JAMES BARRELL
Chattanooga,TN
Summary
Dynamic senior product and delivery leader with over 16 years of experience in building and operating innovative digital products across mobile and web platforms. Expertise in leading high-velocity teams that consistently deliver on schedule, leveraging performance metrics to inform strategic roadmap decisions. Recognized for exceptional leadership in product operations, analytics implementation, and partner management while ensuring compliance with major intellectual property constraints. Proven ability to maintain team alignment and momentum, driving successful outcomes in fast-paced environments.
Overview
2026
2026
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Project Manager, New Growth
VGW, Virtual Gaming Worlds
04.2023 - Current
- Directed a dedicated team in exploring AI initiatives through innovative blue ocean strategies.
- Oversaw design and development processes to maintain tight scope and clarity of objectives, facilitating readiness for testing.
- Facilitated the creation and ongoing maintenance of a multi-workstream roadmap, ensuring alignment with defined outcomes and organizational priorities.
- Coordinated efforts with third-party developers and external partners, focusing on optimizing handoff quality and enhancing delivery predictability across diverse time zones.
- Create and maintain Amplitude dashboards and reporting frameworks to track play test performance, identify friction, and guide iteration
- Partner with stakeholders to define requirements and decision points for a globally known IP, balancing creative intent with constraints
- Identify risks early, remove blockers, and maintain momentum through ambiguity, shifting priorities, and compliance expectations
- Balance creative iteration with IP standards and approvals, protecting brand integrity and user trust while still moving fast
Game Director
Amber Studios
07.2022 - 04.2023
- Owned delivery leadership across multi platform projects, keeping teams aligned on scope, milestones, and quality
- Produced documentation including concept outlines, art specifications, flow charts, and content guidelines to reduce rework
- Ran design reviews and quality checkpoints throughout development to maintain consistency and decision clarity
- Partnered with art, production, and engineering to refine mechanics and improve player experience
- Proactively tracked risks and resolved issues to protect schedules and commitments
Product Manager
High 5 Games
11.2020 - 07.2022
- Owned feature lifecycle from discovery through release and iteration for a live social product
- Built KPI dashboards and reporting that aligned leaders and teams around outcomes and next actions
- Led competitive analysis and user insight reviews to shape roadmap priorities and feature direction
- Partnered with UX on wireframes and flows that increased engagement by 21 percent
- Led iOS and Android submission readiness, resolving compliance issues and launch blockers
- Worked with stakeholders to interpret performance metrics, prioritize improvements, and improve ROI
Lead Producer
Traega Entertainment
03.2018 - 11.2020
- Led full production lifecycle, improving coordination across design, QA, localization, and audio
- Built milestone plans and delivery tracking with leadership to maintain scope control and visibility
- Improved workflows using Jira and Confluence, reducing friction across disciplines
- Owned iOS and Android publishing execution, ensuring smooth approvals and releases
Senior Project Manager
The Powell Group
01.2014 - 03.2018
- Delivered multiple cross platform digital projects under tight timelines as primary client liaison
- Partnered with leadership on planning, branding, and go to market needs
- Wrote user stories and documentation that translated goals into buildable scopes
- Produced forecasts and competitive research to inform strategy and positioning
- Built project plans tailored to each client, improving delivery predictability
Earlier Experience
- Progressive product, production, and project leadership roles across Disney Interactive Media Group, Playdom, fiveonenine games, Merscom, and Other Ocean, supporting major social and mobile launches with strengths in Agile delivery, stakeholder communication, and scalable delivery systems.
Education
Bachelor of Applied Science - Network Technologies and Computer Science
Alamance College
GrahamSkills
- Product strategy and roadmapping
- Product operations
- Compliance and IP alignment
- Agile execution
- Stakeholder management
- Experimentation and play tests
- Analytics implementation
- Amplitude dashboards
- KPI definition
- Partner and vendor management
- Requirements and scoping
- Cross functional leadership
Accomplishments
• Built and led an AI focused blue ocean team, delivering a monthly playable release cadence for rapid play test learning
• Established a repeatable operating cadence across product, design, engineering, and partners, improving delivery predictability and stakeholder alignment
• Created Amplitude dashboarding and KPI visibility that improved prioritization decisions and reduced opinion based debates
• Managed third party developers across time zones, improving handoffs, quality consistency, and sprint throughput
• Helped define roadmap and delivery requirements for a globally recognized IP, balancing creative ambition with approval, compliance, and brand integrity constraints
• Reduced delivery risk through early issue identification and proactive unblock leadership, protecting monthly release commitments
Accomplishments
- Led an AI focused blue ocean team with monthly playable releases ready for play testing and iteration
- Built Amplitude dashboards and KPI reporting that improved visibility, prioritization, and decision speed
- Managed third party developers and globally distributed teams, improving delivery predictability and quality
- Helped define roadmap and requirements for a globally recognized IP while protecting brand integrity and approvals
- Strengthened operating cadence, documentation, and delivery rituals to reduce friction and keep momentum
Tools and Platforms
- Product and delivery: Jira, Confluence, Asana, Notion, Smartsheet, Trello, ClickUp
- Analytics and data: Amplitude, Tableau, Google Analytics, Firebase, Looker Studio, Power BI, SQL, BigQuery
- Design and prototyping: Figma, Miro, Adobe Creative Cloud, Balsamiq, Canva
- Collaboration: Slack, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Teams, Zoom, Loom, OBS
- Publishing: App Store Connect, Google Play Console, Steam
- AI tools: ChatGPT, Copilot, Notion AI, Midjourney, Leonardo AI, Claude
Timeline
Senior Project Manager, New Growth
VGW, Virtual Gaming Worlds
04.2023 - Current
Game Director
Amber Studios
07.2022 - 04.2023
Product Manager
High 5 Games
11.2020 - 07.2022
Lead Producer
Traega Entertainment
03.2018 - 11.2020
Senior Project Manager
The Powell Group
01.2014 - 03.2018
Earlier Experience
Bachelor of Applied Science - Network Technologies and Computer Science
Alamance College