Curiosity and Creativity – Working in tech is about transformation—reshaping the world, creating new experiences, and boldly building the future. Curiosity drives us; creativity makes it real.
My job is to create businesses built on innovative products and platforms that customers love to use.
I work across the business to define and align on strategic vision—spanning product, architecture, features, and functionality.
I try to drive innovation at every level—creating a space for ideas to come into the light: upward, downward, and sideways when needed.
I act as a change agent, especially in places where change might not be obvious or easy.
I lead across both engineering and product, helping teams connect the dots to customers, stay focused on outcomes, and deliver value incrementally every day.
If you report to me, I’m your manager—but I see that relationship as a partnership first. I prioritize building a few deep, trusted partnerships wherever I work. That’s how the best work gets done.
I was born and raised in two very different worlds—both far from what’s considered “typical” in white collar work. One foot in the urban grit of Chicago’s South Side, the other planted in the rural stretch of Central Florida near the edge of the Bible Belt.
I’m from the working class and the first high school graduate in my family, on either side. My roots are deeply tied to Chicago’s Mexican working-class community on my mom’s side—we’ve been in the same neighborhood for over a century and I still have a home there.
My academic background is broad and unconventional—not a straight line through computer science. I attended several universities in Chicago and earned a few degrees along the way, all while working full-time and supporting myself since I was 17.
I’m a systems thinker with a creative edge. I tend to see everything—organizations, products, teams—as complex systems. I look for outlier perspectives and challenge default assumptions. (For those into personality types: I’m an INTJ, the “Architect.”)
For more than 10 years in Chicago, I led engineering at both large and small companies—culminating in a series of new businesses and startups specializing in B2C the whole time. I built and scaled global teams, navigated the full spectrum of modern engineering—from early-stage growth to high-scale worldwide operations.
The past four years at AWS were a deliberate shift—an opportunity to understand how massive, mature tech companies run under the hood. I took this path to satisfy my curiosity, deepen my understanding of scale, and grow as a builder of bold ideas—and the businesses behind them.
Curiosity and Creativity – Working in tech is about transformation—reshaping the world, creating new experiences, and boldly building the future. Curiosity drives us; creativity makes it real.
Growth – Growth happens when we show up with intention, commit to doing things we haven’t done before, stretch ourselves, and delight our customers along the way.
Ownership – We can embrace the whole journey. We can run what we build, stand by our customers, and ship products that truly delight. When we own it, we make it better.
Innovation – I question the status quo because better is always possible. Innovation begins with curiosity and the courage to ask, “What if we did this differently?” Embracing change makes us stronger.
Impact – When we approach our work with intention—focusing on customer delight and executing with skill and passion—we create outsized impact. It’s not just about getting things done; it’s about making what we do matter.
Humour – Things will get hard. They always do. A sense of humour helps us stay grounded, connected, and human through it all.
Authenticity – Being true to yourself and staying rooted in what deeply matters to you is vital in both work and life. We should embrace authenticity because, as humans working together, we are stronger when we feel safe, seen, and respected.
Delivery – We strive to deliver work on time, with no major defects, no hinky architectures, no loose ends, and drama-free deployments. Sometimes we’ll miss—but we’ll always get back up, learn, improve, and deliver better next time.
Ownership – See a need, fill a need. Step in, help out, and do the things that need doing—regardless of whether they fall neatly within your job description. Whether you’re a CEO or a grocery store bagger, this mindset leads to success. Always.
Process, Not Dogma – Process should serve the team—not the other way around. We keep it fluid and pragmatic, evolving to fit our goals, our people, our products, and our architecture. We iterate on process just like we do on code.
Diversity and Inclusion – This matters to me personally and professionally. Diverse teams are stronger: they bring broader perspectives, healthier dynamics, and more innovative thinking. But beyond business outcomes, this is also about justice and equity. We can resist homogeneity and always look for ways to widen the circle.
Respect and Empathy – Treat others well. Treat yourself well. Respect is the baseline; empathy is how we grow beyond it.
Psychological Safety – Teams do their best work—bold, creative, high-impact work—when they feel safe. Safe to speak up. Safe to stumble. Safe to grow. Psychological safety isn’t a perk; it’s a prerequisite for greatness.
Customer Delight – Do our customers deeply enjoy using our products? Are they delighted?
Milestone-Based Project Delivery – Are we hitting key deliverables on time and with quality?
Operational Health (Including Security) – Is what we build stable, secure, and supportable in the real world?
Escaped Defects and Severity – Are we shipping with care? How often do critical issues make it to production?
Team and Individual Velocity Over Time – Are we maintaining healthy, sustainable progress and improving steadily?
Passionate Engagement – Are we excited about the work we’re doing? Do we feel connected to our mission and goals?
Challenge and Growth – Are we being stretched in meaningful ways? Do we feel capable of rising to the challenges we face?
Continuous Learning – Have we learned something new recently that helps us grow individually or as a team?
Voice and Inclusion – Do we feel like our voices are heard and valued in discussions and decisions?
Idea Flow – Do we have forums and spaces where we can surface ideas, raise concerns, and contribute to shaping what we build?
Creative Partnership – I have a lot of ideas, and I like to talk them through. Collaboration sharpens thinking. The best ideas usually come from teams, not individuals.
Directness – I tend to be direct. It helps us get to clarity quickly. Maybe it’s my Chicago working-class roots, but I’ve found that clarity prevents confusion—and that’s a form of respect.
Clear Deadlines – If I need something by a specific date or time, I’ll say so. No guesswork, no surprises.
Be Direct – Say what’s on your mind. I value honesty over harmony—clarity helps us move faster.
Be Technical – Show me the code. Walk me through the design. Pairing or reviewing together is the fastest way I get it.
Be a Creative Partner – I thrive on idea-sharing. If you’ve got a wild new approach or a small spark of an idea, bring it. Let’s build it together.
Call Out My Misses – If I did something that made your job harder, tell me. Chances are, it was a mistake—and I want to fix it.
Ask for Specifics – If you want feedback on a certain area, just ask. The more targeted the ask, the more helpful I can be.
Build to Think – Want to make a point? Build something. A working prototype says more than a doc, a slide, or a meeting ever could. Action > talk.
Innovation is Emergent – Real innovation rarely announces itself. It shows up unexpectedly, often in rough form and at the edges. It’s messy, unpredictable, and powerful—that’s what makes it real. (Kuhn and Feyerabend would nod in agreement.)
Let Go to Move Forward – The cost of clinging to old, comfortable ideas is irrelevance. Progress demands we stay open, stay curious, and be willing to throw out what no longer serves.
Core Architectural Beliefs – Great systems share common traits: they are extensible, modular, polymorphic, scalable, and instrumented. These principles keep systems resilient, evolvable, and ready for scale and change.
Distributed Systems: Trust Nothing by Default – Of the eight fallacies of distributed computing, the most dangerous is assuming “the network is reliable.” It isn’t. Design like failure is inevitable—because it is.
DevOps Is a Mindset, Not a Title – DevOps isn’t a role—it’s a philosophy of ownership. Teams that build, run, and support their own products and systems move faster, break less, and scale better. Owning your code in prod is the ultimate feedback loop.
Creativity Requires Safety – People are naturally creative and curious—but that potential only shows up in the right environment. Psychological safety, clarity, and trust unlock the best in us. Without them, brilliance stays buried.
Conway’s Law Is Real – The systems we build mirror the structures we work within. If you want clean architecture, design a clean org. Structure follows strategy—and shapes everything else.
The Peter Principle Happens – Especially in tech. People often get promoted beyond their capabilities—not from lack of potential, but from lack of support and role clarity. I may reference this to help us grow thoughtfully and avoid setting people up to fail.
Player/Coach Model: Use With Caution – This hybrid role can work—but only in small teams, with senior people, and clear role separation. Too often, it’s a way to over-promote strong ICs into management without the training or space to succeed. Know the difference between leading work and leading people.
I am an American, Chicago born—Chicago, that somber city—and go at things as I have taught myself, free-style, and will make the record in my own way: first to knock, first admitted; sometimes an innocent knock, sometimes a not so innocent. But a man’s character is his fate, says Heraclitus, and in the end there isn’t any way to disguise the nature of the knocks by acoustical work on the door or gloving the knuckles. — Saul Bellow, The Adventures of Augie March