John Karaffa

About John Karaffa

Specialties: Recruit and retain strong talent (engineers), mentor and manage engineering teams, cross-functional management, leading in a Matrix Organization, managing international teams, software development, hardware development, agile methodologies and implementation, risk mitigation, software release methodologies, hardware and software system lifecycles, New Product Introductions (NPI), New Technology Introductions (NTI), product maintenance / sustaining, program management, portfolio management, system engineering, scaled validation, compliance and export control, documentation, QNX, Linux, C / C++, C#, Python, and OpenShift.My first job was performing complicated yo-yo tricks at Walmart during the ‘90s yo-yo craze. When that career fizzled, I followed my other interests in technology. From writing software for mobile devices (Palm Pilots, if you must know) for allergy clinics, to Lego Robotic competitions, writing code and developing technology was in my core from an early age. There is no greater thrill than knowing that MY code is still currently running in not only the world’s largest de-salination plant but is also running in the power generation turbines used in the Olympic Games! That excitement is what piqued my interest in the bigger picture of how a business is run.When I’m not working, you can find me fly fishing, hiking, woodworking in the garage, and hanging out with my wife and 3 kids(14 yr old twin boys and a 11 year old daughter).

Experience

1. Senior Director of Software Engineering

   Red Ventures

   Aug 2021 — Present

   Directing software engineering, data, and operations for a large broadband client relationship. Focus areas include personalization at scale, AI enabled checkouts and co-pilots, and modernizing data infrastructure.Responsible for delivery of an AI based digital greeter leveraging best in class AI voice capabilities in 3 months that dramatically reduced talk time in sales centers resulting in $8MM in annual cost savings.Directed international engineering, data, and operations organizations responsible for telephony, CRM, and order entry platforms contributing $80MM in annual revenue.

Education

• Virginia Tech

  Bachelor of Science, Computer Engineering

  2002 — 2007

Skills

• Software Development
• Scrum
• Unix
• Software Project Management
• Project Planning
• Lean Manufacturing
• Engineering
• Lean Management
• Project Engineering
• Program Management
• Lean Six Sigma
• Engineering Management
• Sql
• Microsoft Project
• Linux
• Six Sigma
• Software Development Life Cycle (Sdlc)
• Gas Turbines
• Project Management
• Continuous Improvement
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Root Cause Analysis
• Automation
• Business Process Improvement
• Integration
• Project Portfolio Management
• Requirements Analysis
• Openshift
• Agile Methodologies
• Management
• Open Source Software
• Control Systems Design
• Ms Project
• Systems Engineering
• Qnx
• Agile Project Management
• Testing
• Electrical Engineering
• Energy
• Embedded Software