Ryan Koch

IT Director | Host of the Civic Tech Chat podcast | Passionate about empowering effective services delivery | Busan, South Korea

[ About ]

With a background spanning over a decade in technology and more than five years in team leadership, I currently support the Information Technology Operations and Software Delivery teams at Child Care Aware of America. My work centers on leading technical programs and ensuring software delivery effectively meets organizational objectives. My commitment to robust security practices is underscored by my CASP and CISM certifications.

Outside of this role, my passion for technology's potential in the public sector led me to found and host Civic Tech Chat, a podcast delving into topics like open data and digital inclusion to improve public service delivery.

[ Experience ]

Senior Director of Information Technology

Child Care Aware of America

December 2024 - Present · Location Busan, Korea (Remote)

  • Leading and supporting information technology operations and cross-functional software engineering teams.
  • Directing programs and budget for the organization's technology portfolio.
  • Ensuring the delivery of working software supporting CCAoA organizational objectives.
  • Harnessing technology to support CCAoA's mission regarding quality, consistent healthcare.

Software Engineering Manager

Truss

November 2020 - August 2024 · Silver Spring, MD (Remote)

  • Managed direct reports in the application engineering practice, providing coaching, mentoring, and professional development support. Resulted in 3 promotions to team leadership roles.
  • Led a team modernizing a non-profit's service offering, providing consulting and technical contributions for their first product release (Jun 2024 - Aug 2024).
  • Led a tech challenge team supporting business development objectives (Jan 2024 - Jun 2024).
  • Restarted the data science guild, supporting organizational research efforts (Jan 2024 - Jun 2024). Tech stack included Python, Django, LangChain, Chroma.
  • Directed 4 teams (25 engineers) as Engineering Practice Lead on MilMove, aiding U.S. Armed Services members with the moving process (Nov 2022 - Dec 2023). Empowered teams to consistently hit delivery targets.
  • Developed a more transparent and equitable selection process for engineering leads.
  • Partnered with infrastructure/security teams to foster closer collaboration.
  • Led a team of 8 engineers as Engineering Team Lead on MilMove (Nov 2020 - Dec 2022).
  • Tech stack on MilMove included: AWS, Go, Pop, Javascript, React, HTML, and SCSS.

Software Engineer

Truss

October 2018 - November 2020 · Silver Spring, MD (Remote)

  • Transitioned to Team Lead after Nov 2019, leading 6 engineers building software with Transportation Command for the DoD move process.
  • Served as an individual contributor (IC) building the MilMove software prior to Nov 2019.
  • Technology stack included Go, Javascript, Pop, React, and Redux.

For a longer listing of experience check out my LinkedIn.

[ Education ]

Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago

Master of Arts - MA, Public Policy

2021

Penn State University

Bachelor of Arts - BA, Political Science

2019

[ Skills & Certifications ]

Leadership & Management:

  • Engineering Management
  • Technical Program Management
  • Agile Methodologies
  • Cross-functional Team Leadership
  • Project Planning & Execution
  • Mentoring & Coaching

Technical Acumen:

  • Software Engineering
  • System Design & Architecture
  • Cloud Platforms (AWS)
  • Go
  • Python
  • JavaScript / React
  • Pop
  • HTML / SCSS

Other:

  • Public Speaking
  • Podcast Hosting & Production

Certifications:

  • Certified Information Security Manager® (CISM)
  • CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP)

[ Connect ]

Find more details on my LinkedIn profile or connect via the Work With Me page.