Chapter 01
Built things before I had a driver’s license
Sethmatics started when I was 14 — training, wiring, websites, and helping people speak “Computer.” That shop still shapes how I lead: ship, teach, and leave systems better than I found them.
Cave Creek, Arizona
Seth Carstens
I'm a VP of Product EngineeringTechnology ExecutiveSolutions ArchitectAgile Leader
Tech-savvy leader across SDLC, cloud infrastructure, and product engineering — from startup founding teams to enterprise platforms serving millions.
Chapter 02
From FanSided founding to Meredith scale
VP of Technology at FanSided through the Time Inc acquisition, then Director of Technology at Time Inc and Meredith — unifying brands on OneCMS for 1K+ editors and ~180M consumers.
Chapter 03
Now shipping financial platforms at Apex
Today I’m VP of Product Engineering at Apex Trader Funding — strategy, architecture, and execution for a global trader evaluation platform. Along the way: CTO seats at Titan X and Web3 Pro, and a Web Development Lead stretch at Nextiva.
The reel
Roles that left fingerprints
Last 5 years up front — expand any card for detail, or open the full history when you want the longer arc.
Lead engineering, product, and infrastructure for a global trader evaluation platform.
Driving strategy, architecture, and execution behind one of the fastest-growing trader evaluation platforms in the industry. Lead cross-functional engineering, product, and infrastructure teams to deliver a secure, scalable, latency-optimized experience for hundreds of thousands of traders worldwide — platform reliability, Cloudflare edge innovation, compliance alignment, and new products that expand opportunity while protecting the business from operational and regulatory risk.
President — foster family support, Save-A-Christmas, youth volleyball, and YMCA partnership.
Managing business and operations for the nonprofit (active since 1996; 501(c)(3) incorporated 2019). Flagship Save-A-Christmas shopping event for foster kids; Youth Sports Initiatives via Seth’s Gym volleyball practices (YMCA-approved); community outreach and fundraising year-round.
Engineering leadership on Nextiva’s unified customer experience platform in Scottsdale.
Led web development on Nextiva’s unified CX platform — voice, video, chat, social, and email — inside a 1,000–2,000 person software organization headquartered in Scottsdale.
Shareholder-elected board director for Phoenix-area wireless infrastructure.
Elected by shareholders to help guide the business and make sound decisions for employees, customers, and shareholders of a communications tower and wireless infrastructure company serving the Phoenix metro, rural Arizona, and mountain-top sites.
Technology vision, engineering culture, and investor-facing product delivery.
Established and championed the vision for technological innovation and new products. Partnered with the executive team on engineering priorities; recruited and retained talent across disciplines and geographies; tightened engineering practices for velocity and predictability; worked closely with the CEO on investor relations and high-profile client interactions.
Company-wide Agile adoption, engineering hiring, and SaaS architecture leadership.
Provided technical leadership across the business — hiring and training engineering staff, onboarding the company to Agile SCRUM, aligning tech strategy with business goals, supervising infrastructure, selecting technology partnerships, monitoring KPIs and budgets, and communicating strategy to partners and investors.
11 earlier roles Meredith, Time Inc, FanSided, Sethmatics, and more — 1998 through mid-2021.
Stack
Technologies used
AI in the loop — Claude, Cursor, Copilot, ChatGPT — alongside the platforms I’ve actually shipped on.
Toolkit
Skills that still get me out of bed
Grouped by how I actually use them — leadership, AI, platforms, code, growth, and coaching.
Leadership & product
AI craft
Platform & cloud
Software engineering
Growth & analytics
Coaching & athletics
Formation
Education with a plot twist
School didn’t invent the builder — it named what was already running after hours.
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Chapter A
Building Sethmatics before the diploma
High School Diploma
Desert Mountain High School Scottsdale, Arizona
Top of class with a 4.15 GPA — and a side hustle that was already a company. Sethmatics started while I was still in school: training, wiring, websites, and teaching people how to speak Computer. That early shop is still the root of how I lead: ship, teach, and leave systems better than I found them.
- 4.15 GPA · top of class
- Founded Sethmatics at 14
- Training, networking, websites
- Scottsdale, Arizona
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Chapter B
The degree that caught up to the shop
B.S. Computer Information Systems
Arizona State University W. P. Carey School of Business
I started in Electrical Engineering, then switched to Computer Information Systems when it became obvious the work I already loved — systems, software, and shipping — belonged there. Graduated top of class with a toolkit built around SDLC, project management, and databases — the same muscles I still use leading product engineering teams.
- Electrical Engineering → CIS pivot
- Graduated top of class
- Focus: SDLC, project management, databases
- W. P. Carey School of Business
Proof
Awards & achievements
Proof points from the long game — community, scholarship, startups that sold, and platforms that shipped.
Professional
- 1997 Founded Sethmatics at 14 Training, wiring, websites, and teaching people to speak Computer — before a driver’s license.
- 2002 – 2006 Full-ride Leadership Scholarship → Cum Laude at ASU W. P. Carey School of Business, B.S. Computer Information Systems — the degree that caught up to the shop.
- 2014 – 2015 FanSided founding team → Time Inc Scaled engineering through acquisition into one of Time Inc’s largest digital brand groups.
- 2017 FanSided Hall of Fame Honored by FanSided for lasting impact as a founding technology leader.
- 2018 – 2021 OneCMS for Meredith at scale Directed 30+ engineers building a multi-tenant creator platform for 1K+ editors and ~180M consumers.
- 2020 Rapid Recovery Honorary Alumni Honored by Rapid Recovery as Honorary Alumni for contributions to the company and its people.
- 2024 – Present VP of Product Engineering at Apex Strategy, architecture, and execution for a global trader evaluation platform.
Personal & community
- Year-round YMCA youth sports coach — free clinics every week Volunteer coach for free youth sports clinics every week, all year — YMCA-approved Seth’s Gym volleyball practices through CCF Foundation’s Youth Sports Initiatives.
- Ongoing Save-A-Christmas for foster kids Flagship CCF Foundation shopping event — one of the achievements I’m proudest of.
- 2019 – Present President, CCF Foundation Nonprofit leadership for foster family support, community outreach, and the Youth Sports / YMCA partnership behind those free clinics.
- 2010s WordCamp Phoenix & AZ WordPress Organizer, speaker, and meetup lead — teaching developers and building the local WP community.
- Life Husband & father The milestones that don’t fit on a résumé — and still shape how I lead.
Home base
Cave Creek, Arizona
North Phoenix / Cave Creek area — businesses run from here.
Pinned on the world map — Arizona / north Phoenix area (~600 mi glow). No street address.
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