John Yorke is a seasoned software engineering leader with three decades of experience and a current role as Director of Software Engineering at Mastercard, specializing in Agile, Lean, Systems Thinking and the Theory of Constraints. He has a rare blend of hands-on systems and embedded software roots from Bell Labs and Alcatel-Lucent and later scaled people-first engineering operations—creating a 300-person remote Agile office across 35 states and multiple countries. His career spans high-assurance work for the Ministry of Defence and product-focused R&D at Emerson, giving him deep expertise in secure, reliable delivery at scale. John combines strategic planning and process optimization with active team mentorship, fostering continuous improvement and measurable delivery outcomes. He also writes about software delivery on his blog and founded a community for Agile product ownership, reflecting a commitment to practitioner-led learning beyond corporate roles. Based in Missouri, he brings a practical systems perspective to complex organizational and technical constraints.
12 years of coding experience
21 years of employment as a software developer
A-Levels, Mathematics, Economics and Computer Science, A-Levels, Mathematics, Economics and Computer Science at Stratford-upon-Avon High School
BSc (Hons), Computer Science, 2:1, BSc (Hons), Computer Science, 2:1 at Oxford Brookes University
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John Yorke - Director Software Engineering at Mastercard