Blake Martin

About Blake Martin

I am a passionate leader and collaborator with over 30 years of experience in information technology, software engineering, and people management. Throughout my career, I\'ve had the privilege of working across diverse industries—including healthcare, legal, manufacturing, education, printing, and software—within environments ranging from nimble startups to large multinational organizations. Currently, I serve as an Engineering Manager at CData, where I lead four international engineering teams across the US and India, driving the development of the Connect Cloud SaaS product. My role combines strategic leadership with hands-on contributions: Overseeing hiring, mentoring, and professional growth for team members. Leading QA efforts, defining performance metrics, and ensuring alignment with organizational goals. Collaborating with team leads to plan and execute product initiatives while stepping in as an individual contributor to remove technical blockers. Championing the adoption of AI-assisted development practices across teams, including the integration of tools like GitHub Copilot and Claude Code to accelerate delivery, improve code quality, and help engineers focus on higher-order problem solving. I bring a wealth of technical expertise and certifications, including Scrum Master, Azure, and AWS, and thrive in agile environments as a full-stack developer. My technical stack includes Azure, CI/CD, Kubernetes, Docker, TypeScript, React, GraphQL, C#.NET, JavaScript, and Python, among others. Beyond my current role, my career highlights include: Leading engineering teams in building SaaS applications, microservices architectures, and innovative web platforms. Managing complex software projects, from designing solutions for healthcare systems to developing applications for education and training. Guiding teams through the practical adoption of AI in the software development lifecycle — from tooling and workflows to cultivating the mindset shifts that make AI a genuine force multiplier. Fostering a culture of collaboration, continuous learning, and innovation across cross-functional, globally distributed teams. Outside of work, I\'m a lifelong learner and avid creator. Whether I\'m experimenting with recipes in the kitchen, brewing craft beverages, or traveling to explore new cultures, I embrace every opportunity to grow and connect with the world around me. Let\'s connect! I\'d love to collaborate, share ideas, or explore new opportunities together.

Experience

1. Engineering Manager

   CData Software

   Jan 2024 — Present

   Team Leadership: Lead four international software development teams, fostering collaboration and professional growth while driving adoption of AI-assisted development practices to accelerate delivery and elevate engineering quality.Project Execution: Plan and deliver software projects aligned with organizational goals, including AI-driven initiatives such as documentation chatbots, conversational data exploration, RAG-powered search, and MCP server integrations.Technical Strategy: Provide technical direction across traditional and AI technologies, with hands-on contributions to RAG pipelines, vector embeddings, MCP servers, and LLM-assisted query generation, translating emerging capabilities into production-ready solutions.AI Enablement: Champion AI integration across the development lifecycle, guiding teams on AI coding assistants, establishing best practices for AI-native workflows, and helping engineers leverage AI as a force multiplier.Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Product, QA, and Design to ensure seamless integration of technical efforts with business objectives, including AI-assisted features within the Connect AI platform.Resource Optimization: Manage personnel, budgets, and tooling to enhance team efficiency and delivery effectiveness.Performance & Development: Conduct performance evaluations, provide feedback, and mentor team members on technical growth and AI-augmented development practices.Process Improvement: Promote best practices, drive process optimization, and lead adoption of emerging technologies with a focus on embedding AI tooling into daily engineering operations.Risk Mitigation: Proactively identify and address risks, ensuring successful delivery including projects with AI dependencies or novel complexity.Strategic Planning: Contribute to technology roadmaps and organizational strategies, evaluating and positioning AI capabilities aligned with business goals.

Education

• University of the People

  Bachelor's degree, Computer Science

Skills

• Web Development
• Business Analysis
• Saas
• Php
• Meditech Dr
• Software Development
• Bootstrap
• Integration
• Css
• Microsoft Sql Server
• Software Project Management
• Asp.net
• Databases
• Business Intelligence
• Ssis
• Jquery
• Api Hrp
• Disaster Recovery
• Microsoft Office
• Ssrs
• Sharepoint
• Active Directory
• Cloud Computing
• Healthcare
• Software Documentation
• Sdlc