Zach Robida is a Design Lead at Manhattan Associates with eight years of experience delivering complex software for federal clients. He works where functional design meets technical implementation, turning business requirements into specifications developers can build from directly. An automation-first thinker, he architected the AI-driven documentation platform his 25-person cross-functional team now designs, builds, and tests from. Recognized with a 2025 Spirit Award for Master Mentor, he raises the output of the people around him through structured coaching and delegated ownership.
He treats AI as a practical layer within real systems that keeps them improving over time. He starts by questioning assumptions and finding the real constraint, then designs a durable solution that scales. Outside of work, he brings that approach to his side ventures. He founded and built Holigram, an AI-powered private data home, and advised Hourglass Trader on AI tooling and automation.
Experience
Select a role to read more.
Design Lead
Manhattan Associates — PSO Government Division, 2024 – Present
Co-Lead end-to-end functional design for FEMA's MASC (Manhattan Active Supply Chain) platform upgrade, designing custom extensions and applications, authoring the Solution Design Document, and conducting client engagement sessions with FEMA stakeholders.
Built and maintain the AI-driven documentation platform a 25-person functional and development team now builds and tests from, pairing Python/Jinja2 spec scaffolding with GitHub Copilot agents and Claude as live context.
Pioneered the adoption of GitHub Copilot across the team, introducing AI-driven workflows for design documentation, mockup generation, and gap analysis — measurably reducing spec authoring time.
Spearheaded the adoption of the Syncfusion Angular UI framework and Figma for the LogX1 application, reducing developer-functional back-and-forth and delivering a higher-quality product within budget.
Mentored a rotating cast of consultants through structured design reviews, open-door coaching, and delegated extension spec ownership — earning a 2025 Spirit Award for Master Mentor.
Completed over 30 campus recruiting interviews (top 5 company-wide), demonstrating sustained commitment to attracting top talent into the organization.
Senior Consultant → Design Lead
Manhattan Associates — PSO Government Division, 2021 – 2024
Served as sole Design Lead for the $1M+ FEMA State Portal project on the LogX1 Angular platform, owning all design documentation, scope management, and client-facing presentations from kick-off through delivery.
Led the design of a custom Capacity Finder solution enabling mass bid solicitation and awarding for FEMA transportation equipment and lanes, facilitating in-person stakeholder design sessions to achieve conceptual design sign-off.
Took full ownership of the LSCMS monthly release process — revamped Jira dashboards, established bi-weekly defect prioritization cadence, and managed the full CAB compliance trail that withstood FedRAMP audit scrutiny.
Served as FEMA client liaison for change requests, Tier 3 support, and the Cloud IPT; traveled bi-monthly to FEMA HQ and provided extended on-site hurricane response support during Hurricane Ian.
Designed and delivered the Parcel Carrier API Integration projects (UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL) as both PM and design lead, achieving SPI of 1.0 on a $90K budget.
Consultant → Senior Consultant
Manhattan Associates — PSO Government Division, 2018 – 2021
Designed and developed Manhrobo, a Python-based automated testing framework that replaced 80% of manual consultant testing — reducing a full regression cycle from one week of 6 consultants' work to 30 minutes.
Architected a fully autonomous DAST vulnerability detection and reporting pipeline on AWS (WebInspect + Nessus + S3 + Athena + Jira), saving hundreds of hours of manual vulnerability management per year.
Contributed to the FedRAMP cloud migration for FEMA's LSCMS solution, pioneering all Windows server hardening procedures, GPO-based DISA STIG alignment, and continuous monitoring SOPs.
Built the SCPP-Configurator tool in Python + JDBC to automatically detect configuration discrepancies across environments, eliminating a major source of upgrade-related defects.
Developed 23 of 40 extension specification documents during the 2019 upgrade cycle, spanning 6 application components.
Manufacturing Engineering Co-Op
Itron, Inc. — West Union, SC, 2015 – 2016
Completed four semester-long co-op rotations of hands-on manufacturing engineering, from workstation design to production-floor process improvement.
Designed automated test equipment (precision load cells, PLC/HMI) and custom ESD workstations as part of a Kaizen team, reducing manual process time by up to 50%.
Projects
In production with a 25-person functional and development team
AI-Driven Documentation Platform
Problem
Functional design documentation was inconsistent, repetitive to scaffold, and disconnected from development and testing — creating delays and quality variance across projects.
Solution
Designed and built a centralized, version-controlled documentation repository with Jinja2 tooling that scaffolds new specs on demand. Custom GitHub Copilot instructions, prompt files, and Claude-powered agents live in the repo as working context, and Glean (via MCP) feeds them internal documentation, past projects, and design patterns. Continues to own and maintain the repository, its templates, and its AI configuration as the team grows.
Impact
Adopted as the system of record by a 25-person functional and development team: developers build directly from the specs, and test cases are written from them. Eliminated repetitive document setup and enforced one specification standard across the implementation pipeline.
What's next
Generate automated test flows and training videos directly from the flow documentation and the code, so every new design ships with its tests and its training.
Built with
Python, Jinja2, GitHub Copilot (instructions, prompt files, agents), Claude Opus, Glean via MCP, Markdown, Git
GitHub Copilot
Claude
Glean
Python
Jinja2
AI
Syncfusion + Figma Design System (LogX1)Reduced developer/functional back-and-forth on UI issues during build and test phases.
Problem
Significant gap between design intent and developer output on the LogX1 Angular application. Developers lacked fidelity mockups; the team had no reusable component library.
Solution
Independently identified and prototyped the Syncfusion Angular component framework, built a business case with long-term cost analysis, convinced leadership to adopt it, and then integrated components into a Figma library for the team.
Impact
Reduced developer/functional back-and-forth on UI issues during build and test phases. Phase 4 design and functional output quality measurably exceeded Phase 3. Became the standard design workflow for the team.
Digital Proof of DeliveryPresented to FEMA as a $1.5M project, currently pending funding approval.
Problem
FEMA has major operational gaps with receiving commodities at state sites, leading to systematic errors — creating operational inefficiencies and compliance risks.
Solution
Designed a custom digital proof of delivery solution that integrates with the existing LSCMS inventory model, enabling state-level receiving and inventory reconciliation with real-time visibility for FEMA.
Impact
Presented to FEMA as a $1.5M project, currently pending funding approval.
Built with
Manhattan Active, LogX1, Angular
Design Lead
Custom
FEMA
FEMA State PortalDelivered on time with scope held near-perfectly to original plan.
Problem
FEMA needed extended LSCMS visibility for State Emergency Management Associations, requiring a custom portal with a novel inventory model entirely decoupled from the existing ASN/Order flow.
Solution
Served as sole Design Lead, authoring the Conceptual Design Document, designing a custom POD inventory snapshot data model, and creating a data access control layer for state-level companies — all on the new Angular/Syncfusion platform.
Impact
Delivered on time with scope held near-perfectly to original plan. Client POCs expressed satisfaction with solution quality. Laid the foundation for future LogX1 expansion.
Manhrobo — Automated Testing FrameworkReduced full regression cycle from ~240 consultant-hours to 30 minutes.
Problem
Manual regression testing required 6 consultants a full week per cycle. Monthly patching made this schedule untenable.
Solution
Designed and built Manhrobo, a lightweight portable Python framework purpose-built for supply chain application testing, with randomized input data, auto-generated logs, and cloud-native execution via AWS SSM.
Impact
Reduced full regression cycle from ~240 consultant-hours to 30 minutes. Eliminated 70+ consultant-hours per monthly patch cycle across 10+ environments. Replaced ~80% of all manual consultant testing.
Built with
Python, AWS SSM, Robot Framework, REST/JDBC integrations, CI execution pipeline
Python
Automation
FedRAMP
AWS
FedRAMP Cloud Vulnerability Automation PipelineSaved hundreds of annual hours on vulnerability management.
Problem
All DAST vulnerability scanning, reporting, and Jira ticket creation was fully manual, creating compliance risk and hundreds of hours of analyst overhead per year.
Solution
Designed a fully autonomous vulnerability detection and reporting framework: parallel WebInspect scans feed auto-exported results to S3, trigger Jira ticket creation, and populate Amazon Athena for POA&M and continuous-monitoring reports.
Impact
Saved hundreds of annual hours on vulnerability management. Provided a compliant, auditable evidence trail that supported FEMA's FedRAMP High authorization.
A private data home for everything you like, own, and experience, with an assistant that answers only from what you actually keep. Founded, designed, and built end to end.
Went from first commit to production in 24 days; 1,000+ commits and 60+ tagged releases since.
Ships as a web app and an iOS app on the App Store, with AI that drafts entries from a photo, a link, or a description for you to approve.
Built an MCP connector with OAuth 2.1 so Claude and ChatGPT can read a person's collections one at a time, with every grant revocable and every read logged.
An options-trading research platform and community, founded by a friend.
Coached the founder on using AI to generate bespoke trading tools and automate recurring work.
The platform now offers eight member tools, three free tools, real-time trade alerts, and a community of 3,000+ options sellers.
AI enablement
Tool generation
Automation
How Zach works
ENTJ
Myers-Briggs
Natural leader and strategic thinker. ENTJs excel at organizing people and resources toward long-term goals, communicating with clarity and confidence, and turning ambitious visions into executable plans.
Red
Color Personality
Driven, results-oriented, and decisive. Reds thrive in fast-paced environments, take ownership instinctively, and bring energy and directness to every challenge they tackle.
Type 8: The Challenger
Enneagram
Confident, resourceful, and deeply invested in making a positive impact. Type 8s are natural protectors of their team — they advocate fiercely for the people around them and take on difficult problems others avoid.
Problem Approach
Identifies inefficiencies before being asked, then builds systematic solutions rather than one-off fixes. Driven by a belief that the best way to keep doing interesting work is to make the current work better.
Learning Style
Learns by doing and by mapping knowledge gaps to the people who have already solved the problem. Comfortable going deep on technical topics outside his formal background — mechanical engineering to Python to AI workflows.
Leadership
Leads through enablement rather than authority. Prefers to delegate, review, and develop rather than do it himself — because a team of skilled people scales infinitely better than one person who does everything.
Work Style
Automation-first. Deeply invested in AI as a practical accelerant. Brings structured thinking to ambiguous problems and communicates with a bias toward clarity and brevity.
Recognition
Master Mentor, Q4 2025 Spirit AwardRecognized for building durable design instincts across the consulting team through structured coaching, delegated ownership, and an open-door approach to knowledge transfer. (Manhattan Associates)
Top 5 Campus Recruiter, Fall 2025Completed 18 campus recruiting interviews in Fall 2025, ranking in the top 5 interviewers company-wide. (Manhattan Associates)
Outside work
Family
Married to Molly McCullough Robida. Two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels: Nova (7) and Bentley (4).
Woodworking
Cutting boards
Charcuterie boards
Gift and commissioned pieces
DIY home projects
Carpentry
Bathroom renovations
Painting
Tiling
Electrical work
Reading that shaped my thinking
No.Title & takeaway10 books
01
The Singularity Is Near / The Singularity Is Nearer
Ray Kurzweil
Technology compounds. Understanding the trajectory of exponential growth changes how you think about what is coming — and how fast.
02
Nexus
Yuval Noah Harari
Information networks have always shaped civilization. AI is the latest — and most powerful — iteration of that pattern.
03
Sapiens & Homo Deus
Yuval Noah Harari
Where we came from defines the hidden assumptions we carry into the future. Understanding history is the prerequisite for designing what comes next.
04
The Master Algorithm
Pedro Domingos
ML is not magic — it is a search for a unifying learning framework. Demystifying the mechanism makes you a better practitioner.
05
Scary Smart
Mo Gawdat
The question is not whether AI becomes capable, but what values we embed in it along the way. Agency matters now, not later.
06
Smart Brevity
VandeHei, Allen & Schwartz
Saying more with less is a skill, not a shortcut. Respecting the reader's time is the foundation of effective communication.
07
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Patrick Lencioni
Trust is the root. Every team dysfunction traces back to an unwillingness to be vulnerable. Fix the root, not the symptoms.
08
The First Time Manager
Belker, McCormick & Topchik
Managing people is a craft, not a promotion. The shift from doing to enabling is the hardest and most important transition in a career.
09
Freakonomics
Levitt & Dubner
Incentives explain almost everything. Look at the data, question the conventional narrative, and find the hidden lever.
10
Conscious
Annaka Harris
Consciousness may be far more fundamental — and far stranger — than our intuitions suggest. Staying humble about what we don't know keeps thinking sharp.
