“Software is a craft — not just a job. Great code tells a story of clarity, care, and continuous learning.” – Riccardo Merolla
Hi, I’m Riccardo Merolla — a Software Craftsman, Functional Programming enthusiast, and Fractional CTO who’s been shaping software teams and systems for more than 15 years.
I believe that great engineering is about balancing elegance with pragmatism, and that craftsmanship grows where curiosity and discipline meet. Over the years, I’ve helped startups and enterprises build scalable, event-driven architectures, mentor teams, and navigate the often messy intersection between business and technology.
Currently, I serve as an Engineering Manager at Credem Bank, where I focus on building internal dev teams, driving cloud transformation, and experimenting with AI-powered solutions using LLMs and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). Before that, I led the Payla risk engine platform in the FinTech space and spent almost a decade as CTO at ICT Group, where I grew the engineering organization and designed distributed systems that powered automation, healthcare, and logistics products.
I started out as a full-stack developer — curious about how code could shape systems and people. Over time, my path led me deep into Scala, ZIO, and the functional programming ecosystem, where I found the tools and ideas that best express my engineering philosophy: pure functions, composability, and simplicity.
Beyond technology, my focus is on teams and culture — creating environments where engineers can thrive, collaborate openly, and take ownership of their craft.
Here are some of the tools and ideas that have shaped my work:
I’ve always been a student of my craft. I’m constantly exploring new paradigms and sharpening my skills — from Functional Programming in Scala (EPFL) to O’Reilly courses on Microservices, Event-Driven Systems, and DDD. Learning keeps my thinking fresh and my teams inspired.
You can find me sharing thoughts and experiments here:
Building software is a journey — and I’m always looking for new ways to make it more meaningful, more human, and a little more elegant.