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Matt Breeland

Matt Breeland

Transformational Technology Executive

Building Strong Teams & Modern Software Platforms

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Based in Apex, NC

About

I am a technology leader with more than twenty years of experience guiding engineering organizations through growth, modernization, and cultural transformation. My work focuses on strengthening technical foundations, elevating product quality, and ensuring technology decisions directly support business objectives. I have led organizations through pivotal change—rebuilding teams, modernizing legacy environments, and enabling effective use of AI and cloud-native platforms.

I value clarity, accountability, and a culture where people can do their best work. I'm committed to creating teams that are aligned, empowered, and supported with the right structure and expectations. My background spans embedded systems, enterprise software, SaaS platforms, data engineering, and early conversational AI, and I remain comfortable contributing at both strategic and hands-on technical levels.

I have led distributed teams across the U.S., Europe, Africa, and Asia, and I'm at my best in roles that demand strong leadership, technical depth, and close cross-functional collaboration. Above all, I aim to help organizations deliver scalable, reliable products while fostering an environment of trust, continuous improvement, and shared success.

Experience Highlights

AI Enablement & Transformation

Introduced AI tools within the engineering team while leading modernization of software and firmware architecture at Innova—advancing embedded development practices and earning recognition from company leadership for driving major engineering success.

Organizational Rebuilding & Leadership

Reestablished engineering culture and structure following major turnover at Innova and Siglar Carbon, aligning teams, processes, and strategy to restore performance and trust.

Global Talent & Diversity

Developed and implemented a structured, bias-resistant hiring framework that improved objectivity, increased team diversity, and produced top-performing engineering groups across multiple organizations, including a transformative turnaround at Siglar Carbon.

Design & Developer Collaboration

Partnered closely with designers integrated into software teams at Innova, Smartcube, and Cognite to strengthen developer experience, unify design systems, and enhance overall product quality and usability.

Cloud & Platform Modernization

Architected cloud-native, microservices-based platforms at Smartcube and Siglar Carbon, driving scalability, reliability, and faster delivery.

Operational Excellence

Established incident management, monitoring, and support frameworks that improved uptime, response times, and organizational transparency across distributed engineering teams.

Early AI Innovation

Contributed to early NLP and conversational AI systems at LiveWire Logic and advanced ML and LLM initiatives through roles at Emerson, Cognite, and Innova.

Professional Experience

Innova

Team Lead / Principal Enterprise Architect (Consultant)

Sandnes, Norway / Apex, NC

2024 – Present

  • Rebuilt and mentored the engineering organization after major turnover, aligning culture, processes, and strategy with company goals.
  • Implemented agile practices, code reviews, and unit testing to elevate product quality and delivery consistency.
  • Architected Neo, a reusable C/C++/Python/TypeScript/Svelte platform that improved reliability and accelerated release cycles.
  • Led company-wide AI enablement and LLM integration, significantly increasing engineering throughput, product quality, and delivery speed.
  • Managed a core software team and directed cross-location collaboration between Raleigh and Stavanger, supporting a hybrid work environment.
  • Developed embedded software for STM32 and ARM microcontrollers, integrating Modbus and other industrial protocols.
  • Recognized by founders as building the most successful software team in company history

Smartcube

Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO)

Stavanger, Norway

2023 – 2024

  • Implemented agile workflows to enhance collaboration and delivery efficiency.
  • Architected a cloud-native platform at Smartcube, integrating AWS services with the AppFarm No/Low-Code environment to modernize infrastructure and enhance scalability.
  • Delivered I-SPIR, a SaaS solution for data transparency and collaboration in the offshore energy sector.
  • Managed a three-person software team, mentoring developers in SOLID principles, test-driven development, and AWS best practices.
  • Introduced structured incident-management and monitoring systems to improve reliability and response times.
  • Advanced the company's LLM- and AI-driven product ecosystem, remaining hands-on with emerging AI technologies.
  • Collaborated effectively across Oslo, Stavanger, and Cameroon through a distributed work model.

Siglar Carbon

Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO)

Stavanger, Norway

2021 – 2023

  • Rebuilt and led two multidisciplinary software teams and a data science team, overseeing full product lifecycles.
  • Delivered Ship Finder and Estimator, SaaS tools enabling emissions reduction for shipowners.
  • Modernized architecture through microservices, CI/CD, and AI-driven design using AWS, GCP, and Kubernetes.
  • Established structured incident-management and support systems to enhance uptime and operational transparency.
  • Directed distributed teams across Norway, Europe, Africa, and Asia, fostering strong global collaboration.
  • Results recognized by founders as "remarkable, unlike anything we had ever seen."

Cognite

Senior Solutions Architect

Stavanger, Norway

2019 – 2021

  • Established and led a new regional office to expand technical delivery capabilities.
  • Managed the Data Liberation Chapter, supporting five user-facing teams by developing secure, observable data pipelines for Aker BP on GCP and OpenShift.
  • Strengthened operational reliability by improving incident response, stakeholder communication, and data pipeline observability.
  • Supported AI-driven initiatives in safety, maintenance, and production optimization.
  • Coordinated operations between Oslo and Stavanger, ensuring effective distributed team alignment.

Emerson Automation Solutions

Technical Product Manager

Stavanger, Norway

2014 – 2019

  • Delivered the Roxar API (Python SDK), reviving a decade-stalled initiative and achieving one of the most successful product deliveries in over ten years — preserving 50% of company revenue and transforming RMS with AI/ML capability.
  • Managed cross-functional priorities across Reservoir Engineering, Wells, Structural Modeling, and Infrastructure teams.
  • Enhanced CI/CD automation and test coverage, improving developer efficiency and product reliability.
  • Supported production systems and incident management, collaborating with teams in Pune, Oslo, Stavanger, and San Francisco.

Emerson Automation Solutions

Software Engineer / Senior Software Engineer

Stavanger, Norway

2006 – 2014

  • Developed geomodeling and data management solutions supporting reservoir workflows.
  • Maintained CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, Gerrit, Git) to streamline software delivery.

LiveWire Logic

Implementation Engineer

Morrisville, NC

2005 – 2006

  • Built and deployed early NLP-based conversational AI systems for enterprise clients including Ford and Circuit City.
  • Built early conversational AI systems, maintaining hands-on involvement throughout the evolution of NLP and AI.

Core Skills

Programming Languages

  • C
  • C++
  • Go
  • Python
  • Dart
  • Java

Frameworks & Architecture

  • Microservices
  • Domain-Driven Design (DDD)
  • SOLID Principles
  • Test-Driven Development (TDD)
  • API Design

Cloud & Infrastructure

  • AWS
  • Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • Terraform
  • Firebase

Platform Engineering & DevEx

  • Grafana
  • Prometheus
  • GitHub Actions
  • CI/CD pipelines
  • Git
  • Gerrit
  • Jenkins
  • CMake
  • SCons

Databases & Storage

  • PostgreSQL
  • MongoDB
  • Redis
  • Firebase
  • BigQuery
  • BigTable

Frontend & UI Tools

  • Svelte
  • Flutter
  • Angular
  • React
  • Qt
  • Git
  • RHEL

Artificial Intelligence

  • LLM Integration
  • NLP
  • Predictive Modeling
  • ML-Powered Product Design
  • AI Strategy & Enablement
  • Python SDK Development for citizen data scientists

Operational Systems

  • Incident Response
  • Ticketing & Escalation Workflows
  • API Governance
  • Security & Compliance

Contact

The best way to reach me is through LinkedIn.

View LinkedIn Profile