Director of Partnerships & Alliances at BlueIrisIQ

Visionary. Battle-Tested. AI-Obsessed.

Turning complex technology into business outcomes. From factory floor to enterprise partnerships. I see the future and build toward it.

James Schaefer
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15+ Years in Enterprise Automation
6+ Industries Served
100+ Projects Managed
100+ Clients Served
Get to Know Me

About Me

I've been building things with computers since I was 12 years old, writing HTML, assembling PCs, and dreaming about what technology could do.

I didn't take the traditional path. No college degree. No family connections in tech. Just relentless curiosity, a willingness to outwork everyone around me, and a few lucky breaks that I made sure to capitalize on.

Today, I lead strategic partnerships at a global technology company, working with major enterprise software vendors. But what really gets me excited is the intersection of AI and business automation. When OpenAI released ChatGPT in November 2022, I immediately recognized the rate of adoption and the seismic impact it would have on software automation. I've been experimenting with every major model since.

No matter where I am in life, I stay grounded in my humble roots. That kid making bottles in a plastics factory? He's still in here, still hungry, still building. I'm an extremely strong visionary and thought leader in the technology space and I want the opportunity to prove it.

" AI and advanced robotics are going to change the world and I want to be a part of it. I'm optimistic and hope to apply this change for the betterment of everyone. "
๐Ÿ”ญ

Visionary

Seeing technology trends before they peak

๐Ÿง 

Thought Leader

4x self-learning time to match AI's pace

๐Ÿ› ๏ธ

Builder

Nights & weekends prototyping the future

๐ŸŒฒ

Grounded

Humble roots, world-changing ambitions

The Path

My Journey

From vocational school to enterprise leadership, a path built on grit, curiosity, and a few pivotal moments.

Age 12
The Beginning

The Spark

Started building computers and writing HTML. Fell in love with making things work.

High School
Vocational Training

All In on Code

Signed up for Application and Web Development in 8th grade. Spent junior and senior year learning programming, web development, and everything I could get my hands on.

Post-Grad
The Grind

The Factory Floor

Couldn't afford college. No co-signers for student loans. Entered the workforce making bottles in a plastics factory. But I didn't stop there. I asked for the chance to help IT on my days off. Worked 80-100 hour weeks between both roles.

Pivot
Turning Point
First Real Application

Proof of Concept

Built a visitor sign-in system for the factory, complete with badge printing, email notifications, and text alerts. It was adopted across the facility. This was my proof that I could build things that mattered.

2011
Enterprise Software

The Break

My brother-in-law helped me get an interview at a major ECM company. Took a pay cut to join QA, but it was a calculated risk. Got assigned to the workflow module, my chance to truly learn business process automation.

Growth
Technical Leadership

Building Infrastructure

Created automated email support using regex macros (doing RPA before RPA was cool). Built demo infrastructure allowing clients and partners to test software. Led complex POCs for enterprise clients. Progressed from QA to Solutions Architect.

2016
Leap of Faith
Texas Bound

Betting on Myself

There was nothing in Texas for me but the job. All my family and friends were in Ohio. It was a major risk, a leap of faith. But I was betting on myself and the potential impact at a smaller company. I love building up an organization and having greater influence. Joined a partner company to focus on Oil & Gas automation. Small company, many hats. Exactly how I like it.

Major
Enterprise Transformation

The Big Project

Relocated to Dallas for a 2-year "best of breed" implementation at a major oil & gas company. Managed a 14-person Agile workstream. Implemented solutions across SCM, AP, AR, HR, Land, Contracts. The full enterprise stack.

2018
Director of Professional Services

Breaking Down Silos

After an acquisition, I walked into a highly siloed organization of many different companies. Along with other great leaders, I worked to remove the walls between silos and create a much more cohesive team. Achieved strong margins and 90%+ client retention. Drove larger adoption of a mixed Agile-waterfall methodology in our services approach.

2022
National Director, Sales Engineering

Vision Meets Execution

I always admired working with prospective clients and crafting an image of the future, hence my move back to a sales-focused role. Built and led a pre-sales team with strong win rates. Took my knowledge of execution to improve processes upstream to services. Deals ranging from small pilots to multi-million dollar engagements.

Now
Director of Partnerships & Alliances

Shaping the AI Future

Took on Partnerships & Alliances due to my belief in understanding technology trends and what the future holds, especially with AI advancements. I've quadrupled my self-learning time to match the speed of advancement, ensuring our organization selects the right partnerships and designs solutions for the future. Managing strategic relationships with major enterprise software vendors and leading AI/LLM integration strategy.

What I Bring

Expertise

Bridging the gap between cutting-edge technology and real business outcomes.

AI & LLM Integration

Building agentic workflows, prompt engineering, intelligent document processing, and custom AI solutions that actually ship to production.

Agentic AI LLMs IDP

Strategic Partnerships

Contract negotiation, co-sell enablement, and technology evaluation with major enterprise software vendors and platform providers.

Alliances Co-Sell Negotiation

Solution Architecture

Pre-sales engineering, technical discovery, and consultative selling. Translating complex requirements into implemented solutions.

Pre-Sales Discovery POCs

Business Automation

Deep experience in workflow automation, from low-code data and document automations to advanced integration pipelines across every major enterprise function.

Low-Code Workflow Integrations

Revenue Leadership

Built and led high-performing teams with strong win rates. Data-driven optimization using KPI dashboards and structured sales methodologies.

Team Building KPIs Strategy

Enterprise Delivery

Managed complex multi-year implementations across SCM, AP, AR, HR, Contracts, and more. Agile leadership, resource allocation, and client success.

Agile Delivery Client Success
Nights & Weekends

AI Lab & Prototypes

I create prototypes to validate and test what AI is capable of. A 3D game tests spatial reasoning. A book writer explores context management. Each project reveals what's possible and what's coming for enterprise.

Creative Tech

AI-Assisted Book Writing

A full-stack writing platform with timelapse Knowledge Graphs for tracking character relationships, world-building elements, and narrative arcs across chapters.

React TypeScript IndexedDB D3.js
Research

AI Agent Experimentation

Exploring formal verification patterns and orchestration models for agent-based systems. Researching how to make AI agents more reliable and autonomous.

MCP Chrome Extensions Puppeteer
Productivity

Unified Task Management

A task management system integrating multiple data sources with AI-powered prioritization. Bringing together disparate systems into a single intelligent workflow.

Next.js Clerk Auth PostgreSQL
Enterprise

Deep Research Tools

Prototyping enterprise-level use case discovery and implementation workflows. Helping organizations identify automation opportunities and execute faster.

React Firecrawl LangChain
Game Dev

Roguelike Card Game

A card game combining classic solitaire mechanics with combat systems. Features multiple game scenes including combat, shop, rest, and event systems.

Phaser 3 TypeScript Vite
What Others Say

Recommendations

What Sets Me Apart

My Strengths

The capabilities I bring to any team or organization.

๐ŸŽฏ

Technical Leadership

I translate complex technology into business outcomes. From architecture decisions to roadmap planning, I bridge the gap between vision and execution.

  • Strategic technology planning
  • Cross-functional collaboration
  • Vendor & partner evaluation
โšก

Rapid Execution

I believe in building over planning. Validate fast, iterate faster. My prototyping mindset turns ideas into working solutions quickly.

  • Full-stack development
  • POC & prototype creation
  • Agile delivery focus
Latest Thoughts

From LinkedIn

Recent posts and insights I've shared with my network.

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Off the Clock

Beyond the Code

When I'm not deep in AI-land, you'll find me hiking somewhere outdoors, spending time with friends and family, or diving into rabbit holes about psychology and physics, especially quantum mechanics.

There's something about trying to understand the fundamental nature of reality that feels connected to the work I do with AI. I believe in building and iterating over endless planning. Carpe diem. Seize the present moment, because that's where the real opportunities live.

๐Ÿ”๏ธ Hiking & Outdoors
โš›๏ธ Quantum Physics
๐Ÿง  Psychology
๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘งโ€๐Ÿ‘ฆ Family Time
Let's Build Something

Get in Touch

Whether you want to talk AI, partnerships, or just swap stories about the grind, I'm always up for a good conversation.

Ask James

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