce applications in close collaboration with product and BA teams.
Skills & Tech Stack: React, Redux, Vue, Node.js, Webpack, SMACSS, Google Analytics, HotJar.

Education

Lviv Polytechnic National University2006 – 2010

  • Master's degree — Computer Science