VP Software Engineering & AI/ML Leader

Jon Sanchez

Transformation & Scale Specialist

24-year technology leadership progression delivering measurable business impact through strategic technology investments, team building, and organizational transformation.

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0+ Years Leadership
0M Cost Optimization
0+ Engineers Scaled
0% Velocity Improvement

About

Executive Summary

A proven technology executive with a unique career progression from Operations to Infrastructure to Cloud Platforms to Software Engineering to AI/ML, with demonstrated ability to transform organizations, scale teams, and deliver measurable business impact.

Transformation Leader

Delivered $18.5M cost optimization while improving performance at scale; led 3-year infrastructure modernization achieving 87% faster development velocity.

Team Builder

Scaled engineering organizations from 12 to 110+ engineers across 40+ global locations using optimized FTE leadership / contractor execution model.

AI/ML Innovator

Pioneered enterprise AI adoption through production customer intelligence platforms, agentic development tools, and data-driven analytics infrastructure.

M&A Integration Expert

Led infrastructure through 10+ acquisitions with zero service disruption; expertise in cultural integration and organizational change management.

Career

Professional Experience

HSI, Inc.

Health & Safety Institute

Vice President, Software Engineering April 2024 - Present

Leading global software engineering organization of 65+ engineers across 3 management teams, responsible for North American product portfolio including LMS, CMS, ECS, and ESG technologies.

Organizational Transformation

  • Transformed engineering culture from reactive operations to proactive, data-driven organization
  • Redefined employee development methodology across global Product Development organization, creating competitive career paths that improved retention

AI/ML Leadership

  • Built custom LLM-powered customer intelligence platform for real-time churn prediction
  • Built Voice of Customer system analyzing support interactions in real-time, enabling proactive churn intervention and executive-level customer health visibility
  • Led strategic evaluation, vendor management, and ROI analysis for emerging AI technologies across engineering and product organizations

Team Scaling & Contractor Strategy

  • Built scalable team model pairing lean FTE leadership core with strategic contractor partnerships for specialized capabilities in AI/ML, computer vision, and infrastructure
  • Integrated contractors into engineering culture through unified processes, shared tooling (Azure DevOps, GitHub, Jira), and clear performance accountability

Operational Excellence

  • Transformed incident management from reactive firefighting to proactive monitoring with automated response, self-healing systems, and structured root cause analysis
  • Deployed unified engineering productivity insights across development toolchain, enabling data-driven sprint forecasting and capacity planning
AI/ML Team Leadership Microsoft Fabric Azure DevOps Incident Management Hybrid Sourcing

Spirits Entertainment LLC

Entertainment Venue

Co-Owner / Chief Information Officer May 2021 - November 2023

Directed end-to-end IT infrastructure build-out and business operations for entertainment venue, demonstrating entrepreneurial leadership and operational versatility.

  • Led executive strategy including finance, HR, compliance, vendor negotiations, and marketing
  • Directed complete IT infrastructure build-out for 2,000 sq ft venue
  • Obtained Arizona insurance producer license (Health & Life, 2023)
Entrepreneurship Operations Executive Leadership

Symantec / Norton LifeLock

Cybersecurity & Identity Protection

Sr. Director, IT Network, Telecom & Datacenter May 2014 - July 2020

Led global network, telecommunications, and datacenter operations through company merger, managing $28M operational budget and 110+ engineers across 40+ locations.

Infrastructure Transformation

  • Executed 3-year infrastructure modernization delivering 87% faster application development
  • Delivered $10M IT cost reductions and $8.5M productivity improvements
  • Consolidated 40,000 sq ft of datacenters into 6,000 sq ft hybrid-cloud platform

Security & Compliance

  • Exceeded audits: PCI, SOX, SOC2, ISO27001, GDPR
  • Led infrastructure integration through 10+ M&A transactions with zero business disruption, managing cultural integration and rapid value realization

Team Scaling & Hybrid Sourcing

  • Built Network and Telecom service organization from scratch, improving SLA performance by 58%
  • Strategically insourced datacenter and network operations from third-party contractors, saving $3.6M annually while gaining operational control
$28M Budget 110+ Engineers Global Operations M&A Integration

Symantec

Cybersecurity

Director, Technical Infrastructure and Operations January 2010 - May 2014

Engineered groundbreaking virtual private cloud platform recognized by VMware CEO as world's largest VMware private cloud deployment.

  • Built "Granite" virtual private cloud using Cisco + NetApp FlexPod architecture
  • Empowered 8,000+ engineers with self-service infrastructure provisioning
  • Cut test and build times from days to as few as 5 minutes
  • Drove $5M+ annual CapEx savings through infrastructure centralization
  • Scaled team from 12 to 60+ DevOps specialists within two years
VMware Private Cloud DevOps Infrastructure

Expertise

Core Competencies

Leadership & Transformation

  • Strategic Planning & Execution
  • Organizational Design
  • Team Scaling (12 to 110+ engineers)
  • Change Management
  • M&A Integration
  • Servant Leadership

AI & Emerging Technology

  • Agentic AI Systems
  • LLMs & Generative AI
  • Production ML Deployment
  • Enterprise Analytics
  • Microsoft Fabric & Power BI
  • Data-Driven Decision Making

Team Building & Sourcing

  • FTE/Contractor Hybrid Models
  • Global Team Management
  • Distributed Team Leadership
  • Vendor Management
  • Contract Negotiation
  • Cultural Integration

Infrastructure & Cloud

  • Cloud Architecture (AWS, Azure)
  • Network Operations (Cisco, Juniper)
  • Datacenter Modernization
  • SDWAN & Hybrid Cloud
  • Infrastructure as Code
  • DevOps & CI/CD

Engineering Operations

  • SDLC Modernization
  • Incident Management
  • Engineering Productivity
  • Azure DevOps, GitHub, Jira
  • Process Improvement
  • Workflow Automation

Compliance & Security

  • PCI DSS & SOX
  • SOC2 & ISO27001
  • GDPR Compliance
  • Security Architecture
  • Audit Management
  • Regulatory Requirements

Results

Key Achievements

$18.5M
Cost Optimization

Delivered through strategic insourcing, vendor consolidation, automation, and architectural optimization while improving performance at scale.

87%
Faster Development

Achieved through 3-year infrastructure modernization, platform consolidation, automation, and architectural improvements.

110+
Engineers Managed

Scaled global engineering organizations across 40+ locations using optimized FTE leadership and contractor execution model.

10+
M&A Integrations

Led infrastructure through acquisitions with zero service disruption, expertise in cultural integration and change management.

99.9%+
Uptime Maintained

Consistently delivered in regulated environments while managing multi-continent teams and complex vendor partnerships.

$28M
Budget Managed

Operational budget oversight across global network, telecommunications, and datacenter operations for enterprise infrastructure.

Credentials

Education & Certifications

Bachelor of Science

Information Technology

University of Phoenix

BCLE Certification

Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery

DRI International

Insurance Producer License

Health & Life (Active 2023)

State of Arizona

Connect

Get in Touch

Interested in discussing transformation initiatives, engineering leadership, or AI/ML strategy? Let's connect.

Email [loading]
Website jonmsanchez.com
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/jonmsanchez
Location Tucson, Arizona