Francesco Mercogliano F.Mercogliano
Francesco Mercogliano
Francesco Mercogliano from Napoli, Italy
Currently · consulting & assembling the next thing

Building
quiet machines
for loud ideas.

I'm Francesco, software architect and entrepreneur. In fifteen years I've designed and built software systems at every level: blockchain, AI agents, and distributed architectures on one side, enterprise solutions for companies like Lottomatica, IBM, and NATO on the other. I've led teams, mentored developers, and founded projects, learning from a few failures along the way.

Based in Napoli, I work primarily remote across Italy and Europe: consulting, product, and assembling whatever comes next.

01  /  About

I build systems. Sometimes they become companies.

A short letter

I design and build systems made of code, infrastructure, contracts and trust, that turn ideas into working products. Sometimes they stay systems. Sometimes they become companies.

Some of that under Byte Me, my personal workshop for almost a decade. Some through companies I cofounded, like KMN, where I exited the cap table but remain a partner and external collaborator. Some through teams I joined for a while and helped move forward.

"I'm not interested in building another startup. I'm interested in building something that deserves to exist."

I started as an engineer and kept moving toward the entrepreneur side. Probably because I care less about software itself, and more about what software makes possible: behavior, then culture, then quietly, the future.

Now
Consulting across teams that keep me curious, while building a new product in the background. Open to conversations with people who want to build something real.
Napoli · 2026
02  /  Selected Work

Seven chapters, one through-line.

2024 →

KMN Cofounder · partner & external collaborator

Cofounded KMN, a software development company. We deliver web systems, AI integrations and run remote engineering teams. I exited the cap table but remain a partner and external collaborator. Clients: Regione Campania, MaticMind, Shiba Inu and other Italian and international companies.
AI platformsWeb systemsRemote teamsShiba InuRegione CampaniaMaticMind
2021—24

Byte Me Freelance label · three years independent

Three years freelancing across full-stack engineering, blockchain, security and partial-CTO mandates. From enterprise platforms for Lottomatica and IBM, to blockchain companies among the global top-10 by market cap.
Theta NetworkVirtuals ProtocolLottomaticaIBM
2023

Vento CTO in Residence · tokenization of illiquid assets

Six months leading a Turin-based incubation: platform architecture, security and tokenization of illiquid assets.
Real-world assetsArchitectureSecurity
2021—22

RINA Software Engineer & R&D · rail, energy, defense, certification

Under one of the world's largest certification and engineering consultancy groups. R&D on blockchain-based digital certification: verifiable, tamper-proof and portable certificates. In parallel: onboard rail IoT for Hitachi, real-time voice analytics for Enel, backend of a military defense e-commerce platform for NATO.
Blockchain R&DDigital certificationHitachi RailEnelNATO
2020—21

SOFTLAB Software Engineer · media R&D

Architected AlmaCult, a cultural portal for Campania with VR museum environments. Built AlmaVideo, a full-stack video streaming platform with upload, transcoding and storage.
Cultural heritageMedia streamingVR
2018—20

Endow Software Engineer · institutional clients

Institutional-grade software: scalable infrastructure for INPS, data-analysis platforms for INAIL, an IBM × Ispettorato del Lavoro labor-inspection system, geo-targeting for Jakala.
Public sectorINPSINAILIBMJakala
2015—18

Grimaldi Group IT Purser · at sea

Three years of onboard IT across European routes: networks, comms, crew training, upgrades.
NetworksInfrastructureOperations

And before all of this, earlier chapters at small companies, learning the trade through security analysis, pen-testing, databases and data viz for IoT systems. Plus a long tail of smaller engagements over the years, audits, advisory, partial-CTO tours, indie startups and founders' first lines of code, that don't fit on this page, but built me just as much.

03  /  Trusted by

Names on the receipts.

Some of the names that trusted me with their systems, products, and rooms.

04  /  Skills

What I bring to the table.

What I do, in practice.

Leadership01

Where the company gets shaped.

  • Tech strategy & roadmaps
  • Architecture review
  • Hiring & mentoring
  • Stakeholder alignment
Founding02

From 0 to 1, then keeping the 1 alive.

  • Cofounding & cap table
  • Product positioning
  • Fundraising conversations
  • First-hire instinct
CTO craft03

Fractional, in residence, full-time: same job.

  • Build vs. buy decisions
  • Team structure & ops
  • Vendor & partner selection
  • The "is this the right rewrite" call
Architecture04

Drawing the system before writing it.

  • Distributed systems design
  • Domain modeling
  • Trade-off frameworks
  • Documentation that survives
AI & Agents05

Where most of the new energy lives.

  • LLM agents & orchestration
  • Retrieval-augmented systems
  • Decentralized / on-chain agents
  • ML platforms
Blockchain06

A substrate, not a product.

  • Smart contract design
  • Tokenomics & mechanics
  • Auditing & threat modeling
  • L1 / L2 architecture
Full-stack07

Fifteen years of shipping into the real world.

  • Web platforms, front to back
  • Real-time & streaming systems
  • APIs, data layers, infra
  • Boring tech, when it's right
Security08

The posture I learned first.

  • Smart contract audits
  • Pen-testing & vulnerability work
  • Threat modeling
  • Compliance hygiene

Write me.
Some good things start that way.

Emailhello@francescomercogliano.com → LinkedIn@francesco-mercogliano → ModeRemote-first · Italy & EU → Reply timeUsually within 48h →