Theodore Kiken
Senior Product Leader and AI-Augmented Builder | Lead/Principal AI PM, Platform PM, Founding Engineer | Ex-Nike, AWS.
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Leadership Philosophy
Senior product leader with two decades in product management and technical program management. I now work hands-on as an AI-augmented builder. At Nike, I led the global Consumer Services AI portfolio across 170+ countries and 20+ languages, managing $50M+ in program budget. Over four years, I walked the Guided Services platform through three generations of conversational AI architecture: intent-based routing first, then NLP-driven understanding, then LLM and generative AI. Part of that work was defining the capability boundary between platform infrastructure and the consumer service product layer. Earlier, I owned similar boundary work as Senior Technical Program Manager at AWS Elemental during AWS's entry into hardware.
Today I build independently through Takeeda LLC. Recent work includes JobConfident (jobconfident.com), a B2C AI interview practice platform I built solo: RAG-based question generation, voice-first UX, and interviewer agents tuned to resist default LLM agreeableness. I'm also building QuoriSource, a clinical research automation platform with HIPAA-compliant chart review running on a domain-tuned custom private LLM. Alongside those, I've shipped 0-to-1 internal platform work for clients across law, accounting, insurance, real estate, and construction: custom auth, admin portals, CRM, operational tooling.
The day-to-day is the modern AI stack: LLMs, RAG, fine-tuning, prompt engineering, model selection and evaluation, multi-LLM integration with Anthropic and OpenAI, and custom private LLM development. After several years of breadth across consulting and independent building, I'm looking to embed deeply within one product or platform organization where emerging technology and business strategy intersect. I'm strongest in small, fast-moving teams that ship often. Open to Lead/Principal AI PM, Platform PM, Founding Engineer, and similar senior product or builder roles.
Education
Certifications
Speaking & Community
Speaker at Dreamforce, Nike Pride Foundation. Member of AAAI, MLSecOps, AI For Good, PhillyForce & 3 more.
Clarity of Vision
Great outcomes start with a clear picture of where you're going. I help teams crystallize their North Star and build the roadmap to get there.
Bias for Action
Speed matters. I create environments where teams can move fast with confidence — through clear ownership, smart guardrails, and a culture that rewards initiative.
Human-Centered
Technology is built by people, for people. I'm a certified practitioner of human-centered design and invest deeply in creating conditions where teams and users thrive.
Impact Obsessed
Every initiative should connect to measurable outcomes. From growing Standvast's customer base 3 → 40+ to delivering $120M in revenue and productivity gains at Nike — I bring rigor to what matters most.
Career Journey
A track record of progressive leadership across engineering, product, and operations — from IC to VP, from startup to enterprise.
Principal AI Product Consultant and Builder
Takeeda
Independent AI product builder and embedded technical lead. Ships modern-stack AI products end-to-end — LLMs, RAG, fine-tuning, prompt engineering, multi-LLM integration, and custom private LLM development — for B2C and B2B clients across regulated and non-regulated industries.
- JobConfident: solo-built and shipped a B2C AI interview practice platform with RAG-based question generation, voice-first streaming UX, and multi-agent interviewer orchestration tuned to resist default LLM agreeableness; integrated Anthropic and OpenAI; React, TypeScript, Vite, Tailwind on AWS ECS Fargate with RDS PostgreSQL
- QuoriSource: building a clinical research automation platform across frontend, backend, and AWS infrastructure (ECS Fargate, RDS, Secrets Manager); Epic FHIR integration with a domain-tuned custom private LLM for HIPAA-compliant chart review (PII redaction, source attribution, structured outputs)
- DTC ecommerce client: architected and built the entire CRM and operational platform as sole engineer (Angular 17, Node, Prisma, PostgreSQL, AWS ECS Fargate); integrated Auth0, Stripe, AfterShip, Klaviyo, and Impact.com (engagement concluded post-acquisition)
- AI consulting across law, accounting, business strategy, HR, insurance, real estate, and construction — AI product strategy, LLM integration, RAG, and conversational AI deployment as embedded technical lead
- Notable builds: 0-to-1 internal platforms with custom auth and admin portals; an AI-driven synthetic-avatar tool that walks websites for impression and error QA; MarketplaceSucks open-source TypeScript/React browser extension with AI image detection
Senior Technical Product Manager
Standvast Fulfillment
Senior-most product hire reporting directly to the CTO. Built the product function from scratch and architected the integration platform that powered net-new customer acquisition.
- Hired Product and Customer Integrations function leads and grew the broader org to six
- Architected the API and EDI integration platform connecting Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, and Wayfair (REST, webhooks, OAuth, iPaaS via Celigo and Boomi); reduced merchant onboarding time and improved fulfillment SLA compliance
- Grew customer count from 3 to 40+; AI-driven product work and direct technical pre-sales and onboarding drove every net-new customer acquisition
- Launched AI-powered Order Management System and internal SaaS tooling that reduced manual workflow time and improved operational accuracy across customer-facing operations
Lead Global AI Product Manager
Nike
Owned Nike's global AI product portfolio across 170+ countries and 20+ languages with $50M+ in program budget. Walked the Guided Services platform through three generations of conversational AI architecture and shipped Nike's first production LLM and generative AI applications in consumer service.
- $50M+ program budget under management; delivered $120M in incremental revenue and productivity gains over four years
- Shipped Nike's first production LLM and generative AI applications in consumer service: multilingual conversational agents (with prompt engineering and targeted instruction tuning) and RAG-based agent-assist tooling that surfaced product, order, and resolution context in real time during voice interactions
- Architected and led Nike's Guided Services AI and IVR platform across three generations of conversational AI architecture (intent-based routing, NLP-driven understanding, LLM and generative AI), defining the capability boundary between platform infrastructure and the consumer service product layer
- Led large cross-functional AI programs spanning engineering, data science, design, and operations across regions; founded the function's Monthly and Quarterly Business Reviews reporting AI program performance to executive leadership
Senior Consultant — Nike
North Highland
Embedded at Nike leading the turnaround of the global CRM replatform and ownership of the global Order Management API.
- Led turnaround of Nike's global CRM replatform from Oracle to Salesforce across 10+ regions and languages; delivered one month ahead of schedule and $2M under budget; improved agent retention 34%
- Owned Nike's retail and ecommerce Order Management API at global scale; achieved 99.9% production uptime
- Led global A/B testing across web, mobile apps, and CRM in multiple languages; increased conversion 15%
Senior Technical Product Manager
AWS Elemental
Led AWS's entry into hardware via the Elemental framework, owning platform-product boundaries during the integration into AWS.
- Owned platform-product boundaries for AWS's entry into hardware via the Elemental framework; product line reached $150M ARR
- Built and grew the team from three to seven; led full-scale integrations, architecture, and strategic partnerships
- Built data cube analytics platform integrating new data sources; reduced data processing times 20% and enabled real-time analytics for five business units
- Drove agile transformation across product teams; improved on-time delivery 21%
Lead Technical Product Consultant — The Home Depot
Kforce
Led the end-to-end launch of Pro Advantage, Home Depot's Pro Services platform, from concept through revenue generation.
- Designed and built a Salesforce-based service platform unifying omnichannel customer workflows
- Guided the migration from legacy systems to the modern platform
- Built a business intelligence capability backed by a centralized data warehouse, surfacing near real-time reporting for stakeholders
Senior Technical Product Consultant — National Financial Partners
Nesco Resource
Led cross-functional teams integrating acquired businesses into NFP's centralized data and CRM platform.
- Drove end-to-end platform transitions for newly acquired entities, standardizing service workflows across the holding structure
- Built proprietary internal applications supporting shared services across NFP's portfolio companies
- Established user management and access governance frameworks at the enterprise scale
- Partnered with business and technology leaders on re-platforming, custom development, and reporting initiatives
Skills & Capabilities
A multidisciplinary toolkit built over a decade of leading at the intersection of technology, product, and people.
AI & Machine Learning
Hands-on across the modern AI stack: LLMs, RAG, fine-tuning, prompt engineering, model selection and evaluation, multi-LLM integration, and custom private LLM development for regulated and non-regulated workloads.
Product Strategy
Product leader who defines the capability boundary between platform infrastructure and the product layer above it — from Nike's Guided Services AI platform to AWS's entry into hardware via Elemental.
Engineering & Build
AI-augmented builder who ships end-to-end — frontend, backend, and AWS infrastructure. Recent solo builds include JobConfident (B2C AI interview practice) and QuoriSource (HIPAA-compliant clinical research automation).
Leadership & Programs
Two decades leading cross-functional AI programs spanning engineering, data science, design, and operations. Founded executive business reviews at Nike; built and grew the AWS Elemental team from three to seven.
Case Studies
Concrete examples of driving measurable impact through strategic leadership, technical execution, and cross-functional collaboration.
Three Generations of Conversational AI at Nike
Guided Services platform across 170+ countries and 20+ languages
Building Product from Zero at Standvast
Senior-most product hire; 3 → 40+ customers in tenure
Solo-Built AI Products at Takeeda
JobConfident and QuoriSource
What Leaders Say
“I had the privilege of working closely with Theo and I can say without hesitation that he is one of the most capable professionals I have encountered. He brings clarity of thought and a strong sense of purpose to every challenge. In every project we worked together on, Theo paired deep expertise with a thoughtful, collaborative approach that elevated the whole team. He is a natural problem solver and a clear communicator. People trust him because he is reliable and consistent in his actions. He tackles complex work with confidence and humility and always leaves everyone around him better informed and inspired. Beyond his technical and strategic strengths, Theo is simply a great person to work with. He treats colleagues with respect, listens attentively, and genuinely wants to help others succeed. His character shines through in every interaction and makes him someone others want to follow. I learned a great deal from working with Theo and I would enthusiastically work with him again. Anyone would be fortunate to have him on their team.”
Joe Pfeifer
Ecommerce Director, Sommsation
“Theo is the kinda guy that's always willing to step in and help, as well as mentor others. He's able to speak with diplomacy even in high-stress situations, and track the status of multiple projects across our (admittedly insane) landscape. I can't even count how many product Theo had his hands on in his time at Nike, but I know he left an impact on the CS organization at least!”
Cam Morris
Sr Technical Product Manager, Nike
“Theodore's a solid Product Manager who I really enjoyed working with. I appreciated his positive attitude, agile mindset and hyper focus on the customer. He was super knowledgeable of the product, which helped me as a program manager. I can't say enough good things about his leadership, while being a team player.”
Jim Calko
Principal Consultant, The Gunter Group
“Theodore is one of the hardest working people I have ever met. If he didn't know how to resolve a problem, he would quickly figure it out. I was always confident that if I passed off a project to Theodore, he would complete it with the same level of quality that I would and with little to no directions, figuring out any gaps on his own accord. He is one of the few who actually is self-motivated and needs little direction.”
Jeffrey Francis
Data and Analytics Leader, Enterprise Architect
“Theodore was THE superstar at our company. There wasn't anything he didn't or couldn't handle. Everybody always has one person in their company that they know they can rely upon to get the job done, and that was Theodore. He also has a great personality and is literally and genuinely liked by everyone. If I had a company and a position for him, I would hire him in a heartbeat.”
Nicole Racanelli
Director, Dupont Circle Solutions
Let's Connect
I'm always interested in discussing AI products, platform strategy, or new opportunities. Open to Lead/Principal AI PM, Platform PM, Founding Engineer, and similar senior product or builder roles — let's talk.