Hi, I’m Patrick Elam. I’m an engineering leader focused on what makes software teams truly effective: combining technical excellence with servant leadership, fast feedback, and strategic alignment.

I’ve spent the last 5 years leading teams across different environments—learning what works, what doesn’t, and why culture matters as much as code. Beyond my professional work, I apply these same leadership principles through volunteer service in my community.

I believe software has enormous potential to improve people’s lives. How we build it matters as much as what we build.

My Journey

I’ve been fortunate to work across a broad range of environments—big and small, with different ideologies and approaches to building software.

At Cerner, I saw the stark contrast between lumbering monoliths and nimble, loosely coupled teams. Later as a developer evangelist, I bridged the gap between business executives and developers, learning to present technical concepts to diverse audiences.

At Veterans United, I learned about servant leadership and product strategy. I discovered the principles at the heart of the DevOps movement and saw firsthand how they could transform a team.

At Transit Pros, I’ve grown as a leader by managing both IT operations and software development. I’ve put fast feedback principles into practice, navigated complex stakeholder dynamics, and learned firsthand why product strategy is so critical to engineering success.

Through all these experiences, I’ve found that I want to meaningfully impact how software is built, because it has enormous potential to improve people’s lives.

Leadership Philosophy

My leadership approach is built on four core principles:

Pragmatic Visionary - I develop long-term strategy and inspire teams to march toward ambitious goals, while understanding that we sometimes need to make short-term pragmatic decisions. The key is taking action today with tomorrow’s vision in mind.

Confident Integrity - I build trust through honesty and principled action. I bring confidence when I have conviction, transparency when navigating uncertainty, and clarity about which is which. Trust is earned through being genuine in all situations.

Nurturing Excellence - I maintain a high bar for excellence while recognizing that everyone is on their own journey. I foster intentional growth through structured support and encouragement that meets people where they are, helping them progress toward excellence step by step.

Dedicated Stewardship - I dedicate myself to proactive ownership of both technical outcomes and team growth. I’m deliberate, accountable, and committed in my approach, ensuring intentional alignment between engineering efforts and strategic objectives through trustworthy leadership.

Areas of Expertise

• Engineering Leadership & Team Building
• Software Architecture & System Design
• Cloud Infrastructure (AWS, Azure)
• DevOps & CI/CD
• Strategic Planning & Stakeholder Alignment
• Performance Optimization & Cost Reduction

Beyond Work

In my spare time, I maintain a homelab for experimenting with new technologies, contribute to open-source projects, and volunteer in my local community. I enjoy tackling complex technical challenges and sharing knowledge with others.

Check out my projects or view my full resume.