JY

Joe Ybarra

Engineering Delivery Leader · Platform Modernization · AI-Assisted & Agentic Delivery

LocationNew York, NY
Emailjoe@focal55.com
Tel(949) 302-6068
LinkedIn/in/joeybarra
GitHub/focal55
01Profile Fig. 1 — Delivery Loop

Engineering delivery leader with 20+ years modernizing software delivery for Fortune 500 enterprises. I lead cross-functional, on- and offshore teams through large-scale platform transformations and embed AI-assisted, agentic workflows that compress delivery cycles across the SDLC — equally at home setting technical strategy with executives and going hands-on with architecture, release engineering, and delivery governance.

PROJECT BOARD PLAN BUILD QA REVIEW FIG. 1 — AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY LOOP
02Experience Fig. 2 — Trajectory

20+ years · Fortune 500 platform delivery

2008 2016 2022 2024 NOW FOCAL55 THINKBEAN CAPCO PRUDENTIAL
01

Prudential Financial & PGIM

Director, Tech Lead — Digital Marketing

Newark, NJ

Jul 2024 - Present
  • Led a $5M+ enterprise platform transformation, migrating the core digital presence to Adobe Experience Manager (AEM).
  • Drove release cadence from monthly to bi-weekly — 2× deployment frequency — via parallel branching and streamlined delivery governance.
  • Drove a 30% delivery velocity increase in AI-assisted sprints, championing agentic development workflows now scaling toward consistent team-level gains.
  • Established CI/CD pipelines and deployment standards for Microsoft Fabric, improving consistency, governance, and operational scalability.
  • Direct on/offshore cross-functional teams (15 engineers, QA, UX, product) across the full SDLC as the central orchestration point.
02

Capco

Principal Consultant & Tech Lead · Client: Prudential & PGIM

New York, NY

Jan 2022 - Jul 2024
  • Helped win the Adobe Experience Manager migration off Drupal/Angular — foundation of the $5M+ transformation — through technical advisory on complex regulatory requirements.
  • Scaled and led two Agile pods (9 each, 18 engineers) across engineering, QA, and product, delivering BAU, enhancement, and integration objectives.
  • Won multiple contract extensions by delivering consistently and strengthening long-term client trust.
  • Mentored engineers, raising delivery quality and building durable internal capability.
03

Thinkbean, LLC

Director of Engineering

Boston, MA

May 2016 - Dec 2021
  • Progressed from frontend developer to backend engineer to Director of Engineering, growing into full ownership of technical strategy, architecture, and delivery.
  • Implemented a structured design-to-engineering handoff process that aligned design and development, reducing rework and improving delivery fidelity.
  • Introduced Scrum across delivery teams, bringing predictable cadence and clearer prioritization to multiple concurrent client engagements.
  • Directed and scaled cross-functional engineering, product, and design teams, owning delivery from discovery through production.
04

Focal55, Inc

Founder & CEO · Software Development Agency

San Diego, CA & Portland, ME

May 2008 - May 2016
  • Founded and ran a software development agency for 8 years, owning all operations — sales, delivery, hiring, and P&L — scaling to a peak team of 5 and a best year of $200K revenue.
  • Delivered for clients across education, travel, manufacturing, food, and fine-art printing — including UCLA, Fox Rent A Car, and Tampico Spice.
  • Grew the business through repeat engagements and strategic partnerships built on consistent delivery.
03Capabilities Key — Tap to expand
    • Claude Code & agentic orchestration
    • Multi-agent workforce design
    • Prompt engineering
    • AI-assisted SDLC
    • Model-tiered cost controls
    • On/offshore team leadership & mentorship
    • Delivery governance & SDLC
    • Cross-functional collaboration
    • Executive & stakeholder alignment
    • Engineering culture development
    • Adobe Experience Manager (AEM)
    • Microsoft Fabric & data platform
    • AWS cloud architecture
    • CI/CD & release engineering
    • Scalable system design
    • TypeScript, JavaScript & Python
    • React & modern frontend
    • Backend development (Java, PHP)
    • Drupal, Contentful & headless CMS
    • Code review & test-driven development
    • Web3 technologies
    • Blockchain integration
    • Smart contract development
    • Decentralized applications (dApps)
    • Cryptocurrency platforms
04Work Featured · Plates 01–04
PLATE 01 BOARD PLAN BUILD QA REVIEW

Agentic Engineering Workforce

Independent R&D · Multi-agent delivery system

A multi-agent software workforce that runs the full delivery lifecycle — planning, test-driven implementation, QA, and code review — coordinated through a GitHub project board with model-tiered cost controls.

PLATE 02 DRUPAL ANGULAR AEM MONTHLY → BI-WEEKLY · 2× CADENCE

Platform Modernization — AEM

Prudential Financial & PGIM · $5M+ transformation

Migrated a Fortune 500 digital presence off Drupal/Angular to Adobe Experience Manager, doubling deployment frequency from monthly to bi-weekly.

PLATE 03 SRC BUILD TEST SHIP CI/CD · MICROSOFT FABRIC

CI/CD on Microsoft Fabric

Release engineering & delivery governance

Established CI/CD pipelines and deployment standards for Microsoft Fabric, improving deployment consistency, governance, and operational scalability.

PLATE 04 EDU TRAVEL MFG FOOD PRINT 8 YEARS · 5 SECTORS · FULL P&L

Focal55, Inc

Founder & CEO (2008–2016)

Ran a software development agency for 8 years across education, travel, manufacturing, food, and fine-art printing — clients including UCLA, Fox Rent A Car, and Tampico Spice.

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