# **RJ Lindelof** 815-354-4531 [rj@rjlindelof.com](mailto:rj@rjlindelof.com) Lake in the Hills, IL LinkedIn: [/in/rjlindelof](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rjlindelof) | About Me: [RJL.bio](https://rjl.bio) | Resources: [RJL.link](https://RJL.link) **Turning AI from experiment to production SDLC | 175+ global engineers scaled | MedTech & FinTech compliance** Two decades of engineering leadership across MedTech, FinTech, and EdTech. Scaled one SaaS org to 175+ engineers at 99.95% SLA; 18 years as an IC before that (Java, .NET, C++). Most recently at hc1 as designated VP successor, operationalizing agentic AI across the full SDLC with Claude Code, Copilot, and Kiro \- pilots become production infrastructure, not demos. # **Professional Experience** ### **Senior Director of Software Engineering**, **hc1**, Indianapolis, IN (remote) **11/2025 \- present** *Cloud-based healthcare analytics platform converting clinical and operational data from labs, health systems, and payer networks into real-time intelligence.* * **Hired as the designated successor to the VP (early 2027 transition).** Scope: full SaaS engineering org across a multi-language platform portfolio (Java, C\#, Python), ingestion pipelines, data lake, core platform services, M\&A and post-merger integration, and two flagship FY26 initiatives anchored in agentic AI. * **Operationalized an AI-native SDLC as production infrastructure**, not sandbox tooling. GitHub Actions, Claude Code, Copilot, and AWS Kiro now drive code generation, test synthesis, cloud architecture scaffolding, and documentation as first-class pipeline stages. Early indicators: 5x deploy frequency, 23% PR throughput gain. * **Drove an org-wide shift from "AI-curious" to "AI-proficient"** in deliberate waves \- engineering and data first, then DevOps, Integrations, Professional Services, Product, and HR. Built a multi-model strategy (Kiro, Claude, Copilot, Gemini, Snowflake Cortex) so teams develop fluency across platforms with no single-vendor dependency. Prompt throughput tracked as a leading indicator alongside delivery and quality metrics. * **Organized hc1's first AI Hackathon** as a Q2 organizational rock \- explicit permission for engineers to step off the sprint, attack a real problem, and stress-test the toolkit. Rolling Show & Tell sessions converted individual experiments into shared playbooks. * **Built a quality-ownership culture with no dedicated QA team.** Cross-trained Product on Playwright for smoke and release-regression tests; AI-assisted test generation lifted code coverage from under 10% to 40%, with Engineering, Product, and Services jointly accountable for release quality. SonarQube enforces project standards as part of CI/CD. * **Cut new-engineer onboarding time 70%** through an AI-assisted documentation refresh and a lead-mentor program \- measurable DevEx and time-to-first-commit improvement. * **Partnered with the CPO on FY26 product strategy.** Both flagship SaaS initiatives have AI at the core, not as side projects: * **Source IQ** \- greenfield Python agentic cost-savings platform built on vLLM and Qwen3.6-27B, identifying procurement and operational savings across client networks. Projected $2M+ in customer savings. * **Clinical IQ** \- .NET/C\# SaaS modernized for direct Epic EMR integration via HL7/FHIR exchange and HIPAA-compliant AWS deployment. * **Leading the AWS partnership** for the Epic integration build (AWS contractor team) and an early-adopter design partner for AWS Kiro (Amazon Q replacement) \- bringing external partner muscle and pre-GA tooling into the platform roadmap. * **Drove post-merger integration** \- portfolio rationalization and organizational alignment to scale the combined platform. * **Shifted the org from reactive firefighting to proactive observability.** CloudWatch Canaries, PagerDuty, and custom Grafana dashboards delivered executive-level visibility into uptime and platform health for the first time. ### **Senior Director of Software Engineering**, **GlobalMed**, Scottsdale, AZ (remote) **06/2024 \- 10/2025** *Leading telehealth technology provider, powering the VA and White House Medical Unit.* * **Owned engineering for the SaaS portfolio**, including roadmap, budget, and delivery. 4 Senior Managers and 30 engineers across onshore and offshore teams. * **Drove a .NET 8 platform rebuild** that retired 65% of technical debt and lifted deployment frequency 25% \- measurable DevEx and customer-facing release velocity wins. * **Owned end-to-end AI product strategy** from build/buy/partner evaluation through vendor selection and responsible-AI launch of triage, symptom analysis, and ambient listening features for critical care workflows. * **Embedded AI into the engineering workflow** \- Copilot for pair programming; Claude, OpenAI for prototyping and code review \- reducing PR cycle time and freeing senior engineers for architecture work. * **Partnered with Sales, Marketing, and Product on technical pre-sales**, presenting roadmap and architecture to enterprise customers and federal stakeholders. * **Closed 95% of critical vulnerabilities** with the vCISO; held HIPAA, SOC 2, and ISO 27001 posture and secured HL7/FHIR data exchange across the platform. * **Stood up a hybrid-Agile delivery model** that improved release predictability, accelerated time-to-market 25%, and cut rework cost 20%. * **Launched a structured mentorship and onboarding program** that lifted deployment frequency 30% and accelerated time-to-productivity for new hires. ### **Senior Director of Software Engineering,** **Successware**, Columbia, MD (remote) **03/2021 \- 06/2024** *PE-backed B2B home-services SaaS providing the full back-office platform for home-services operators.* * **Owned the full SaaS engineering org through a PE growth phase.** 25+ Senior Managers/Directors and 175+ engineers across onshore, nearshore, and offshore \- replatformed a legacy monolith to an AWS-native architecture. * **Delivered 99.95% SLA at sub-second response for 10k concurrent users** by re-architecting service orchestration and application routing. * **Scaled engineering 80% in 9 months** through a deliberate global talent strategy and a culture of autonomy with accountability that materially improved retention. * **Presented architecture and investment cases directly to PE advisors and the C-suite;** secured approval and offshore investment for a React Native mobile platform, delivered on schedule and within budget. * **Built the platform's CI/CD foundation and Internal Developer Platform** \- code-to-release cycle time down 40%, manual QA effort down 30%, regression coverage up 45%. * **Drove FinTech revenue expansion** via GraphQL and AI-enabled APIs that accelerated merchant onboarding and unlocked new integration partnerships. * **Pushed offshore partners to adopt generative AI** for DevOps automation, performance test generation, MVP scaffolding, and synthetic user creation \- a measurable productivity multiplier across vendors. * **Established Datadog and Splunk observability standards,** cutting MTTR 30% and unifying mobile, data, and backend telemetry. * **Unified mobile, data, and backend teams** under a single delivery model to strengthen feature interoperability and reduce hand-off friction. ### **Head of Software Engineering,** **Ruffalo Noel Levitz**, Cedar Rapids, IA (remote) **01/2019 \- 03/2021** *HigherEd fundraising SaaS powering engagement and donor outreach for universities and nonprofits.* * **Owned the engineering org** for the company's mission-critical fundraising SaaS \- 5 Senior Managers, 25+ engineers across distributed locations. * **Lifted system throughput 25% and team velocity 30%** through outcome-driven roadmaps and disciplined backlog prioritization tied to customer value. * **Cut incident frequency 40%** by investing in observability, environment parity, and release confidence \- fewer fires, faster cycles. * **Modernized the main platform** (Java backend, Bootstrap frontend) for responsiveness and broader browser support; UI support tickets dropped 85% and defect escape rate dropped 40%. * **Replaced legacy telephony with a WebRTC infrastructure**, cutting communications cost 30% and broadening platform reach via integrated payments, messaging, and video. ### **Head of Software Engineering,** **Debt Pay Pro**, Schaumburg, IL (hybrid) **01/2018 \- 01/2019** *Bootstrapped FinTech startup providing debt settlement and financial services software.* * **Joined employee \#38** to own engineering across the platform; 10+ direct reports. * **Led a zero-downtime data center to AWS migration** (EC2, MariaDB) coordinating 30+ vendor, payment gateway, and finance integrations \- no business disruption. * **Unified product, support, implementation, and sales** around a product-focused operating model, replacing siloed delivery with end-to-end accountability. * **Cut pull-request merge time 90%** and materially increased throughput by introducing modern branching, CI, and review practices. ### **Head of Accelerated Solutions Group (R\&D), Follett School Solutions**, McHenry, IL (hybrid) **06/2012 \- 01/2018** *Education technology leader providing innovative solutions for K-12 schools and libraries.* * **Founded and ran an internal R\&D startup** chartered to accelerate K-12 product innovation; 10+ direct reports across engineering, UX, and QA, overseeing 25+ staff. * **Partnered directly with product teams and customers** to ship MVP solutions on compressed cycles, creating market-differentiating features that fed the broader portfolio. * **Stood up the company's first true CI/CD practice** and ran multi-framework Agile execution (Scrum, Kanban, Lean, SAFe, Scrumban) tuned to team and product context. ### **Senior Software Engineering Manager,** **Follett Learning**, McHenry, IL (hybrid) **04/2006 \- 06/2012** * Provided technical leadership across 6 independent SaaS products with a team of 25+ senior developers; grew the org 38% while establishing KPIs that drove alignment across platforms. * **Led technical due diligence and post-close integration on multiple acquisitions** \- strategy through execution \- onboarding acquired teams and harmonizing engineering standards. # **Education & Selected Engagements** Columbia College Chicago \- Bachelor of Science, Computer Science McHenry County College \- Associate of Science, Computer Science **Industry Thought Leadership** \- Active writing on AI-native engineering leadership, agentic SDLC, and platform modernization at [RJL.ai](https://RJL.ai), [RJL.guru](https://RJL.guru) and [RJL.dev](https://RJL.dev)