James Blair

Senior Product Manager

Technology should make us more human, not less. I’m a Senior Product Manager at Posit who helps teams turn data science and AI into useful products. My work spans 0-to-1 AI tools, enterprise reporting, and cloud partnerships—always grounded in the people who use them.

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About Me

I work at the intersection of product strategy, data science, and AI. At Posit (formerly RStudio), I partner with customers and cloud platforms to make technical tools easier to adopt and more valuable in practice. Over more than a decade in the field, I’ve learned that strong product work starts with listening closely, then creating enough space for people to do their best thinking.

Work

I lead product work across cloud partnerships, enterprise integrations, and AI-enabled workflows. That has included building targeted demo tools that cut preparation time by 90%, maintaining close customer relationships, and helping partners deliver better data science experiences. I also speak and teach regularly through conference talks, keynotes, and hands-on technical workshops.

Home

I’m based in Eagle Mountain, Utah with my wife and our five kids. Away from work, family time usually means road trips, time near the water, games, backyard barbecues, and a healthy amount of cheering for American Ninja Warrior.

Hobbies

When I'm not working on product strategy or speaking at conferences, you can find me enjoying Utah's majestic scenery from a bicycle. I'm a mediocre road racer (Cat 4) with my main season target being LoToJa, which I've completed 3 times. One of my biggest goals is to finish in under 9.5 hours. My favorite road ride is Arches National Park, and my favorite mountain bike ride is anything around Lake Tahoe. I also run Landform Labs, a small 3D printing business focused on creating geographical features and custom pieces for bike rides, runs, and hikes.

Skills & Expertise

Product & Strategy

Product Management
Customer Research
Product Led Growth
Go-to-Market Strategy
Cross-functional Collaboration

Technical Leadership

Data Science & Analytics
Python, R & SQL Programming
Artificial Intelligence & LLMs
Agentic Systems & RAG
Open Source Development

Leadership & Communication

Public Speaking
Keynote Presentations
Technical Writing
Teaching & Mentoring
Open Source Advocacy

Selected Work & Talks

Product leadership

Practical data science products

I lead product work that connects enterprise customers, cloud platforms, and the open-source data science ecosystem.

Learn about Posit

Talks & teaching

Ideas made useful in a room

I speak on data science, AI, and product practice, from keynotes to hands-on workshops.

Browse talk materials

Open source

Projects and experiments

Explore the code, prototypes, and smaller projects I share publicly.

Visit GitHub

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👋 I'm an AI assistant with detailed knowledge about James Blair's background and experience. While I can share information about his work, interests, and expertise, I'm not James himself. For direct conversations or business inquiries, feel free to contact James at james@jamesblair.me.

I can help with James’s work at Posit, talks and teaching, data science and AI experience, or cycling. For a direct conversation, email James.

Get in Touch

I'm always interested in meaningful professional connections, speaking opportunities, and interesting collaborations. Whether you're looking for insights on data science, AI implementation, cloud platform partnerships, or agentic systems, I'd love to hear from you! I'm particularly passionate about bridging the gap between technical capabilities and business value.