Engineering leader · founder

Hi, I'm Jake A. Smith.

I build strong engineering teams, mentor people through promotions and career changes, and still write code. Nights and weekends go to my home lab.

Most of what gets called a management problem is a communication problem.

Consulting

Working with engineering leaders since 2021

Whether you're a senior engineer leading without authority or a director leading through managers, I've sat in your seat. We work on the conversation you're dreading, the manager above you, and the AI rollout that isn't landing.

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CardPath

Founder

The whiteboard and the tracker, in one place.

CardPath gives product and engineering teams a visual work graph for mapping dependencies, finding ready work, and giving existing agents the structure they need to operate without guessing.

Visit cardpath.io →
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