Damien Hill

Summary

Product and Engineering Leader with 20+ years building products and platforms through end-to-end leadership from strategy to execution. Founded ZipID (acquired by Equifax), shaped UX and product strategy at Wotif.com, and enabled 60% revenue growth and successful PE exit through 6 years at Fallon Solutions.

Equally comfortable designing user experiences, writing code, and deploying infrastructure as presenting strategy to C-suite executives. Translates effectively between technical teams and business stakeholders at every level.

Based on the Sunshine Coast with wife and three kids. Outside of work — running, kayaking, kicking a ball, or attempting campfire-level guitar. Over nine years working remotely, thriving on the autonomy and focus that distributed teams offer.

Experience

Led the design and build of an end-to-end field service platform for Queensland's largest multi-trade firm, working directly across product strategy, full-stack engineering, and team coordination to deliver measurable business impact.

• Enabled successful private equity exit with 60% revenue growth and 25% increase to gross margin over 5 years
• Built platform supporting $50M+ annual revenue across 150+ staff and thousands of jobs monthly
• Delivered 80% improvement in ROAS (5x to 9x) over 12 months through real-time revenue tracking per marketing campaign
• Achieved zero downtime during full platform migration through phased rollout strategy and scaffolding approach
• Built event-driven microservices on AWS (Lambda, SQS, DynamoDB, AppSync, OpenSearch) via CDK
• Developed SwiftUI iOS mobile app for field technicians and React web applications for office staff and customers
• Saved over 20 minutes per job in the field with streamlined mobile workflows covering majority of technician tasks
• Cut call handling time by 30% and increased booking conversion rate by 6% through optimised customer booking flow

Co-founded and directed product and technology from concept through launch, scale, and acquisition. Combined strategic leadership with hands-on design and engineering to build a mobile identity verification platform for the financial services industry.

• Created secure platform for banks, brokers, and conveyancers to meet regulatory identity verification requirements
• Bootstrapped the business and secured major banking clients including Macquarie Bank and ING Direct pre-acquisition
• Led integration with Equifax systems post-acquisition to deliver multi-layer identity verification solution
• Delivered AWS-hosted system spanning customer booking portal, mobile verification app, QA workflows, and reporting
• Led UX design and full-stack engineering across web applications, iOS mobile app, and backend services
• Managed vendor relationships, security compliance, and regulatory requirements across financial services sector

Shaped UX and product strategy across web and mobile platforms, partnering with executives, product managers, and engineering teams to deliver revenue-driving initiatives in a fast-paced, high-performing culture.

• Launched Wotif.com mobile app which became #1 free travel app, reaching 3% of daily bookings within 3 months
• Led design and development of Wotif.com Flights product, driving 30% growth in flights revenue across the group
• Delivered responsive redesign using A/B testing methodology to optimise home, search, and booking conversion flows
• Managed and mentored team of five designers across web and mobile platforms
• Presented design strategies and research findings to executive leadership and cross-functional stakeholders
• Collaborated closely with engineering teams to ensure design feasibility and technical implementation quality

• Senior UX Designer, Bullseye (Dec 2006 — Dec 2008)
  Led team delivering user-centred websites for government and corporate clients, ranked #1 company-wide for performance.
• User Interface Designer, Dept. of Child Safety (Jun 2006 — Dec 2006)
  Designed case management system achieving high user satisfaction in training surveys.
• Web Designer, iFocus (Sep 2004 — Jun 2006)
  Designed websites for Queensland Rail, Griffith University, and other clients, ranked #2 company-wide for performance.

Recommendations

“What sets Damien apart is his rare ability to bridge business operations and technology—he doesn't just move processes into software—he builds systems that measurably improve how the business performs. With a remarkably small team, he built exactly what we needed—a platform that drove faster call handling, significant time saved in the field, stronger marketing returns, and substantial revenue growth. The platform he built helped us achieve our exit goals and earned praise from buyers who had no obligation to give it.

For any business looking for a product and engineering leader who can understand what makes their business unique and build technology that amplifies rather than constrains it—Damien would be my first call.”

Mark Denning

Managing Director / OwnerFallon Solutions

“Best ever hiring decision. I worked closely with Damien for seven years at Wotif.com / Expedia. His innumerable contributions to product design, strategy, and culture were key ingredients in the success of Wotif as Australia's leading and most loved travel brand.

Damien's input was always deeply considered, highly anticipated, and yet somehow continually surpassed expectations. He is a stand-out performer whose ingenuity, integrity, humility, and generosity elevated the work of everyone fortunate enough to work alongside him.”

Scott Moorhead

Head of UX and InnovationWotif Group

“Damien's skills in the user experience design field is second to none. His ability to workshop with clients from Marketing Managers, CEOs and IT in generating user centred, innovative and fresh designs that consistently hits the mark is outstanding.

His breadth of skills and experience allows for Damien to work with clients at the research and definition level all the way through to CSS/HTML and CMS integration at the highest standards. The clients he has worked with include Australian Sports Commission, Queensland Rail, Main Roads and Griffith University to name a few.

I would have no hesitation in recommending Damien for any role in his space.”

Mark Nicklin

Managing Director, Digital StrategyBullseye Digital

“I hired Damien as a user interface designer with a focus on the visual design aspects of the project - I also wanted him to support anticipated front-end development activities. He was able to achieve these tasks easily and quickly moved on to significantly more value-adding work. Damien worked closely with Business Analysts, preparing low and high-fidelity wireframes, helping them to articulate requirements more effectively. He provided essential input into the functional design process in areas of significantly complex user interaction.

Damien possesses a superior work ethic, sets realistic timeframes for himself and delivers to expectations. He projects a maturity beyond his years and, through a humble and honest approach, quickly earns the respect of his peers and stakeholders. If I could hire him again tomorrow, I would.”

Matt Morphett

User Interface ArchitectDepartment of Child Safety