Joe Rinaldi — Operations Leader → Servant-Leader Scrum Master
A decade of facilitating high-pressure, cross-functional teams toward measurable outcomes — building the processes, metrics, and momentum that help teams continuously improve. I clear impediments, keep work flowing, and unite people behind a shared vision. Now applying those strengths to Agile delivery and pursuing SAFe® Scrum Master (SSM) certification.
For a decade I've led as a servant-leader under other titles — authoring processes and Definition-of-Done standards, building metrics systems, refining backlogs of work against value, removing impediments, and running regular improvement cycles. Scrum simply gives that instinct a shared framework and a name.
As I move into Agile delivery, I'm pairing that operations foundation with hands-on software study — I designed and built this site — and pursuing SAFe® Scrum Master (SSM) certification. The goal: help a team find its flow and keep value moving in a high-impact environment.
Servant Leadership
I lead by clearing the path — coaching teams, removing blockers, and keeping people aligned to a shared goal so they can deliver their best work.
Transparent Delivery
I make work visible — KPI/metrics systems, clear acceptance criteria, and a documented Definition of Done so “done” actually means done.
// TOOLKIT
Servant Leadership & CoachingFacilitation & CeremoniesBacklog Refinement & PrioritizationAgile Metrics & FlowContinuous Improvement & RetrosLean Process & Definition of Done
// 02. SELECTED WORK
Things I've Built
Full-stack apps from my self-directed software study — several with AI woven in. They're how I learned to scope, decompose, and ship real software.
An AI-powered simulated trading deskPRIVATE BUILD
FinAlly — AI Trading Copilot
WHAT IT DOES
A Bloomberg-style trading simulator where you manage a $10k virtual portfolio against live-streaming prices, with an LLM copilot that analyzes your holdings and executes trades from plain-English requests.
PROBLEM IT SOLVES
It lets people practice trading and portfolio management with zero risk — no real money or brokerage account — while demonstrating how an LLM can act as an agentic copilot that turns instructions like “trim my tech exposure” into validated, executed trades.
HOW IT WORKS
A single FastAPI service serves both the JSON/SSE API and a Next.js front end. A Geometric Brownian Motion simulator (or the Polygon API) streams prices to the browser over Server-Sent Events, with state in SQLite. The AI layer uses LiteLLM with Pydantic-typed structured outputs, and any trade it proposes runs through the same server-side validation as a manual one — the model proposes, the code enforces. Containerized with Docker.
An AI-assisted scheduling app for restaurants: define roles, employees, skills, and availability, then generate, edit, and publish staff schedules in minutes — with time-off requests, shift swaps, templates, and clock-in/out attendance.
PROBLEM IT SOLVES
Building restaurant rosters by hand is slow and error-prone — juggling who's qualified, who's available, approved time off, overtime, and coverage. Mise drafts a compliant schedule from those constraints in seconds and lets managers adjust and publish to staff.
HOW IT WORKS
A monorepo: a FastAPI backend (SQLAlchemy + PostgreSQL, JWT auth) and a Next.js 16 / React 19 / TypeScript front end. The scheduler assembles a structured context of shifts, roles, and availability and asks an LLM (DeepSeek) for assignments — then deterministically validates every one server-side (role, availability, time-off, no double-booking) before saving. The AI only drafts; the validator decides what actually ships.
One place for chores, calendar, and mealsPRIVATE BUILD
Family-Hub — Household OS
WHAT IT DOES
A private household organizer that unifies a family's chores and tasks, a shared calendar with two-way Google Calendar sync, an AI “Chef” that plans the week's meals from your recipe catalog, and an auto-generated grocery list.
PROBLEM IT SOLVES
Families juggle chores, calendars, meals, and shopping across disconnected apps and separate Google calendars. Family-Hub centralizes it for one household, keeps both parents' calendars in sync with a single shared view, and offloads weekly meal planning to an AI agent that respects the recipes you actually cook and your busy nights.
HOW IT WORKS
A single Next.js 16 app (App Router, React 19, Server Actions) with no separate API — mutations flow through a service layer the AI tools reuse, so business logic lives once. Data is in Neon Postgres via Drizzle ORM; auth is Auth.js (NextAuth v5) with Google, requesting Calendar scope so sign-in also authorizes sync (refresh tokens encrypted at rest). A Vercel Cron job runs incremental two-way calendar sync every 15 minutes, and the meal planner is a tool-calling agent on the Vercel AI SDK (DeepSeek).
Next.js 16Server ActionsDrizzle ORMNeon PostgresAuth.jsGoogle Calendar APIVercel AI SDK
1 / 4 · Tasks
Sync chores & star rewardsLIVE PWA
Leo List — Kids' Chore & Reward App
WHAT IT DOES
A jungle-themed chore-and-reward app for families. Kids check off daily chores to earn stars and trade them for parent-defined rewards, with an optional “Jungle Math” mini-game for bonus stars. One Expo codebase ships to Android and a hosted web PWA.
PROBLEM IT SOLVES
It gives families a simple, gamified way to track chores and motivate young kids with a visible star economy, synced across phones via one shared family login. The hosted PWA means iPhone users can add it to their home screen without the App Store, and a parent PIN keeps kids from approving their own rewards.
HOW IT WORKS
Expo SDK 54 / React Native 0.81 with expo-router, shipping native Android and a static web build via react-native-web. State is React Context; Firebase provides email/password auth and Firestore, with data namespaced per family (families/{uid}/…) and enforced by Firestore security rules. Star balances update in real time via Firestore snapshot listeners, and persistence is platform-aware (IndexedDB on web, AsyncStorage on native).
Built end to end as part of my self-directed software study: a server-rendered portfolio with a retro arcade intro and a “Digital Twin” AI chat that answers questions about my background in my own voice.
PROBLEM IT SOLVES
A résumé is static. This turns it into an interactive experience that maps my operations record to the Scrum Master role and demonstrates hands-on technical ability — scoped vision → epic → story like a real delivery backlog.
HOW IT WORKS
Next.js 16 (App Router, React 19, TypeScript): static content is server-rendered, with the arcade gate, AI chat, and contact form as isolated client islands. An /api/chat route proxies to DeepSeek with input validation and an origin allow-list, and Web3Forms handles the contact form. Deployed on Vercel.
The core work of a Scrum Master — and where I've already done it under a different title.
Keep the team anchored to Lean-Agile principles and the flow of value.
A decade of Lean operations leadership — cutting labor cost 3% while holding 85%+ satisfaction and lifting onboarding efficiency 50% — always optimizing flow toward measurable value.
Facilitate the team's ceremonies and planning cadence.
Years of running high-pressure, cross-functional teams: coordinating stakeholders, timeboxing, and keeping everyone aligned to the goal. Different ceremonies, same discipline — preparation, facilitation, and making sure the session serves its purpose.
Surface and clear impediments so delivery keeps moving.
Coordinate across supply chain, logistics, and operations to clear delivery impediments and reduce errors; coached teams by removing blockers so they could execute.
Partner with the Product Owner to keep the backlog refined and prioritized.
Manage a 50+ account book and a 30+ prospect pipeline, continuously prioritizing and refining a backlog against client value and readiness.
Hold the line on acceptance criteria and a real Definition of Done.
Authored and implemented all core operating processes, establishing clear standards and “definition of done” criteria adhered to across the operation.
Make delivery transparent with the team's flow and velocity metrics.
Built and maintained balanced, KPI-driven metrics systems from the ground up, communicating clear expectations and continuously inspecting performance against them.
Break big, fuzzy initiatives into well-sized, ready-to-build work.
Self-directed study in software-project frameworks — scoping work vision → initiative → epic → story — applied hands-on to designing and building this site.
Run retrospectives that turn into tracked, real improvements.
Implemented recurring monthly/quarterly review cycles and the operation's first performance-review process, driving a ~20% increase in per-guest sales.
Keep process documented well enough to stand up to an audit.
Documentation-first operator: I authored the process libraries, standards, and metrics that made adherence repeatable and auditable.
Get formally certified (SAFe SSM / PSM).
Already in motion — actively pursuing Scrum Master fundamentals ahead of SSM/PSM certification, alongside ongoing hands-on software study.
// 04. CAREER HISTORY
The Delivery Journey
S
Sales Consultant
Sysco
Jan 2024 – Present Plympton, MA
Coordinate across supply chain, logistics, and operations teams to clear delivery and fulfillment impediments — reducing errors across a high-volume client base and keeping work flowing.
Manage 50+ active accounts and a 30+ prospect pipeline, continuously prioritizing and refining a backlog of opportunities against client value and readiness.
Analyze client purchasing data to surface trends and translate them into actionable, prioritized recommendations.
Grew the territory to $2.3M in annual sales (60k cases/year) through sustained, transparent performance tracking.
S
General Manager
Seoul Kitchen
Mar 2020 – Nov 2023 Westford, MA
Authored, organized, and implemented all core operating processes — establishing clear standards and “definition of done” criteria adhered to across the operation.
Built and maintained a balanced metrics system, communicating clear expectations and continuously inspecting performance against them.
Coached a five-member leadership team in an Integrator (delivery-orchestration) capacity, removing blockers so the team could execute.
Led the COVID-era pivot to a new takeout process and marketing campaign, lifting revenue from $2.8M to $3.6M and growing takeaway orders 300%.
G
Director, Food & Beverage
Groton Publick House
May 2018 – Jan 2020 Groton, MA
Built a KPI-driven metrics system from the ground up for a brand-new operation, with close attention to cost management and resource allocation.
Recruited, trained, and mentored a 15-person team, uniting them behind a single concept and vision — driving $1M+ in first-year revenue.
Facilitated 20+ complex custom events end to end, coordinating stakeholders and requirements to deliver $200K+ in additional revenue.
Implemented recurring monthly and quarterly review cycles to surface improvements and develop the team.
// 05. CONTACT
Let's Talk Delivery
Hiring for a Scrum Master or Agile delivery role — or want to compare notes on servant leadership and team flow? Reach out directly or send a message and I'll reply quickly.