Mark Gingrass
Technical Leader • Builder • Problem Solver
Federal program leader who ships real systems: a live serverless platform on AWS, apps on the App Store, and modernization programs serving hundreds of scientists.
Professional
GS-14 Program Manager at the FDA with a Computer Science background I’ve kept sharp by shipping real systems. Twenty-plus years in federal technology, from enlisted Air Force service through senior program leadership, gives me something most cloud candidates don’t have: I understand how agencies actually buy, approve, and operate technology. I know what a COR does, what an ATO means in practice, and how to move a program through procurement without it dying in review.
Now I’m moving that background into Solutions Architect and senior TPM roles in GovTech and defense tech, where the combination is rare: federal domain depth, hands-on cloud work, and a track record of finishing what I start.
I translate between the people who fund systems and the people who build them. I can read an architecture diagram, push back on a vendor proposal, and write a user story for the same system in the same week.
Current Focus
- Leading product strategy for FDA modernization initiatives that serve 400+ regulatory scientists
- Building platforms that reduce manual workflows and accelerate decisions
- Championing AI-powered solutions that unlock decades of trapped regulatory data
- Pursuing the AWS SAA-C03 certification with production architecture as the hands-on lab, not a sandbox. See what that means
Outdoor Enthusiast
I have been hiking for several years now, lately focused on overnight trips and more grueling terrain. I also dabble with mountain biking, running, fitness, and skateboarding.
I make annual trips to the Upper Gauley in West Virginia for Class 5 whitewater, have completed a solo skydive, and volunteer regularly to plant trees and clean up trails.
My dog Ollie joins me on trails and camping whenever possible.
Curious Mind
Interested in how systems, organizational and technical, succeed or fail. Lean, Six Sigma, and process improvement aren’t abstract to me; I’ve applied them in environments where inefficiency has real regulatory consequences.
Always looking for the more efficient path, and usually finding it.
What I’m Learning
- AI Agent Workflows: Building multi-step agentic pipelines with Claude and GPT-4o
- Regulatory Data Science: Connecting structured policy data to actionable product insights
- AWS Solutions Architect Associate: Working toward certification on the same services I already run in production at PetShots