When AI actually belongs in your product (and when it doesn't)
A pragmatic framework for deciding whether a feature needs machine learning at all, starting from the metric you're trying to move, not the model you want to use.
read more →~/ferchichi · zsh
➜ ~ whoami
Abdelrahmane Ferchichi
Product Leader & Builder · AI, SaaS, IoT & MLOps
➜ ~ cat mission.txt
about
Turning complex ideas into products people use
I'm a product and R&D leader who connects technology, data, and business. Over 12+ years I've taken connected products from a blank page to real-world deployment, and once, all the way to acquisition.
My background is hybrid by design: I started in applied research and engineering (photovoltaics, connected health, national digital platforms), moved into technical architecture and product management, and co-founded a company where I owned R&D, product, and operations end to end. That mix means I can sit with engineers on system design in the morning and defend a roadmap to customers and investors in the afternoon.
I care most about the moment a messy, complex innovation becomes something a real user actually wants. Lately I'm focused on where AI and MLOps make products genuinely better, not because it's a trend, but where it moves a real metric.
locationMontréal, QC 🇨🇦
roleProduct Leader & Builder
focusAI · SaaS · IoT
statusopen to opportunities
languagesFR · EN · AR
02 / experience
Career log
A progression from applied research to product leadership, each step with more ownership than the last.
Head of R&D IoTMar 2026 – Present
SOPREMA · Montréal, Canada
- Continuity: contribute to IoT R&D and product strategy following Domely Technologies' acquisition by SOPREMA.
- Industrial integration: develop and scale AIoT solutions adapted to industrial needs and integrated into a larger product ecosystem.
Co-Founder · VP R&D & OperationsDec 2020 – Mar 2026
Domely Technologies · Montréal, Canada · Acquired by SOPREMA
Built an AIoT + SaaS solution for predictive roof risk management, from concept to real-world deployment and acquisition in 2026.
- Product development: led AIoT products combining IoT devices, embedded systems, SaaS platforms, and field data pipelines supporting AI-driven features.
- Strategy & lifecycle: owned roadmap and priorities across the full product lifecycle, aligning engineering, customers, and business objectives.
- Team coordination: coordinated R&D teams, partners, customers, supply chain, and operational activities to support scale-up.
- Funding & partnerships: managed $5M+ in R&D programs, secured $3M+ in funding, built strategic partnerships.
- IP: filed multiple patents protecting proprietary technologies.
Software EngineerJul 2020 – Dec 2020
Desjardins · Lévis, QC
- Banking products: helped deliver critical features used by millions of customers, targeting reliability, security, and a seamless digital experience.
- Integration: designed and integrated REST APIs with associated technical and product specifications.
- Continuous delivery: maintained enterprise Java applications and CI/CD pipelines.
- Collaboration: worked with product, architecture, and delivery teams according to user and operational needs.
Product Manager & Technical ArchitectSep 2018 – Jul 2020
Umano Medical · Lévis, QC
- Connectivity: led IoT and SaaS integration for smart hospital beds deployed across multiple facilities, generating $10–20M in annual revenue.
- Team management: supervised and mobilized a team of developers delivering IoT, SaaS, and full-stack solutions.
- Product strategy: defined roadmap, technical priorities, market positioning, and KPIs based on user needs.
- Industrialization: collaborated with technical, product, and sales teams to support manufacturing and product execution.
- Continuous improvement: implemented Agile, Scrum, Kanban, and SAFe practices to structure execution and support $2–3M in R&D investment.
R&D Engineer, Digital PlatformsJan 2018 – Aug 2018
Ministère de l'Éducation nationale · Grenoble, France
- Impact: supported the evolution of national platforms serving 2.8M students and 900,000 teachers.
- Development: helped build project management tools using Angular and Java Spring.
- Product: gathered requirements and wrote product and functional specifications.
- Delivery: participated in Agile practices, CI/CD pipelines, and continuous delivery.
R&D Engineer, Connected Health2015 – 2016
Startup Project · Grenoble, France
- Connected product: drove a connected-health MVP from feasibility study to functional prototype.
- Design: combined electronics, connectivity, software, and user experience.
- Validation: assessed deployment constraints and validated prototype relevance with stakeholders.
R&D Engineer, Photovoltaic TechnologiesOct 2013 – Sep 2016
CEA · Grenoble, France
- Applied research: worked on next-generation photovoltaic cells and high-precision laser processes.
- Industrialization: led the installation of silicon laser-cutting equipment, from requirements definition to commissioning.
- R&D management: developed cost forecasting, project tracking, and efficiency analysis tools.
- Investments: coordinated multidisciplinary projects, oversaw €15M in R&D investments, and ordered €500K in laboratory equipment.
03 / skills
Toolkit
What I reach for across product, data, and engineering.
{ product & operations }
Product StrategyRoadmappingOKRsScrumKanbanLeanJiraHubSpotOdoo
{ AI, data & MLOps }
PythonPyTorchScikit-learnMLflowData PipelinesModel DeploymentMonitoring
{ cloud & software }
React.jsFastAPIPostgreSQLDockerREST APIsGitCI/CD
{ AIoT & connected systems }
AIoTEmbedded SystemsIoT SolutionsEdgeSensors
{ languages }
04 / education & certifications
Credentials
// education
MLOps & AI Systems Specialization IN PROGRESS
Polytechnique Montréal · Canada · 2026
Master's - Intelligence & Transformation
Université Laval · Canada · 2021
Engineering Degree - Industrial Eng. (R&D)
CESI Graduate School of Engineering · France · 2016
// certifications
Professional Scrum Master
Web JavaScript Developer
M2I Formation · France · 2017
IoT & Big Data
Cégep Sainte-Foy · Québec
Microsoft Azure
Cégep Sainte-Foy · Québec
Data Science
Cégep Sainte-Foy · Québec
awards & recognition
2024
People's Choice Award
International Roofing Expo
2024
Grand Prize
InsurTech Québec
07 / contact
Let's build something.
Open to product and tech roles where AI, data, and connected systems meet real users. If that's you, my inbox is open.
contact.sh
➜ ./say-hello
email → abdelrahmane.ferchichi@gmail.com
phone → +1 581-999-4686
loc → Montréal, QC, Canada
linkedin → /in/abdelrahmane-ferchichi
➜