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AI / Technical Product Manager

Michael Affare

I build data and AI products that people rely on in high-stakes environments.

8 years shipping analytics and AI products across telecom, public health, and cloud. Carnegie Mellon. AWS-certified. I operate where being wrong is expensive.

Michael Affare
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$170M+

Annual program decisions powered by analytics I led

8 yrs

Building data & AI products across 3 continents

14

Professional certifications: AWS, Google, CompTIA, ISC2

About

Built for high-stakes, regulated environments.

I build data and AI products that people actually use, in environments where being wrong has real consequences.

My path started in Accra, Ghana, where I spent five years as a solutions architect in telecom, designing systems for fraud detection, KYC compliance, and millions of subscribers. That work taught me something that most data professionals never fully learn: reliability and consequence are design inputs, not afterthoughts. A provisioning error at scale isn't a bug; it's a regulatory incident.

I then earned my Master's at Carnegie Mellon (Highest Distinction, 2023), where I was awarded the ISM Most Outstanding Teaching Assistant, teaching Distributed Systems, Database Management, and Data Visualization while consulting with Estée Lauder, Yum Brands, and building a public workforce analytics tool with the Block Center for Technology & Society.

Today I lead the analytics and AI product work behind $170M+ in annual public-program decisions in Allegheny County. I lead work related to data analytics and the operationalization of two major predictive-risk models, including the self-service platforms program staff use day to day, and I govern it all under HIPAA and FERPA.

My work sits at the intersection of three things most teams keep siloed: deep technical build (ETL, data warehousing, cloud, ML), product ownership (scoping, prioritization, adoption), and regulated-domain judgment (the ability to operate responsibly with data that affects real lives).

I'm currently targeting AI / Technical Product Manager roles in organizations where this combination is uniquely valuable. (e.g. Tech, Fintech, Health, Public Sector)

Capabilities

Professional Skills

Five capability groups, from product strategy to security governance.

Product & Delivery

Scoping, roadmapping, stakeholder alignment, and the unglamorous work of making data products actually get used.

DiscoveryRoadmappingKPI DefinitionAgileAsanaCross-functional DeliveryTechnical Docs

AI / Machine Learning

Production AI operations, LLM application design, and responsible deployment in regulated environments.

Predictive Risk ModelsLLM DesignRAGPrompt EngineeringMCPAI Governance

Data Engineering & Cloud

End-to-end pipeline build, cloud infrastructure, and the foundations that make analytics products durable.

PythonSQLETLData ModelingAWSSnowflakeDatabricksAirflowSparkGCPAzure

Analytics & BI

Self-service platform design, statistical analysis, and data storytelling for non-technical decision-makers.

TableauPower BILookerSelf-Service BIStatistical AnalysisData Storytelling

Governance & Security

HIPAA/FERPA compliance, RBAC design, and security analytics for orgs where data mistakes have real consequences.

HIPAAFERPARBACData GovernanceCySA+Security+ISC2

Selected Work

Portfolio

8 case studies across AI, data products, and platform builds. Expand any card for the full story.

Predictive Risk Model Operations
AI / ML · Governance

Predictive Risk-Model Operations: AI in Production for Child Welfare Screening

A live predictive-risk model used in high-stakes child-welfare screening decisions required continuous monitoring, evaluation, and responsible iteration.

Production AISustained a trustworthy AI system in a highly regulated, high-scrutiny environment.
My Role

Product owner for end-to-end model operations; primary liaison between data scientists, program leadership, and compliance stakeholders.

What I Built

Monitoring workflows and score-quality audit processes; evaluation protocols that made model behavior legible to non-technical decision-makers; governance documentation aligned to regulatory scrutiny.

ML GovernanceModel EvaluationStakeholder TranslationHIPAA-aware AnalyticsResponsible AI
Hello Baby
AI / ML · Product

Hello Baby: Predictive Family Engagement Platform

Outreach teams needed to identify and engage highest-priority families earlier and more effectively, using predictive signals, without overstepping ethical and privacy limits.

40%Increase in engagement of high-priority families over two years.
My Role

Led analytics and AI operations behind the program; partnered with outreach leadership on targeting strategy and iterative refinement.

What I Built

Data and modeling operations pipeline feeding the outreach program; a feedback loop between field results and model refinement.

Predictive Modeling OpsFamily-Services AnalyticsIterative Product RefinementEthics-aware AI
Provider Connect
Data Product · Platform

Provider Connect: Self-Service Analytics Hub for 50+ Partners

A small analytics team was consuming itself answering ad-hoc requests from 50+ partner organizations. Nothing was reusable. Nothing scaled.

35%Reduction in ad-hoc ticket volume. Team shifted to reusable, governed data products.
My Role

Product owner for the self-service platform, from discovery and architecture to launch and adoption strategy.

What I Built

A self-service hub with curated data marts, RBAC, and a targeted enablement program so non-technical users could answer their own questions.

Data Product StrategyRBACPlatform AdoptionSelf-Service BI
AI Documentation Pilot
AI Product Evaluation

AI Documentation-Tool Pilot: From Demo to Evidence-Based Decision

Could an AI-assisted documentation tool meaningfully reduce frontline staff burden, without compromising data quality, workflow, or privacy? Leadership needed a real answer, not a vendor demo.

Evidence-basedGo/no-go recommendation delivered; model for evaluating future AI tools in regulated environments.
My Role

Led the pilot evaluation as a product decision: defined evaluation criteria, ran structured testing, produced the recommendation.

What I Built

A structured evaluation framework covering accuracy, privacy risk, workflow integration, and adoption likelihood; a clear go/no-go recommendation grounded in real user signal.

AI Product EvaluationVendor AssessmentPrivacy-aware PilotingRegulated-environment Judgment
Platform Migration
Migration · Data Product

Legacy Platform Replacement: Own Your Reporting Layer

Critical operational reports depended on a costly third-party platform. The organization had no control over its own reporting logic or data.

Full ownershipEliminated vendor dependency for core operational reporting.
My Role

Led the transition product, replacing every vendor dashboard with owned, improved internal equivalents.

What I Built

Internal Tableau dashboards improving on legacy vendor reports; data-warehouse event-table modeling and metadata infrastructure.

Vendor Replacement StrategyDW ModelingDashboard DesignPlatform Migration
KYC Fraud Automation
Integration · Risk

KYC & Fraud Automation: National Identity API Integration

A major telecom's SIM-provisioning process had unacceptably high error rates and mobile fraud, leaving it exposed to regulatory risk and weak identity verification.

80%Reduction in SIM-provisioning errors. 60% reduction in mobile fraud. PII quality to 98%.
My Role

Solutions architect and product builder for the identity-verification integration.

What I Built

Real-time API integration between the telecom's provisioning system and the national identity authority; automated KYC checks and fraud-detection controls.

API IntegrationFraud & RiskIdentity VerificationRegulatory Compliance
Distribution Management System
Product Build · Cost Savings

Distribution Management System: Replace a Vendor, Own the Product

A telecom relied on expensive licensed software for distribution management and supply-chain reconciliation. The vendor relationship was costly and the system didn't fit operational needs.

$150KSaved. Faster reconciliation. Full control of the product roadmap.
My Role

Architect and product builder with end-to-end ownership from build decision to deployment.

What I Built

A custom in-house web/mobile Distribution Management System tailored to operational workflows, replacing the vendor solution.

End-to-end Product BuildWeb/Mobile SystemsSupply-Chain LogicBuild-vs-Buy
Workforce Supply Chain Analytics
Research · Public Sector

Workforce Supply Chain Analytics: Public Research Tool

Workforce pipeline data across industries and regions was fragmented and inaccessible to researchers, policymakers, and the public.

LiveDeployed, publicly accessible workforce analytics tool. View it →
My Role

Cloud engineer and analytics contributor; built the data layer feeding the public-facing tool.

What I Built

Cloud data infrastructure and analytics pipelines powering the Workforce Insight Tool, a live public research platform.

Cloud Data EngineeringPublic-Sector AnalyticsResearch Product BuildAWS
AirtelTigo biometric SIM registration

Implementation Highlight

Ghana Biometric SIM Card Registration: AirtelTigo Implementation

Helped implement a secure biometric SIM registration process that strengthened identity verification, reduced AML and mobile-fraud exposure by 60%, and improved CRM data quality by linking subscriber records to verified personally identifiable information.

View AirtelTigo registration details ↗

Career

Work Experience

Data Analytics Manager

Great Lakes Behavioral Research Institute · Jun 2023 – Present · Pittsburgh, PA

  • Own the analytics & AI product portfolio supporting $170M+ in annual public-program decisions.
  • Launched Provider Connect, a self-service data platform with curated data marts and RBAC, cutting ad-hoc request volume 35% and shifted the team from reactive tickets to reusable products.
  • Lead operations and monitoring of predictive-risk models for family-engagement programs, driving 40% increase in engagement of high-priority families over two years.
  • Piloted and evaluated AI/LLM tools for team workflows; introduced GitHub, Asana, and documentation practice that raised delivery velocity.
  • Automated ETL for 50+ partner organizations; onboarded 20+ new data partners and improved reporting reliability across the network.
  • Drive HIPAA and FERPA compliance across all data systems and partner integrations.

Senior Consumer Solutions Architect

Airtel Ghana (AirtelTigo) · May 2017 – Aug 2022 · Accra, Ghana

  • Built an in-house Distribution Management System that replaced licensed vendor software and saved $150K.
  • Integrated national-ID KYC verification into the provisioning flow, cutting SIM errors 80% and mobile fraud 60%.
  • Drove 5% month-over-month revenue growth through digital product launches with marketing, finance, and network teams.
  • Delivered full post-merger core-systems integration for all subscribers in 8 months, unifying platforms, migrating subscribers, and aligning C-level and technical stakeholders.
  • Boosted mobile-loan uptake 400% via Facebook-integrated VAS API product features.

Cloud Engineer & Research Consultant

CMU Block Center for Technology & Society · Jan 2023 – Aug 2023 · Pittsburgh, PA

  • Built cloud data infrastructure and analytics pipelines for the Workforce Insight Tool, a live public-facing research platform.
  • Contributed to research on future-of-work and workforce supply chains; collaborated with researchers and policymakers.

Application Support Analyst (Part-time)

FreshTrack Systems · Apr 2022 – Aug 2022 · Boonah, Australia

  • Delivered supply-chain traceability software features; maintained 99.8% uptime via T-SQL optimization and back-end automation.
  • Built Bold BI dashboards for supply-chain visibility.

Earlier roles: Carnegie Mellon Graduate Teaching Assistant, Student Consultant (Estée Lauder, Yum Brands), and 3D Modeling Intern (Hubble.sh) are surfaced in the About section and Portfolio. Full history on LinkedIn.

Credentials

Certifications

14 credentials across AI, cloud, security, and engineering.

Data & AI
Google
Advanced Data Analytics Professional
Google
Aug 2025
Google
Business Intelligence Professional
Google
Jul 2025
DeepLearning.AI
ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Developers
DeepLearning.AI
Apr 2023
Cloud & Infrastructure
AWS
AWS Solutions Architect – Associate
Amazon Web Services
Oct 2023
Verify ↗
AWS
AWS Cloud Practitioner
Amazon Web Services
Sep 2023
Verify ↗
Security & Governance
CompTIA
CompTIA Security Analytics Professional (CySA+)
CompTIA
Apr 2025
CompTIA
CompTIA Security+
CompTIA
May 2024
Verify ↗
ISC2
ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity
ISC2
May 2024
Verify ↗
Databases & Engineering
Neo4j
Neo4j Certified Professional
Neo4j
Apr 2023
Verify ↗
IBM
Databases & SQL for Data Science
IBM
Dec 2020
Verify ↗
University of Michigan
Python 3 Programming Specialization
University of Michigan
Aug 2020
Verify ↗
Google
IT Automation with Python
Google
Aug 2020
Verify ↗
Management & Leadership
ITIL
ITIL Foundation: IT Service Management
AXELOS
Sep 2019
View ↗
University of Edinburgh
Critical Thinking in Global Challenges
University of Edinburgh
Apr 2013
View ↗

All major credentials verified on LinkedIn →

In Public

Community

Selected talks, teaching, and project moments.

Talk footage

Professional talk footage · Watch on YouTube

Teaching at Carnegie Mellon

Teaching Distributed Systems & Database Management, Carnegie Mellon. Awarded 2023 Most Outstanding TA.

Airtel project Accra

Delivering the post-merger systems integration project, Accra, Ghana

Presentation footage

Presentation & demo footage · Watch on YouTube

Off the Clock

Beyond Work

The things that make me human: faith, family, service, and the life I'm building outside of a job title.

Husband & Family Man

Married to Emily, my best friend and life partner. I'm genuinely grateful for her. She makes me better. Learning every day to show up as a devoted husband and to build a family worth coming home to.

Our story ↗

Reader

Books are how I think slowly and deliberately. I gravitate toward theology, biography, history, and ideas that don't fit neatly into a category. Find what I'm reading, what's on deck, and what I've loved on my Goodreads profile.

Goodreads profile ↗

Community Group Leader, Redeeming Grace Church

Since July 2025, I've led a home-based community group of about 15 members: a weekly dinner and structured Bible study. It's one of my most meaningful commitments: building real community, one table at a time.

Redeeming Grace Pittsburgh ↗

Nursing Home Ministry

I volunteer with a ministry that visits nursing home residents, singing hymns together and simply spending time with them. A grounding reminder that presence and joy matter as much as competence.

Worship Duo ↗

Pro-Bono Graduate Studies Consultation

I offer free guidance to prospective international students navigating U.S. graduate school applications, drawing on my own experience as a first-generation international student at Carnegie Mellon. If you know someone who could use it, send them my way.

Christian Evangelism Training

Completing a formal certificate in Christian evangelism through Dallas Theological Seminary, equipping me to share the Gospel clearly, thoughtfully, and with genuine care for people.

View certificate ↗

Biblical Counseling: Learner Member, ACBC

Working toward certification with the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. I believe wise, Scripture-grounded counsel is one of the most practical ways to love and serve people in real pain.

About ACBC ↗

Contact

Let's build something.

I'm open to AI / Technical Product Manager and senior Data Product roles in health, public sector, and fintech, and select consulting engagements.

Find me

aaffare@gmail.com linkedin.com/in/michaelaffare github.com/michaelaffare @michaelaffare youtube.com/@michaelaffare michaelaffare.medium.com

Send a message

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