Ash Lane

Forward Deployed AI Engineer

Dubai · Open to Global & Remote

Professional Summary

Forward deployed AI engineer who works close to operators, customers, and stakeholders to turn ambiguous business workflows into shipped AI systems. I combine discovery, technical architecture, implementation, and adoption: mapping real work, building agents and automations, wiring integrations, and keeping humans in control. Hands-on with Node/TypeScript APIs, React, serverless platforms, Firebase, SQL/data stores, LLM workflows, CRM and messaging automation, and operational dashboards.

Core Skills

Workflow Discovery

Shadowing operators, mapping real workflows, and separating automation candidates from process problems
Translating stakeholder language into technical scopes, acceptance criteria, and implementation plans
Finding the smallest production path that proves value without creating brittle demos

Agentic Implementation

Scoped agents, tool access, structured outputs, retrieval, classification, and human review loops
Browser, CRM, WhatsApp, email, research, documentation, and operations automations
Prompt systems, evaluation fixtures, traceability, and regression checks

Enterprise Integration

Node/TypeScript APIs, React operator interfaces, serverless functions, queues, Durable Objects, Firebase, and SQL-backed services
Identity, tenant data, service boundaries, audit trails, and access-control patterns
Webhook, API, CRM, messaging, and analytics integration paths

Adoption & Reliability

Operator training, runbooks, handover notes, and stakeholder reporting
Observability, failure paths, escalation rules, and controlled rollout plans
Business outcome framing tied to cycle time, quality, cost, and throughput

Director-Level Scope

Director-level ownership across product roadmap, delivery governance, stakeholder communication, vendor selection, budget trade-offs, and cross-functional operating cadence.
Experience leading product, engineering, operations, GTM, implementation, and partner teams through 0-to-1 launches, regional expansion, and platform scaling.
Translate founder, board, and executive priorities into OKRs, portfolio plans, hiring needs, delivery metrics, risk management, and customer-facing execution.

Professional Experience

Forward Deployed AI Engineer / Platform Builder

Topolo Technology Inc

Mar 2022 – Present Global / Remote

Work directly from operational ambiguity to shipped AI workflows, internal tools, and platform services across a broad business software ecosystem.

Mapped messy workflows across CRM, roadmap analysis, documentation, sourcing, support, media operations, device operations, developer onboarding, billing, and internal delivery into structured AI-assisted systems.
Built agent and automation patterns around explicit scopes, service auth, tool access, human review points, audit trails, usage tracking, and production data boundaries.
Specified Node/TypeScript, React, Astro, Workers, queue, Durable Object, D1/KV/R2/Vectorize, Firebase, and SQL-backed architectures for deployable operator tools.
Translated field feedback into platform contracts across identity, CRM, roadmapping, AI gateway, admin tooling, media, device operations, and support workflows.
Kept implementation close to users by writing runbooks, prompts, docs, UI flows, and acceptance checks alongside shipped software.

Automation & Product Systems Lead (Founder)

Fresh Ventures – Livefreshr, JustCook, JustFeed

Mar 2014 – Present Dubai, UAE

Owned product and automation systems for a vertically integrated food tech stack spanning consumer, operational, and SaaS layers.

Designed and implemented JustCook SaaS, an end-to-end platform for meal kit operations including orders, inventory, recipes, procurement, routing, reporting, and operational workflows.
Translated kitchen, logistics, customer-service, and marketing constraints into software and automations that reduced manual effort and operational error.
Connected campaign, CRM, order, and product data so decisions could move faster across operations, marketing, and delivery teams.
Shipped customer and internal tools across Flutter, Laravel/Vue, lifecycle messaging, analytics, and decision-support workflows.

Solution Consultant / Project Manager

XpertLearning

Feb 2013 – Sep 2016 UAE

Implemented enterprise learning and talent management platforms, bridging client workflows, technical integration, and vendor product constraints.

Served as the first Cornerstone OnDemand certified solution consultant in the GCC, leading discovery, configuration, integrations, and deployments for major regional clients.
Owned RFP responses, solution demonstrations, admin training, workflow mapping, and post-launch optimisation for performance, learning, and talent products.
Converted real-world client usage patterns into vendor enhancement requests, reporting improvements, and operational playbooks.

Mid-Market Sales Manager / TPP Partnerships Manager

Cvent

Apr 2019 – Mar 2021 Dubai, UAE

Brought a product-minded and data-led approach to selling event technology platforms into the Middle East market.

Drove consultative discovery, tailored demos, workflow mapping, and product-qualified opportunities for enterprise and mid-market event teams.
Partnered with product, SDR, and implementation teams to turn pipeline signals, customer constraints, and regional requirements into successful deployments.
Built credibility with both commercial and technical stakeholders by connecting event operations, integrations, reporting, and adoption outcomes.

Technical Skills

AI & Agents

LLM orchestration, structured outputs, retrieval, embeddings, classification, prompt systems, eval loops, human-in-the-loop design.

Implementation Stack

Node/TypeScript, React, Astro, Next.js, Flutter/Dart, Laravel/PHP, Vue, REST/GraphQL APIs, Firebase, PostgreSQL, MySQL, queues, Durable Objects, Cloudflare Workers/D1/KV/R2, Vercel, and Netlify.

Workflow Domains

CRM enrichment, web and LinkedIn research, WhatsApp and email flows, roadmap analysis, admin tooling, operations dashboards, internal knowledge workflows.

SaaS Tools & Platforms

CRM, GTM & Lifecycle

Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Apollo, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Mailchimp, Braze, Customer.io, WhatsApp Business API, Stripe, Google Ads, and Meta Ads.

Product, Analytics & Support

Jira, Linear, Notion, Confluence, Figma, Airtable, GA4, Looker Studio, Mixpanel, Amplitude, Hotjar, Intercom, and Zendesk.

Delivery, Cloud & AI

Git, GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, CircleCI, Jenkins, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, CI/CD pipelines, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, AWS, Google Cloud/Firebase, Cloudflare, Vercel, Netlify, VPS/cPanel, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Sentry, Datadog, OpenAI API, Claude, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, MCP, RAG, vector search, prompt/eval workflows, and agent tooling.

Selected Projects

Topolo platform: Edge-native business software ecosystem spanning identity/OIDC, developer onboarding, CRM, roadmapping, billing/payments, AI gateway, notifications, admin tooling, commerce, workflow automation, media operations, and customer support.
Platform infrastructure: Cloudflare Workers architecture with generated deployment manifests, staging/production targets, service-to-service auth, scoped JWT/JWKS authorization, CI/CD, D1/KV/R2/Vectorize/Queues/Durable Objects, and deployment orchestration tooling.
JustCook SaaS and JustFeed: Food-tech operations and mobile subscription platform covering ordering, inventory, recipes, procurement, routing, payments, lifecycle messaging, and reporting.