Jim Birch (thejimbirch)

I lead engineering and AI strategy at Kanopi Studios as Director of Engineering and AI Practice Lead. My focus is helping teams build better digital experiences by combining strong engineering practices with the responsible use of artificial intelligence.

Over the past two decades, I've worked across engineering, architecture, product strategy, and open source, helping organizations solve complex technical problems while keeping people, process, and long-term sustainability at the center of every decision. Whether I'm leading a multi-million dollar website implementation, designing AI-assisted development workflows, or mentoring engineering teams, my goal is always the same: deliver technology that creates real value.

As Kanopi's AI Practice Lead, I established our internal AI strategy, governance, approved tooling, and AI-assisted development workflows. I work closely with leadership to evaluate emerging technologies, improve engineering practices, and help clients understand how AI can be adopted responsibly, securely, and effectively. I am also a Google Cloud Certified Generative AI Leader.

I'm an active contributor to the Drupal community, serving as a Drupal CMS committer, Advisory Council member, Recipes Initiative Coordinator, and core subsystem maintainer. I enjoy building tools that help the broader community and regularly speak at conferences about Drupal, AI, modern CMS architecture, and software engineering.

Throughout my career, I've enjoyed working at the intersection of technology and business, translating complex technical concepts into practical solutions that teams and organizations can successfully adopt.

Outside of work, you'll usually find me experimenting with sourdough pizza and fresh pasta, restoring old houses, exploring the beaches of Cape Cod, supporting animal nonprofits, or finding the next project that lets me learn something new.

If you'd like to talk about engineering leadership, AI adoption, Drupal, open source, or modern digital platforms, I'd love to connect.