Technology Leader & FounderSVP Engineering, CircleCI

JPLeBlanc.

Building at the intersection
of AI, software, and creativity.

Selected Work
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Selected Work

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Writing

The Output Trap

The dashboard is full. The confirmation is empty.

The product leader walked through it methodically. Twelve people on the call: two engineering directors, a VP of Product, a few senior PMs, a couple of tech leads pulled in to sanity-check scope. Everyone had a comment. There was discussion about sequencing, dependencies, whether the analytics dashboard really belonged in Q2 or whether the data infrastructure wouldn't be ready until Q3. Someone mentioned team capacity. Someone else mentioned a customer commitment made at the sales level that hadn't made it onto the roadmap yet. The conversation was detailed. Substantive. Exactly the kind of planning conversation that gets praised in retros as rigorous and collaborative.

At no point did anyone ask what Q3 of the previous year had actually accomplished.

The call ran ninety minutes. I watched twelve intelligent, experienced people spend that time deciding what to build next. The question of whether what they had already built had worked did not come up once. Not because anyone decided to skip it. Because the format of the meeting was not designed to ask it.

I didn't say anything. That is the part I think about now.

Read more
2026
03 —

About

Engineering leader, founder, and product builder working at the intersection of AI, software, and creativity. As SVP Engineering at CircleCI, I help shape the future of software development at scale.

I'm also the founder of AI Story Hub and co-founder of Tiny Etiquette, with a track record of building thoughtful products, brands, and experiences that turn ambitious ideas into reality.

Currently
  • SVP Engineering
  • CircleCI
Founded
  • AI Story Hub
  • Tiny Etiquette
  • Zombie Rebuild
  • Society of Mysteries
Interests
  • AI & Software
  • Product Building
  • Engineering Culture