James R. Mapledoram
I'm a passionate technologist living near beautiful Missoula Montana, among the people and nature that I love.
Strategic Product and Engineering Leader with 20+ years of experience in SaaS, cloud architecture, DevOps, and cross-functional team leadership. Proven record of delivering enterprise-scale platforms, transforming SDLCs, and leading AI-augmented product development. Passionate about building teams, driving innovation, and shaping products that improve people’s lives.
Product Philosophy
- User-centric, empathy and outcome-driven: Start with the job-to-be-done and align roadmaps to measurable business outcomes. Carry that focus down into the backlog by writing work items and stories that link user value to delivery tasks, so developers always see the “why” behind the “what.”
- Empowered by AI & modern tools: Use AI and automation to enhance discovery, design, and delivery—freeing teams to focus on creativity, insight, and solving the hardest problems.
- Lean, Agile, and DevOps excellence: Favor small, focused teams; apply lean-agile principles to reduce waste and accelerate learning; and reinforce CI/CD discipline with telemetry-driven decisions that shorten feedback loops and reduce risk.
- People first: Empower individuals to grow their skills and careers in ways that also create long-term value for the company—aligning personal development with organizational success.
Beliefs on Product Leadership
- Blend of creativity and technical depth: The best product leaders pair entrepreneurial vision with a willingness to dive deep into technology.
- Child-like love for technology: Curiosity and delight in how things work fuels innovation.
- Hands-on understanding: Reading code, exploring architecture, and troubleshooting alongside engineers sharpens product decisions.
- Change through software: Passion for technology translates into shaping products that truly improve people’s lives.