Location: Takoma Park, MD, USA
Remote: Yes
Willing to relocate: No
Technologies: VP Product (AI), Game Design, Complex Systems, Data Architecture, Ships Products People Love
Email: m5@inotherwords-studio.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldouma/
Product/UX leader who builds AI experiences that spark joy and connection. Recently mapped 110M+ relationships across 1.5M+ words - now launched as a daily game.
Track record of making complex systems intuitive: - Scaled SpicyNodes to 40M users (acquired) - Launched time.gov at NIST - transforming lab software into public service - Converted academic medical AI → patient tools serving 1.5M users - Founded In Other Words studio - award-winning semantic games (IndiePrize, TIGA) - Secured $295K NSF SBIR for semantic innovation
I excel at the intersection of technical depth and human understanding - whether building atomic clock interfaces, medical AI, or language models. Led teams up to 40 people across engineering, design, and research.
Seeking: VP Product or CPO role at companies building AI products for consumers or creators. Particularly interested in semantic search, knowledge tools, or creative AI applications. Open to founding product leader roles at Series A+ startups.
What I bring: Deep technical fluency + proven ability to ship products people love. Judge for Gee Awards, CODiE, Serious Play awards. I understand both how AI works and how humans think.
Portfolio: https://www.michaeldouma.com Just launched: https://www.inotherwords.app