Engineering Leader

I build teams that ship complex products that matter to people.

I'm drawn to work that has a positive societal impact — but you can't help people if you don't ship. I work backwards from user needs, set direction, stay close to the technical work, translate complexity into clear decisions for executives and engineers alike, and deliver.

See the work Resume Contact

Available for direct full-time roles. Also taking consulting, fractional, and contract engagements through Scarpaci Consulting LLC.

The Technologist

Full-Cycle & Cross-Functional — I have direct experience in every phase of the design cycle and serve as the connective tissue that keeps all disciplines moving together.

The Player-Coach

Technical People Leader — I lead teams through trust and empowerment, but stay close to technical decisions to better support and unblock where needed.

The Builder

Organizational Systems Builder — I build the mechanisms, SOPs, and standards that allow multi-disciplinary teams to scale without losing judgment or efficiency.

The User Advocate

User-Centric Designer — I work backwards from user needs, keep them visible to the team when making design choices, and measure success against them.

The Pragmatist

Prioritize to Deliver — I own the technical, business, and user need tradeoffs so when constraints or plans change I keep the team focused on delivering what's most important.

The Translator

Complexity Made Legible — I synthesize data-driven technical information for executives, regulators, and non-technical partners without losing precision.

About

20 years leading teams to deliver complex solutions at the intersection of hardware, software, and people.

I've spent 20 years leading cross-functional teams through technically complex products: a home dialysis machine from concept to FDA regulatory clearance in three countries, a consumer hardware line shifted from IT-aesthetic to something designed for living rooms, warehouse automation at Amazon scale. I work backwards from user needs, own the tradeoffs between technical goals, business priorities, and schedule, and keep the team focused on what matters when those don't line up. I build the organizations that can actually deliver: a 140-person V&V department at DEKA, a centralized systems architecture team at Amazon, the mechanisms and standards that keep large multi-disciplinary teams efficient without losing judgment as they grow.

Timeline

2006 – 2020 · 14 years

Medical devices, from concept to scaled release.

Engineering Director V&V
Project Manager
Lead Systems Engineer

2020 – 2022 · 2 years

Secure home internet devices and management.

SVP Product & Hardware Engineering

2022 – 2026 · 4 years

Multi-system warehouse automation at the scale of Amazon.

Sr. Manager, Systems Architecture

20 Years shipping products

140+ Largest org led

Class II FDA regulatory depth

Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering · BU

Expertise

Leadership & Strategy

Cross-Functional Leadership
Organization Building
Hiring & Talent Development
Stakeholder Management
Executive Communication
Budgeting & Resource Planning
Ownership and Earning Trust

Technical Systems

Systems Architecture & Decomposition
Verification and Validation
Risk Management - ISO 14971
FDA 510(k) Submissions
Requirements Management
DFMEA / PFMEA
Building Engineering Mechanisms

Product Excellence

Program Management
Tradespace Analysis
Product Roadmap Strategy
KPI & Metrics Management
User-Centric Design
Human Factors Engineering
AI-Augmented Workflows

Consulting Options

Scarpaci Consulting LLC

I help companies ship complex products, with senior engineering leadership sized to the need.

Engagement Models

Consulting

A focused engagement with defined outcomes, such as governance mechanisms, roadmaps, risk assessments, or V&V strategies.

Fractional leadership

Part-time technical leadership, such as a fractional VP of Engineering or Head of Systems. Senior judgment without the cost of a full-time executive.

Contract leadership

Full-time, embedded leadership for a defined period, to fill a gap or accelerate a program.

Where I Can Help

Leadership coaching

Coaching technical leaders at every level to build ownership, set priorities, and make clear decisions under uncertainty.

Engineering mechanisms

Right-sized, flexible mechanisms across the full product cycle that help teams scale without losing ownership or speed.

Product & program planning

Roadmaps and program plans grounded in technical, regulatory, and financial reality, so everyone works from one credible plan.

Early validation

AI-assisted UI and workflow simulations that test user needs and requirements before the expensive work starts.

Systems engineering and V&V

Architecture, requirements, risk management, and test strategy that get hardware, software, and people working as one system.

Organization design

Clear roles, team structure, and governance, backed by rubrics for hiring and reviews, so growth adds capacity, not confusion.