Lucas Longacre
Head of Product at Inlightened
15+ years building products, from technical direction and video production to leading AI-powered product teams. Right now I design product architecture and build with Claude Code, pairing AI-assisted development with hands-on system design.
About
I'm a Head of Product who specializes in turning complex AI systems into clear, practical products people love.
With 15+ years spanning software, media tech, healthcare, and immersive experiences, I've built a career around simplifying complexity. My work sits at the intersection of AI, UX, and engineering, where clarity and execution matter most.
I combine deep technical fluency (Claude, OpenAI, Vertex, Pinecone, GCP, MySQL/MongoDB, Python/JS) with systems thinking and calm, intentional product leadership. I partner closely with engineers and designers to ship features that are grounded in real user behavior, not hype.
What I care about
- Practical, responsible AI that solves real user problems
- Solutions that are safe and respect user privacy and data
- Clear product strategy and crisp communication
- Useful, ethical systems thinking
- High-velocity experimentation
- Building products teams trust and users value
Skills
AI / LLM
Backend & Data
Cloud
Product & PM
Languages
Experience
- Jun 2024 – Present
Head of Product · Inlightened
- Lead AI/LLM-driven product development for a healthcare expert-network platform.
- Design product architecture and pair with the engineering team using AI-assisted development (Claude Code).
- Feb 2022 – Present (part-time since Jun 2024)
Founder · Mebot AI Corp
- Built and continue to operate an AI product studio — the experience that led directly to the Inlightened role.
- Crafted go-to-market and product strategy; led global dev/design teams from concept to delivery.
- Jun 2021 – Feb 2022
Technical Director · Zero Point Reality
- Produced and directed a VR flagship experience for AT&T in downtown San Francisco.
- Built the production workflow used to deliver optimized VR video across headsets and streaming.
- Jun 2015 – May 2021
Video Producer & Technical Lead · The Original Fare LLC
- Directed a 30-minute episodic show for overseas cable distribution end to end.
- Repurposed content across cable, social, and streaming; managed all media processing and archiving.
Education
- B.A. Media Studies — SUNY at Buffalo
- Certificate, Full Stack Development — UT Austin
Signal & Noise: Executive Voices
All episodes →I host conversations with product and AI leaders about what it actually takes to build.
Structure the Ambiguity: Product, AI, and the Real Work of Building
with Zach GrumetHow product leaders "own the mess" — turning vague signals into structured problems, and how AI-assisted prototyping is compressing product timelines.
Beyond the Stack
with Viktor WilliamsonA conversation on what actually matters beyond your tech stack when building AI products.
Dispatch from AICon USA
Field notes and takeaways from AICon USA 2026.
Writing
How Inlightened Leverages AI (Responsibly)
How Inlightened uses AI with clear boundaries and minimal data exposure — natural-language search, profile enhancement, and quality audits that keep a human in the loop.