An Inspirational Talk on Building at Scale
A keynote drawn from the realities of growing technology at FARFETCH — the architecture calls, the team-building, and why curiosity matters more than certainty in engineering leadership.
TalkChief Technology Officer · FARFETCH · Porto
Luís Carvalho
From the first wave of mobile to AI at global scale — two decades spent building technology that moves businesses forward.
About
I've spent more than twenty years chasing one question: how do you build technology that genuinely moves a business forward?
That question took me from a small Portuguese startup to Microsoft, and eventually to FARFETCH, where I'm Chief Technology Officer today. I lead Technology as a single, connected discipline — Product, Engineering, Research, and Infrastructure working as one — behind a platform that brings the world's best luxury boutiques to customers in more than 190 countries.
I joined FARFETCH in 2013 and have grown alongside it, from VP of Architecture to SVP of Technology to CTO. Along the way I've cared most about the things that quietly decide whether a platform thrives: sound architecture, security treated as a first principle, data you can trust, and a culture where engineers are free to do their best work.
My fascination with mobile started long before smartphones were everywhere. I learned my craft at MobiComp, a Braga-born startup acquired by Microsoft in 2008, and was part of the team that won a Google Android Developer Challenge for the first Life360 app on Android. I studied Computer Science at the Universidade do Minho, and I'm still a student at heart — most recently of deep learning and ML engineering.
20+
Years in tech
2013
Joined FARFETCH
190+
Countries served
7K+
LinkedIn followers
The Journey
Chief Technology Officer
I lead Technology at FARFETCH end to end — Product, Engineering, Research, and Infrastructure under one roof. The mandate is simple to say and hard to do: set the platform's long-term direction, keep engineering excellent as it scales, and make sure technology is always serving the business and the customer.
- Guided the architecture of the FARFETCH platform as it grew into one of the world's leading luxury marketplaces
- Made AI and machine learning a strategic lever — for discovery, for the customer experience, and for how the business runs
- Built and grew an international Technology organisation across Porto, London, and beyond
- Set the foundations for security, data governance, and infrastructure that operate reliably at global scale
VP, Architecture → SVP, Technology
I joined as FARFETCH was finding its feet and helped it sprint. I set the architectural direction during the company's steepest growth, and shaped the engineering principles and practices that let a young platform scale without losing its way.
Mobile Services R&D
When Microsoft acquired MobiComp in 2008, I joined to help stand up Microsoft's first mobile-services R&D centre in Europe, based in Braga. It was a front-row seat to the mobile revolution as it was happening — building cloud-connected services for a world that was only just going wireless.
Android Engineering
I was part of the team behind the first Life360 application for Android — work that won a Google Android Developer Challenge, one of the platform's earliest global accolades. Building for Android when the SDK was brand new taught me how to ship on shifting ground.
Software Developer → Architect
Where it all began. I grew up as an engineer at MobiComp, a Braga startup, rising from developer to architect and helping drive product innovation across mobile operator data and video services, mobile banking platforms, and retail solutions — until Microsoft came knocking in 2008.
What I Care About
The themes I keep coming back to — in the work itself, and in what I'm still learning.
AI & Machine Learning
Putting deep learning to work on real problems — discovery, search, the customer experience, and the everyday intelligence that keeps a business sharp.
Architecture That Lasts
Systems that are resilient today and easy to change tomorrow. The best architecture buys you speed later — not just stability now.
Security by Default
Trust is earned in the design, not bolted on at the end. I treat security, governance, and compliance as part of how good engineering is done.
Infrastructure at Scale
Quietly reliable, fast infrastructure carrying millions of transactions across time zones — the kind customers never have to think about.
Data You Can Trust
Data is only an asset if you can believe it. Quality, lineage, and accountability are what turn dashboards into real decisions.
Open Source & Curiosity
Giving back to the ecosystem we all build on, and keeping a steady investment in research so we're ready for what's next.
Writing & Speaking
A few of the talks and pieces I've shared over the years.
Architecture @ FARFETCH
A look inside how we approach software architecture at FARFETCH — the patterns, the trade-offs, and the hard-won lessons of building a global luxury platform.
ArticleSoftware to Go: Developing Applications for a Wireless World
A feature in Better Software magazine, written when mobile platforms were still inventing themselves — and the rules were ours to figure out.
Magazine · Better SoftwareRecognition
2008
Google Android Developer Challenge
Winner with the team behind the first Life360 app for Android — among the very earliest projects recognised by Google as the Android platform was finding its feet.
2018 — 2019
Deep Learning Specialisation
Completed the full Coursera Deep Learning Specialisation — neural networks, hyperparameter tuning, structuring ML projects — alongside Google Cloud's Big Data & ML Fundamentals. Proof that the student never really graduates.