Production-minded from the first decision.
01Product engineer / automation architect / growth operator
Richard
Ducat.
I build the systems that turn ideas into working products and measurable growth.
01 / Role fit
Where I create the most leverage.
The strongest match is a role that values hands-on engineering and expects the owner to understand the full path from product decision to business result.
Senior product engineer
Own product definition, interface architecture, APIs, and the path to production.
Evidence: TYFYS / CadetCatch / Chatbot BuilderAI automation engineer
Build useful AI workflows with data boundaries, review states, and operational controls.
Evidence: EB28 / Inspection Assistant / CadetCatchTechnical product lead
Keep product, engineering, release, and business constraints in one executable plan.
Evidence: Timing.Coach / EB28 / TYFYSGrowth systems engineer
Connect acquisition, analytics, CRM, content, and conversion behavior to the product.
Evidence: TYFYS / Chatbot Builder / EB2802 / Selected work
Evidence from shipped systems.
Six projects are visible at a glance. Select one for the operating problem, ownership, shipped evidence, and links an employer can inspect.
01 / Benefits / lead operations
One connected path from public education to qualified intake.
A veteran-focused education and evidence platform that connects public tools, qualification, CRM routing, content, and conversion measurement.
- Operating problem
- Turn a fragmented marketing and intake path into an observable system that can explain where a lead came from, what they completed, and where the process stopped.
- My role
- Product systems, frontend, analytics, CRM, paid media operations
Qualitative outcome
Education, qualification, routing, and measurement now operate as one traceable customer journey.Shipped evidence
- Public rating calculator and evidence resources
- Multi-step intake and conversion instrumentation
- Zoho routing, lead diagnostics, and content automation
03 / Capability map
Broad enough to connect the work.
Depth where products get built. Range where products usually break: data, release, acquisition, and operations.
Product & experience
Turn an ambiguous brief into a usable, testable product surface.
Product scoping / Information architecture / UI systems / Accessibility / Responsive frontend / Product analytics
Apps & platforms
Build across web and native without losing the release path.
React / Next.js / TypeScript / JavaScript / SwiftUI / React Native / iOS / iPadOS / watchOS
AI & data
Use AI where it removes real work and keep controls around the risky edges.
LLM products / RAG / private AI / Prompt systems / Computer vision / FastAPI / Firebase / SQL / Vector search
Growth & revenue
Connect acquisition activity to the product and the actual business event.
GA4 / Google Ads / Meta Ads / Apple Search Ads / Attribution / CRO / SEO / Lead operations
Operations & cloud
Make the build deployable, observable, and recoverable by the next operator.
Cloudflare / R2 / GitHub Actions / GitHub Pages / Namecheap / REST APIs / CRM / Zoho / Release gates
Content & distribution
Build repeatable publishing systems instead of one-off content drops.
Editorial systems / Programmatic SEO / Social creative / Buffer / Meta automation / Campaign reporting / Content QA
04 / How I work
Ownership through launch.
Strategy stays close to execution. Constraints are explicit. Outcomes are observable.
Frame
Define the user, operating constraint, business event, and proof standard before adding surface area.
Build
Ship the smallest complete workflow, with the interface and the underlying system designed together.
Connect
Wire the product to data, automation, CRM, distribution, release, and ownership boundaries.
Prove
Test the real path, expose failure states, document the evidence, and leave a clear next action.
Build the real workflow.
Instrument the real business event.
Guard production with explicit gates.
Leave proof and a clear next action.
05 / Discuss a role
Looking for an owner who can connect the whole system?
I am most useful in product engineering, AI automation, technical product, and growth systems roles where hands-on delivery and operating judgment both matter.