About
James R T Bossert
A passionate, empathetic leader who thrives in collaborative environments where diversity, creativity, and curiosity are valued.
Education
NC State University
BS in Computer Science
Go Pack!
Roles
IT Development Leader
UNC NC AHEC
- Coordinate team activities and contribute to application development + operational support for a hybrid micro-services platform.
- Work with stakeholders to automate and streamline statewide workflows while keeping technical debt low.
- Support statewide IT as an applications and data management unit for AHEC service lines.
Co-Founder & Lead Developer
Fairlady Media
- Co-created the Grandma and Grandpa kid’s brand (13 apps; 4M+ downloads; multiple App Store features).
- Developed apps for clients including Sesame Street, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Hearst, Sanrio, and American Greetings.
- Focused on Apple native tooling (Xcode, Objective-C, Swift, Cocos2d, SpriteKit) for production delivery.
WillowTree · Group VP & Managing Director
WillowTree
- Led 20+ client accounts and teams with $75M+ in yearly revenue.
- Built an engineering discipline across 4 portfolios, 4 US offices, and 2 Brazil offices.
- Managed resourcing for a distributed team (50+ directors, 400+ engineers) and supported hybrid office culture for 150+ employees.
WillowTree · Partner & VP, Engineering
WillowTree
- Managed 5–6 client accounts and teams with $20M+ in yearly revenue.
- Coached leaders through sensitive conversations and negotiated scope/timelines aligned to business drivers.
- Built engineering systems: career ladders, interviewing/hiring, performance evaluations, internship program, and engineering newsletter/blog.
Engineering leadership & delivery
WillowTree
- Led principal/engineering director tracks across multiple platforms and team sizes.
- Led high-profile builds (Vitality One rewards; team delivery aligned to Fortune-level stakeholders).
- Helped ship Vocable (award-winning AAC app used by people with MS, stroke, ALS, and spinal cord injuries).
iOS platform engineering
WillowTree
- Directed and delegated engineering efforts; owned complex technical discussions and iOS platform contributions.
- Contributed to National Geographic’s US streaming and magazine app launch.
- Shipped iOS features such as Wyndham Hotels online check-in.
Enterprise IT & instructional systems
NC State University
- Managed enterprise LMS implementations (Moodle, Blackboard Vista) and operational delivery for mission-critical systems.
- Built performance analytics/reporting for academic programs.
- Led pilot + production teams and supervised a technical staff team (7+) plus student mentorship.
Professional Highlights
Software leader with 25+ years of delivery and people management: building engineering discipline, partnering with Fortune 50 stakeholders, and turning complex problems into products.
Accomplishments
- Lead iOS contributor on National Geographic’s US streaming + magazine app.
- Shipped and maintained 50+ production iOS apps at Fairlady Media (4M+ downloads).
- Delivered iOS apps for brands including Wyndham, Vitality One, and Vocable.
- Comfortable across Swift/SwiftUI (native iOS), React/TypeScript (web/SPAs), and backend/API work.
- Took apps through multiple iOS releases and App Store submission: architecture, bug fixes, stabilization, and release.
Core skills
Leadership
Mentoring
CI/CD
TDD
Agile + Scrum
Performance
Scalability
Stakeholders
Change management
Hiring + interviewing
Compliance + security
Interests
Astrophotography
Astro weather
Chili peppers
Maker DIY
Coffee
Reading sci-fi