Mar 2025 – Present · 1 yr · Colorado, United States · Remote

Jan 2025 – Present · 1 yr 2 mos · Denver, Colorado, United States · Remote

• Catalyst AI Services LLC is dedicated to guiding individuals, teams, and organizations on a transformative journey through progressive stages of AI development: from literacy to fluency to proficiency. At the individual level, we help bridge fundamental knowledge gaps, ensuring a solid understanding of AI basics and their real-world applications. For teams, we foster collaborative fluency, enabling cohesive integration of AI strategies across functions. At the organizational level, we work to establish AI proficiency by embedding AI as a core competency, aligning it with strategic goals and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• By simplifying complex technologies, providing tailored solutions, and creating actionable strategies, our consultancy reduces barriers to AI adoption at all levels. Through these efforts, we empower businesses and individuals to harness AI’s transformative power—enabling innovation, sustainable growth, and success in an increasingly AI-driven world.

Oct 2024 – Present · 1 yr 5 mos · Remote

• Spearheading BetterUps AI transformation by:
• Leading the BetterUp Center for AI Excellence
• Chief Flight Instructor AIFlight School our home grown 5 week AI upskilling and transformation program
• AI champion for R&D guiding and enabling an AI first engineering culture and product dev process.
• SME Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini
• Described as our resident AI guru for how work gets done with AI

Feb 2023 – Oct 2024 · 1 yr 8 mos · Remote

• In my second act at Better Up I am leading the teams building our foundations for HTP, this is teams like DevSecOps, HTP Foundations, Data platform, and others. Our charter is to build the Infrastructure for Innovation.
• In my first act at Better Up I lead teams and building amazing partner experiences to support our marvelous customers like Google, Cisco, Twilio, NASA and many more on their journey to transform their people and organizations.
• Also spear heading our GenAI efforts to strategically infuse every team, process and person with AI super powers.

Aug 2022 – Jan 2023 · 5 mos

• Taking a few months off to rest, recuperate, learn, and grow before my next adventure. I will be taking some time to learn more about the latest AI/ML tools and platforms, go on some camping trips, read, and work on some passion projects like CTOblueprints.com.
• Focusing on learning prompt engineering to solve hard business problems using LLMs
• Creating sample solutions using GPT-3 and other LLMs for people operations, recruiting, hiring, and coaching/mentoring
• Documenting and updating MLOps practices and how they differ with LLMs and other foundational ML models vs. bespoke ML Models

Nov 2019 – Aug 2022 · 2 yrs 9 mos · Greater Denver Area

• As the Data Operations leader, I developed an effective YoY strategy to ensure key business priorities were delivered as needed. I planned and hired the Data Services (now DataOps) team, growing it from 7 data engineers, 2 managers, and analysts to a department of approximately 25 ICs, Managers, and Directors. I was accountable for delivering Data Quality & Governance, Data Warehouse and Infra, MLOps, and Data Availability capabilities to all teams and departments within the organization. I also led the creation of the Quality Engineering team, hiring our first QE Director, and building a team of approximately 24 distributed QEs across the engineering organization.
• I was responsible for yearly and quarterly planning, setting OKR and KPI targets, developing architecture, hiring and recruiting, managing stakeholders, and overseeing ongoing data engineering and QE operations. I helped establish performance and competency frameworks for directors, managers, and engineers, driving organizational development and effectiveness. I set and achieved hiring goals, ensured an efficient onboarding process for new team members, and helped build pathways for career progression. I executed on the development of secure and compliant systems, facilitated collaboration between engineering and product teams, implemented appropriate metrics, and worked to attract, hire, engage, and retain diverse talent. I effectively communicated plans, roadblocks, and updates to engineering, product, and functional leadership.

May 2018 – Nov 2019 · 1 yr 6 mos · Greater Denver Area · On-site

• Responsible for driving revenue growth and delivering numerous key features. I doubled the team size and tripled engineering velocity over 12 months by implementing modern agile practices and effective prioritization and planning. My responsibilities included recruiting, team building, and day-to-day operations, as well as establishing effective doctrine, practices, and technologies for a secure, modern SAAS platform. I managed a team of local and distributed team members, successfully leading the team through a period of significant growth and achievement. My role required me to be responsible for all aspects of engineering, including team building and day-to-day operations, and to establish effective doctrine and technologies for a secure platform. I also had to manage a team of local and distributed team members.

Apr 2018 – May 2018 · 1 mo · Greater Denver Area

• Learned the intricacies and implications of blockchains, trading cryptos, making perfect souse vide custards, climbing 5.11s, camping in my Tigermoth and reading. So much reading.

Sep 2017 – Mar 2018 · 6 mos

• I lead our Anti-abuse Intelligence team, we are dedicated to detecting and stopping malicious senders. We stop the Phishers and Spammers. I also lead our Billing engineering team, we make certain our customers are properly and accurately billed and make sure Sendgrid is positioned for strong growth organically and via M&A. I also moonlight leading our ML@Sendgrid efforts and mentor our early career managers on the art and science of leadership and management.

Sep 2014 – Sep 2017 · 3 yrs

• Sendgrid is the leading SAAS email company, we send ~25 BILLION emails per month on behalf of many tens of thousands of customers. I have been responsible for leading the Big Data, Delivery & Compliance engineering teams. We build and operate the software which:
• Identifies and stops spam and phish at massive scale. We use machine learning and other smart systems to police and stop malicious actors and interdict phish and spam.
• Sends upwards of 1 trillion per year and over 1 billion emails per day. Estimated to be 3% of the worlds email traffic.
• Intelligently sends email to ensure high deliverability and *speed* to the inbox.
• Processes and derives insight from our massive data stream

Jun 2014 – Sep 2014 · 3 mos · Broomfield, CO

• Responsible for the management and leadership of the software development teams implementing the Certification product/program and tools for our ISP partners (FBLs, Outbound Abuse management, Global Trap Exchanges).

Nov 2011 – May 2014 · 2 yrs 6 mos · Broomfield, CO

• Responsible for the management and leadership of the software development teams implementing the next generation Anti Phishing Solutions product suite. These products are built on a diverse big data ecosystem (Hadoop, hBase, etc) with real time stream processing handling 10s of millions of emails per day. This gives our customers near real time visibility over the email authentication and phishing activities in hundreds of millions inboxes. Our products help prevent identity theft, malware and corporate brand erosion. Recently we released Non-domain Phishing which takes our product beyond direct domain spoofing into look-alike spam detection.

Mar 2011 – Nov 2011 · 8 mos

• Responsible for the enablement of Exalead full text search technologies within Dassault Systemes North American Professional Services teams. This entails building a community of practice, leading and supporting active projects, and building platforms to deliver optimal ROI while minimizing risk. Ultimately it is my goal to inspire and educate our teams to insure that we can deliver solutions which allow our customers to thrive in the rise of information overload.

Nov 2010 – Jan 2011 · 2 mos

• Working for the CTO I am now performing research and prototyping for emerging technologies in the PLM domain. Current technologies under study include full text search engine Cloudview and the analytics tool suite Web Focus. Duties also include the construction of white papers, training, and prototypes intended to support our services and product teams.

Jul 2008 – Jan 2011 · 2 yrs 6 mos

• PLM consulting and solutions delivery expert with industry experience in the Medical Device, High Tech, Oil and Gas, Telecommunications, and High Tech.

Jan 2007 – Jun 2008 · 1 yr 5 mos

• Provided leadership and management for 18 people comprising the Web Services, the Information Management, the Contactbook, and Advanced Media Services teams. Worked with the finance department, marketing, executive management, and other key stake-holders to release numerous small projects. Collaborated with many disparate teams to produce Contactbook and it’s surrounding feature set. Responsible for employee HR matters, including reviews, recruiting, conflict resolution, mentoring and coaching. Focused on designing and implementing strategic IT infrastructure and honed my ability to imagine, sell, produce and release a web based product.

May 2006 – Dec 2006 · 7 mos

• Lead and managed the team which maintains and enhances the payments and collections applications. When taking over this team I was initially tasked with rebuilding the team, this included hiring developers and business analysts, establishing the necessary relationships with stake holders and others in product development and elsewhere. Furthermore I provided the training, mentoring, and coaching to enable the team to deliver several mission critical projects.

Jan 2005 – Apr 2006 · 1 yr 3 mos

• I am on a team responsible for the creation and maintenance of a Java (Swing based) pen-tab application used for car inspections. This application sits on a custom ORM layer atop HSQL and interacts with the back-end AS400 DB. I have been responsible for new development for the inspection application, the database administrative toolset and the creation of a real time (JMS/Java based) export system.

Jun 2004 – Dec 2004 · 6 mos

• Responsible for Data Conversion design and implementation for LSR of Specification and Costing systems for Hose and Connector group. I am generally responsible for planning, conducting and supervising assignments of significant scope and complexity that require the application of my in-depth knowledge of computer science, business process management, data conversion/migration of PDM systems to succeed in this challenging role.

Jan 2000 – Apr 2004 · 4 yrs 3 mos

• Responsible for requirements specification, implementation, verification and validation of custom business systems for Fortune 1000 engineering clients.

Aug 1999 – Dec 1999 · 4 mos

• Worked as a support engineer to facilitate existing product release of a GIS video mapping tool.

Feb 1997 – Jul 1999 · 2 yrs 5 mos

• Responsible for hardware and software to support a network of windows, linux, and HP-UX systems. Executed testing of products and enhancements to customer solutions and developed in-house business solutions. Wrote custom batch print software and forensic tools for data analysis.