Tricia Ballad
AI Engineer + TPM
CS degree. 20+ years shipping software products. Returned to hands-on engineering in 2025 — not as a beginner, but as someone who already knows exactly what makes production systems succeed.
I started my career as a web application developer in 2000 — writing PHP, building systems, shipping features. In 2004, I transitioned into technical writing, project management, and eventually technical program leadership. That wasn't a retreat from engineering; it was a different vantage point. I spent two decades watching software products succeed and fail, and I learned the organizational dynamics that determine which outcome you get.
In 2025, I came back to hands-on engineering — not because I ran out of PM opportunities, but because AI tools made it possible to combine both halves again. I can now architect a production system, write and ship the code, and then run the program around it. That combination — strategic depth plus hands-on execution — is genuinely rare.
SignalForge is the proof. A production Python/FastAPI application with multi-provider LLM abstraction, multi-dimensional scoring, and ethical AI guardrails — designed, architected, and shipped solo. SignalCast follows the same pattern: local-first, production-grade, solving a real problem.
I'm targeting AI Engineer and Technical Program Manager (AI) roles where I can contribute in both dimensions. I've been the engineer and I've been the person managing the engineers. That context doesn't go away.
Full resume available as PDF and DOCX. Hybrid format leading with projects and AI-native experience, formatted for both human readers and ATS systems.