My name is Jakob French, a Chicago-based technical project manager and software engineer. I earned my Bachelor's degree in Management Information Systems from the Culverhouse College of Business at the University of Alabama, where I focused on the intersection of technology, communication, and business operations.
I spent the past several years as a Software Implementation Consultant at Fast Enterprises in Denver, Colorado, contributing to the full-stack development of enterprise applications for government agencies, specifically a ground-up Child Support system. I led efforts in unit testing — uncovering and resolving more bugs than any other developer on the team — engineered backend data tools, optimized SQL queries for large-scale reporting, and helped ensure data security through tokenization of sensitive information like Social Security numbers.
That experience taught me how large, technical projects actually get delivered: gathering real requirements, coordinating across teams, and sweating the details under deadline pressure. I'm now channeling that same rigor into a new chapter as an Assistant Project Manager at Aldridge Electric, starting July 2026 — trading code reviews for job-site coordination, but keeping the same instinct for finding what's broken and fixing it.
Before Fast Enterprises, I held internships at Kirkland & Ellis and MAX Digital in Chicago. At Kirkland & Ellis, I partnered with the IT department on internal tools and data accessibility while supporting legal research for litigation teams. At MAX Digital, I modernized dealership data systems for over 500 auto clients, improving data usability across legacy and modern platforms.
Outside of work, I'm fairly adventurous — snowboarding, skiing, skydiving, basketball, football, and the occasional dip in Lake Michigan when the weather cooperates. Always up for exploring a new place, trying a new activity, or finding a new favorite restaurant.
