Author

Max Reele

Director of Delivery · Rise8 · verified 2026-09-04

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Max Reele is a technology leader that specializes in government-technology and the mod- ernization of mission critical systems. He is currently the Vice President of Delivery at Rise8, where he leads dozens of teams to deliver software capabilities to advance mission impacts for federal agencies. Formerly a leader in government for twenty years, Max was a Deputy Commander at the US Air Force’s Kessel Run software factory, cofounder of the BESPIN software factory, and a Lead System Architect for a major autonomous system program at Defense Innovation Unit. Max is also a keynote speaker that brings with him the experience of military operations, leading 100s of engineering teams, and coaching veterans through career transitions into tech. Tapabrata “Topo” Pal, PhD, is an author, researcher, open-source contributor, and frequent speaker on DevOps, developer experience, automated governance, software supply chains, and AI-assisted software engineering. He is a coauthor of Investments Unlimited and has contributed to industry research and open-source initiatives focused on improving how software is built, governed, and operated at scale. His work has explored the intersection of engineering productivity, governance, security, and emerging technologies. He is currently Head of Developer Experience at M&T Bank. Prior to this role, he spent nearly fifteen years advancing DevOps and developer experience at Fidelity Investments and Capital One. He holds a PhD degree in Physics.

From a paper they wrote for us, 2026