Rob Ford
Data & AI Executive
I build production AI systems in regulated environments—
where getting it wrong is expensive and compliance is non-negotiable.
Currently: Leading AI transformation at FDA with security clearance
Previously: Launched $5M ARR data product | Built CDP featured on Google blog
15+ years architecting AI/ML platforms, data products, and governance frameworks across federal government, healthcare, and enterprise SaaS.
I specialize in the hard problems: production GenAI with FedRAMP compliance, Salesforce-to-AI integrations, MLOps with audit trails, and building data teams that ship revenue-generating products—not just dashboards.
Featured Work
Transforming Federal AI
U.S. Food & Drug Administration
Architected agentic RAG system in AWS GovCloud achieving FedRAMP High compliance—one of the first production GenAI systems in federal government.
85% business alignment • <500ms latency • Security clearance
Launching a $5M ARR Data Product
Agora.io
Built data engineering function from zero and launched Agora Analytics—a data product enabling $5M+ ARR expansion opportunity in 90 days.
30% faster fraud response • 40% fewer defects • 18% cost reduction
Building a CDP Featured by Google
SoundCommerce
Led 6-person team architecting Customer Data Platform on GCP generating $20M+ GMV. Featured on Google Data Analytics blog.
30% less manual work • Sub-second queries • Double-digit cost savings
What I Do
Data & AI Strategy
Define data strategy aligned with business objectives. Build roadmaps that balance innovation velocity with compliance requirements.
Production AI & MLOps
Ship AI systems with drift monitoring, bias detection, audit trails, and automated rollback. GenAI (RAG, fine-tuning), Bayesian models, deep learning for healthcare.
Data Products & Monetization
Turn internal data assets into revenue-generating products customers pay for. Customer Data Platforms, analytics products, API services.
Governance & Compliance
FedRAMP High, HIPAA, GDPR compliance frameworks. Security clearance. Governance that enables innovation, not blocks it.
Team Building & Leadership
Built data organizations from zero 3x. Led teams of 4-8 engineers. Sprint cadences, MLOps standards, on-call practices, hire-to-scale.
Enterprise Integration
Salesforce-to-data-lake pipelines (CDC, Platform Events, canonical models). Event-driven architectures. Multi-cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure).
Exploring Chief Data Officer Roles
I'm seeking leadership opportunities in federal government and regulated industries where my experience shipping compliant, revenue-generating AI systems can drive strategic impact.
Ideal roles: Federal CDO, Chief Data Officer (healthcare/finance), VP/Director AI Engineering with path to CDO.