Dairy Queen Canada
"Scan a Leaf" AR Lens
Turned real maple leaves into DQ Fall Treat coupons — Snapchatters scanned a leaf in real life to unlock an offer. 2.5M+ played, averaging 10+ seconds, well above Snap Canada's AR benchmark.
Currently — shipping product
Turning ambitious mobile and AR ideas into shipped, working software.
Daniel Sputa is a product and operations-focused project manager with a background in mobile app development, agile delivery, and cross-functional execution across mobile, web, and AR.
- Focus
- Mobile · Web · AR
- Method
- Agile / Scrum
- Contact
- LinkedIn ↗
[About]
Daniel is a product and operations-focused project manager with a background in mobile app development, agile delivery, and cross-functional execution. He brings a mix of product thinking, technical understanding, and hands-on experience leading teams from concept through launch across mobile, web, and AR experiences.
Over the years, he has shifted from pure execution into improving how teams work — building cleaner systems, reducing manual processes, and introducing lightweight automation to make workflows more scalable and efficient. This includes experimenting with AI and LLM-based tools to streamline project intake, organize information, and support faster decision-making across teams.
He has led projects from early ideation through production and release, working closely with design, engineering, and stakeholders to translate ideas into structured execution — particularly at the intersection of product, operations, and AI, where better systems and tooling can unlock faster, more effective teams.
[Areas of expertise]
Product & launch execution
End-to-end delivery across mobile, web, and AR projects, coordinating cross-functional teams and ensuring smooth execution from concept to launch.
Workflow optimization & automation
Improving internal processes by reducing manual work, introducing structure, and building lightweight automations — project setup, asset organization, internal tooling.
AI & LLM applications in operations
Actively exploring and implementing AI tools to streamline workflows, improve knowledge organization, and support team efficiency.
Agile & cross-functional collaboration
Strong background in Agile methodologies — Scrum, sprint planning, retrospectives — aligning product, engineering, and design teams.
Technical foundation
Background in mobile app development and programming (HTML, CSS, PHP), enabling effective collaboration with engineering teams and practical problem-solving.
Tools & platforms
JIRA, Asana, Confluence, Google Workspace, GitHub, WordPress, and other collaboration and project management tools.
[Experience & projects]
AR Creative Project Manager
Subtropic Studios
Mar 2024 — Present
San Francisco Bay Area · Remote
Leads production on augmented reality experiences, Snapchat AR lenses, and interactive brand activations — coordinating designers, 3D artists, developers, and agency partners from concept through launch. Also builds internal automation with generative AI and the Asana API to streamline production pipelines. Selected clients include McDonald's, Walmart, Spotify, Uber, eBay, Instacart, Anheuser-Busch, Ferrero, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Army.
Read the Snap case study ↗
Spotify × Snap Inc.
AR Bracelet — Wrapped 2024
A custom 3D friendship bracelet celebrating Taylor Swift as 2024's Global Top Artist. Users swipe to explore the beads, then try it on — tracked to the wrist in both front and rear camera.
America's Navy
AircraftCarrier26 Lens
Place a floating 3D aircraft carrier in your space, rotate it, and tap through the flight deck, island, and hangar bay to explore how the ship works.
Scrum Master & Senior Software Project Manager
Swenson He
Nov 2018 — Feb 2024
Beverly Hills, CA · Remote
Built the agile delivery function from the ground up at this mobile and web development agency, reporting to the CEO. Ran Scrum across as many as eight concurrent projects with budgets from $100K to $1M+, standardising sprint process, contractor onboarding, and KPI reporting across JIRA, Confluence, and Asana. Delivered 25+ applications.
DropOffer · iOS
Off-market real estate offers
Let buyers' agents send non-binding offers directly to homeowners on virtually any US property — opening up the ~99% of homes that aren't listed. Map search, valuation data, and an offer flow with live mortgage qualification.
Breaker · iOS & Android
Blockchain film streaming
The iOS and Android apps for Breaker — a blockchain-backed platform, co-founded by Ethereum's Joseph Lubin, distributing licensed independent films. The hard parts were rights and playback: enforcing DRM across the catalogue and handing a protected stream from the phone to AirPlay and Chromecast. Shipped during the COVID period.
Wearlinq · iOS & Android
Wearable ECG monitoring
A wearable ECG monitor with paired iOS and Android apps, carried through FDA submission and several release cycles. Onboarding and prescription tracking — expired prescriptions bundle their files to the backend for report generation — plus real-time ECG charts on the home screen. The hard part was the device layer: Bluetooth connectivity and over-the-air firmware updates.
[Personal projects]
Things built for their own sake, outside client work.
🔒plants.danielsputa.com
Care privately. Grow together.
My Garden
A private plant-care tracker — watering, photos, and notes for every plant you own — with an opt-in community feed for the ones you're proud enough to share.
Personal projectLive
plants.danielsputa.com ↗🔒dashboard.danielsputa.com
Production ops, synced from Asana.
D4 Dashboard
An internal ops tool for Subtropic Studios' AR production pipeline — grouped projects, production-stage tracking, and team assignments, layered with business reporting: budget and time burndowns, project margin, resource allocation, and timelines. Wired together from Asana and Everhour for status and time tracking, Auth0 for login, and a Next.js + Supabase backend deployed on Vercel and Cloudflare, hosted from GitHub, with Google Cloud in the mix.
Personal projectPrivate
dashboard.danielsputa.com ↗[Articles]
4 min read
Evaluating Financial Variables in Contrarian Strategy
Identifying the weight and threshold of financial statement ratios for predicting quarterly stock direction, using data mining models across five years of S&P 500 filings.
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3 min read
Introduction to the Hybrid Approach in Mobile App Development
Integrating the precision of the Waterfall model with the agility of Agile, supported by JIRA, for a structured start and adaptive enhancement of mobile apps.
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1 min read
Case Study: Agile Development of a Mobile App
How the fourth largest US energy broker improved adoption and engagement across sales, supplier, and customer portals through an iterative, Agile design process.
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2 min read
20 Under 40: Daniel Sputa
Business Journal NEPA's 20 Under 40 profile of Daniel Sputa, decision support manager at UM Technologies Exchange, on his path through tech and leadership.
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4 min read
What It Takes to Be an Information Security Analyst
A 2015 Business Journal NEPA feature on the role of information security analysts in protecting against cyber threats, featuring insights from Daniel Sputa of UM Tech.
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1 min read
Student Spotlight: Daniel Sputa
On campus involvement at Marywood University, leading the International Club, and helping international students navigate cultural adaptation.
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