RJ Lindelof
AI from experiment to production SDLC. Engineering teams 10 to 60 turned into a strategic asset. 5x deploy frequency.
Two decades scaling SaaS platforms - strongest in Healthcare and EdTech, at home in regulated B2B. Most recently operationalized agentic AI across the full software lifecycle - pilots became production infrastructure, not demos.
- AI-native SDLC: Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, AWS Kiro, Gemini, Bolt, Lovable, and Snowflake Cortex running as first-class pipeline stages - multi-model fluency, no single-vendor lock.
- Building high-velocity engineering teams: I scale teams thoughtfully (10 to 30, 30 to 50) without breaking culture. I have also taken an org to 175+ at 99.95% SLA when the business needed it, but my preferred range is where every hire and architectural decision has direct impact.
- Measurable DevEx: 5x deploy frequency, 23% PR throughput gain, test coverage lifted from under 10% to 40% with no dedicated QA, new-engineer onboarding cut 70%.
Agentic AI Orchestration
I operationalize agentic AI as production infrastructure - not pilot theater. Multi-model strategy across Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, AWS Kiro, OpenAI Codex, Gemini, Bolt, Lovable, and frontier open-weight models on vLLM.
5x deploy frequency. 23% PR throughput gain. Greenfield agentic supply chain intelligence platform on Python FastAPI and vLLM (Qwen3.6-27B) in production.
Learn MorePlatform Modernization
.NET 8 and AWS-native rebuilds that retire 65% of technical debt and cut code-to-release cycle time 40%. Legacy monoliths become cloud-native, agentic-ready platforms.
99.95% SLA at sub-second response for 10k concurrent users. HIPAA, SOC 2, ISO 27001, HL7/FHIR, and Epic EMR integration shipped - not promised.
Learn MorePrivate Equity Leadership
Built for board scrutiny. I present architecture and investment cases directly to PE advisors and the C-suite, and back them with measurable outcomes.
Strategic engineering growth tied to deal thesis - thoughtful 10-to-30 and 30-to-50 build-outs without breaking culture, plus the experience of scaling an org well beyond that when the business demanded it. Post-merger integration and portfolio rationalization at platform scale.
Learn MoreFrom a Direct Manager and a Senior Peer
"A standout technology leader who balances high-level strategy with a true 'roll up your sleeves' work ethic. A driving force behind our most critical technical transitions - most notably the shift toward an AI-native SDLC."
"He spearheaded the effort by first mastering the AI development tools himself - led by example, mentored the team, and drove major initiatives to completion. Just as comfortable managing high-stakes vendor relationships as jumping into the weeds to help his team cross the finish line."
"Instrumental in integrating new AI capabilities into our processes and ecosystem. His proactive leadership and dedicated focus on implementing new AI processes and technology enabled our team to fully realize the benefits of artificial intelligence - and strategically determine how it can be appropriately leveraged."
"RJ will be a highly valuable asset to any organization seeking to enhance its AI adoption strategy, education, and leadership."
Pre-RJ and Post-RJ
"I really didn't see how we could implement AI until he was onboarded and started putting the pieces together to make it work. In the short time he was there, I saw a boost in performance across the entire division."
"It's an old adage, but it's what separates a boss from a leader. A leader will inspire their team."
"I consider my own familiarity and growing expertise in AI to come in two phases: Pre-RJ and Post-RJ. With his prodding and full support we were able to improve estimates and even exceed timelines, helping ship change faster."
"It's with his help that we were able to get static analysis with SonarQube, improvements to CI/CD automation, and an era of stability and high development velocity we had previously struggled to attain."
Transformation Outcomes
5x Deploy Frequency
AI-native SDLC with Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, and AWS Kiro running as first-class CI/CD pipeline stages. Code-to-release cycle time down 40%, PR throughput up 23%.
99.95% SLA at Sub-Second Response
Re-architected service orchestration and application routing to deliver 10k concurrent users at sub-second response. MTTR cut 30% via Datadog and Splunk observability standards.
27B Open-Weight Model in Production
Greenfield agentic supply chain intelligence platform on Python FastAPI and vLLM, combining contract performance with utilization analytics.
What I Actually Do (and Don't)
I am not a 40-hour-a-week individual contributor. The highest-leverage work an experienced engineering leader does is judgment, review, and automation - not heads-down coding.
PR & Architecture Review
I review pull requests and run architecture reviews - challenging senior engineers on design decisions, surfacing failure modes, and earning trust by being right enough of the time.
Identify & Automate
I do not just automate my own repetitive tasks - I analyze the company's workflows and identify the work worth automating. Sometimes that is a one-time script or internal tool I code; sometimes it is a custom MCP server; sometimes it is no-code or low-code automation on Claude CoWork, Computer Use, OpenAI Codex, or Zapier. Force multipliers across the org, not just my inbox.
Stay on Frontier AIs
I track Claude, OpenAI Codex, Gemini, Kiro, Bolt, Lovable, and frontier open-weight models constantly - evaluations, benchmarks, real workload tests. I know which model earns its keep on which job.
AI Judgment Calls
The most valuable thing I do for a company is the call on where AI fits and where it doesn't. Two decades writing software, fifteen years leading engineers - that judgment is rock-solid.
Quality is just as important as shipping. A release that lands on time but does not actually work is not a win - it is a cleanup project handed to the next sprint. AI-generated unit tests, Playwright UI regression suites, AI-assisted PR review, and SonarQube quality gates in CI/CD let teams ship fast and ship quality - not one or the other.
How I Lead
"Your brand is not title. Your brand is outcome plus how you operate."
I am a builder of high-velocity teams, not a manager of large ones.
Player-Coach, Not Keyboard-Quit
13 years as an IC before management (Java, JavaScript, Node, .NET, Delphi, C++) and I still spin up local dev environments and prototype alongside my teams. That technical credibility is how I earn the right to push senior engineers and architects.
Review, Architect, Modernize
Player-coach for me means PR review, architectural review, platform modernization, and process design - not 50% feature delivery. I am past the career stage where coding tests are useful screening signal.
Servant Leader, Psychological Safety
Servant leader. Autonomy with accountability. Hire for curiosity and aptitude. Build psychological safety so teams challenge ideas, admit mistakes, and ask the questions that prevent the next outage.
How I Work
Assess
I audit your platform, team, and AI maturity - mapping gaps, quantifying technical debt, and identifying where agents can replace human toil with zero quality loss.
Design
I define the architecture - agent graphs, MCP tool access, orchestration patterns, IDP requirements, and governance policies - before any code is written.
Build
Agents, platforms, and toolchains are built with the same rigor as production software: testing, observability, rollback plans, and SLOs. No demos - production-ready systems only.
Govern
Audit trails, FinOps dashboards, human-in-the-loop checkpoints, and agent reliability reporting - so you can scale AI and engineering velocity with board-level confidence.
Target Profile & Industries
Target: Head of Engineering, VP of Engineering, or Senior Director of Engineering at growth-stage companies under 250 people, ideally with engineering teams of 10 to 60. Sweet spot: 10-60 engineers at the inflection point where engineering becomes a strategic asset, not a cost center.
Strongest in Healthcare and EdTech SaaS; at home in regulated B2B. HIPAA, SOC 2, ISO 27001, HL7/FHIR, Epic EMR, and PCI shipped - not promised.
Looking for a senior engineering leader who can ship AI in production?
The question is no longer whether to adopt AI - it is whether you can move it from pilot to production at scale. I lead engineering organizations where agentic AI is a core operating layer, not a tool bolted on top of the SDLC.
Open to a full-time senior engineering leadership role. No AI theater. Measurable outcomes only.
Hire Me →