Daniel Bergner
Candidate for Head of Product, Claude Developer Platform
Product executive and entrepreneur with 20 years building developer platforms and enterprise software. Co-founded Salesforce-native platform serving Fortune 100 companies, raised capital from Salesforce Ventures and institutional investors, and exited to Vista Equity portfolio company. Led product transformation and AI-first strategy for field service orchestration platform. Deep expertise in API architecture, developer experience, no-code platforms, and ecosystem development.
Why Anthropic
I've spent my career building platforms that put powerful tools in the hands of people who need them most - whether that's field technicians working miles from connectivity or citizen developers building their own workflows. Now I'm at an inflection point: start another company, or join the one team building AI that I believe will fundamentally reshape how software gets built.
I choose Anthropic.
I use Claude, Claude Code, and your models in Cursor dozens of times every day. This isn't theoretical for me - I'm living inside the developer experience you're building. And I see something most product leaders miss: Claude Code isn't just a coding assistant. It's the foundation for reimagining the entire product development lifecycle.
The traditional SDLC is breaking. What used to take teams of specialized developers can increasingly be accomplished by smaller teams leveraging AI. But the tools haven't caught up to the paradigm shift.
Your research matters to me. Constitutional AI isn't marketing - it's a framework for building systems people can trust to make decisions that matter. After building platforms for utilities, oil and gas, and healthcare, I've seen what happens when systems fail in the field. Safety and reliability aren't optional when real work depends on your platform. Anthropic's commitment to alignment, interpretability, and safety resonates deeply with my experience building for mission-critical environments.
I'm also betting on timing. The developer platform that wins the AI era will be the one that developers trust with their most important work. Anthropic is positioned to win that trust through superior models, thoughtful safety practices, and a developer-first culture. The Microsoft/Nvidia investment, the Azure integration, the IBM partnership - these signal you're building the enterprise-grade platform the market needs.
This role represents the highest-leverage application of my energy. I can start another company - I know how to raise capital, build products, and exit successfully. But there's only one Anthropic, only one moment to help shape how millions of developers will build with the world's most capable AI. That's where I want to be.
Cover Letter
Dear Anthropic Hiring Team,
The Microsoft and Nvidia investment announced this week confirms you're building the developer platform that will define how the next generation of software gets created. I want to lead that effort.
I'm at an inflection point: start another AI company, or join the one team whose mission and products I believe in deeply enough to forgo founding. I'm choosing Anthropic.
What I Bring
At Youreka, I built a Salesforce-native platform serving Fortune 100 companies across utilities, oil and gas, and healthcare - industries where system failure isn't an inconvenience, it's a safety issue. We put sophisticated mobile workflow creation in the hands of citizen developers, balancing powerful primitives with thoughtful abstractions. That platform DNA - meeting developers where they are, earning trust through reliability at scale - is exactly what Claude's developer platform needs.
I leveraged AI-assisted development before it was mainstream, launching Template Copilot, a prompt-based workflow generator that let users describe what they needed and get working applications. That bet on generative interfaces predated the current wave but taught me how developers actually want to work with AI tools.
At Dispatch post-acquisition, I transformed a single-tenant platform into a multi-sided marketplace system and led our AI agent initiative building autonomous systems that enterprises deployed for real service coordination. This direct experience building agentic systems for production use parallels what Anthropic is enabling with Claude.
Why Trust Wins
Developers don't choose platforms on raw capability alone - they choose based on trust. Can I bet my career on this? Will it work when I need it? Is the company thinking about my problems?
Anthropic's commitment to Constitutional AI, interpretability, and responsible scaling isn't just research - it's the foundation of enterprise trust. Having built for regulated industries, I understand why safety and alignment matter deeply. The Microsoft Azure integration, the IBM partnership, the infrastructure investments - these signal you're building the enterprise-grade platform customers need, not just impressive demos.
The platform that wins will make it safe and straightforward for their developers to build production applications.
What I'd Focus On
Complete Developer Journey: Unify Claude Code, the Anthropic API, the Console, SDKs, and the MCP ecosystem into a coherent platform story that developers understand and adopt.
Enterprise Acceleration: Ensure the platform speaks enterprise language - security controls, compliance frameworks, SLAs, and monitoring that answers procurement questions. Deepen partnerships across the enterprise landscape.
Ecosystem Strategy: Turn MCP connector and Agent Skills into a thriving ecosystem with clear partnership frameworks, co-marketing support, and aligned incentives.
Developer-Led Growth: Documentation that preempts questions, error messages that aid debugging, API design that makes the right thing easy. Instrument to understand friction and continuously remove it.
Research to Reality: Translate world-class research into capabilities developers can use in production, balancing cutting-edge features with enterprise reliability.
Your Timing Is Perfect
The recent funding, the Microsoft/Azure partnership, the platform capabilities shipped in recent months - you're entering the phase where platform strategy and execution determine market position. This is exactly when someone who has built platforms, understands enterprise buyers, and can balance innovation with reliability makes the most sense.
I'm not looking for a job - I'm looking for the highest-leverage application of my energy and experience. I can start another company. I know how to raise capital, build products, and exit. But there's only one Anthropic, only one moment to help shape how millions of developers will build with the world's most capable and safe AI.
I want to build the platform that developers choose when they're building their most important work.
Daniel Bergner
Experience & Background
Building Platforms for Developers
I've built three distinct developer platforms, each teaching me something essential about what makes developers successful.
Youreka: Enabling Citizen Developers at Enterprise Scale
I co-founded and led product for a Salesforce-native mobile platform that put sophisticated workflow creation in the hands of non-developers. This was my first deep lesson in developer experience: the best platforms make complex things simple without limiting what's possible.
We built a no-code interface where field service managers could design mobile forms, implement complex logic, and deploy AI-powered features - all without writing code. But underneath, we needed APIs that could handle offline-first synchronization, support enterprise authentication, and integrate seamlessly with Salesforce's data model.
The platform architecture decisions I made then directly inform how I think about AI platforms now:
- Abstraction layers matter: Users configured workflows with drag-and-drop, but we exposed APIs for customers who needed programmatic control
- Offline is non-negotiable: Field technicians couldn't wait for connectivity, so we built local-first architecture with intelligent sync
- Integration is the product: Success wasn't our standalone capability - it was how well we connected to Salesforce Field Service, Service Cloud, and dozens of other systems
We grew to serve Fortune 100 customers across utilities, manufacturing, and healthcare. The acquisition by Dispatch validated that the platform architecture was right - they integrated our engine as the foundation for their orchestration strategy.
Dispatch: Building a Service Orchestration Marketplace
Post-acquisition, I led the transformation from a field service management tool to a two-sided marketplace platform. This was about creating developer tools for a different audience: the service providers and enterprises who needed to connect and coordinate work.
I launched Guide, which brought workflow orchestration across entire service networks, and Dispatch Direct, which automated provider recruitment and onboarding. The platform work here was about API design for marketplace dynamics - how do you expose functionality that serves both sides of the transaction while maintaining consistency and reliability?
The AI agent initiative I launched tackled automation at scale. We needed APIs that could handle both human-in-the-loop coordination and fully autonomous task execution. This experience - building agentic systems that enterprises would trust with real service delivery - directly parallels what Anthropic is doing with Claude.
Synaptic: Implementation Frameworks as Platform Products
Earlier in my career, I co-founded a Salesforce implementation firm where we turned repeatable client work into reusable implementation accelerators. This taught me that platforms aren't just about APIs - they're about the complete ecosystem of documentation, templates, best practices, and community that makes developers successful.
We built configuration kits, integration frameworks, and presales toolkits that helped both our team and partner ecosystem deliver faster. The lesson: developers don't just need powerful primitives, they need the scaffolding to be successful quickly.
My Platform Philosophy
Great developer platforms share three characteristics:
- They meet developers where they are: Whether that's terminal, IDE, or web - you don't force developers to change their workflow
- They make the right thing easy: The most common patterns should be trivial, while still exposing control for edge cases
- They earn trust through reliability: Developers bet their careers on your platform - documentation must be exhaustive, error messages must be helpful, and the system must be predictable at scale
This philosophy drives how I'd approach Claude's developer platform. We're not just shipping APIs - we're building the foundation that millions of developers will trust with their most important work.
Professional Timeline
Oct 2025 - Present · 2 mos
Apr 2022 - Oct 2025 · 3 yrs 7 mos
After the Youreka acquisition, I worked to transform how Dispatch serves the field service industry - moving from a field service management platform to the Service Orchestration Platform that connects companies needing home service work with the providers who can do it.
- Led the transformation to the Service Orchestration Platform so Dispatch could work as a marketplace, making it easier for enterprises and home service providers to find and work with each other
- Created Guide, which brought Youreka's best features into Dispatch so customers could coordinate service work across their entire network
- Launched Dispatch Direct to help companies find, recruit, and onboard service technicians faster - solving a major pain point in getting work done
- Launched AI agent initiative to automate routine tasks and reduce costs for both sides of the marketplace
- Reshaped how product management & engineering teams worked, focusing on AI-driven tools that help ship faster and smarter
- Took several new offerings to market and built healthy pipelines of enterprise customers
Early-stage technology investor focused on companies building at the intersection of innovation and impact.
Investment Activity:
- Direct investments in early-stage tech startups with strong founding teams and differentiated technology
- LP investments in venture capital funds targeting enterprise software, AI/ML, and life sciences
- Focus areas include enterprise platforms, AI-first startups, life science technologies
Strategic Advisory:
- Work with portfolio companies on product strategy, go-to-market, and scaling challenges
- Leverage operating experience from building and exiting SaaS companies to help founders navigate growth inflection points
- Provide hands-on guidance on enterprise sales, product-market fit, and organizational scaling
Founded and built a Salesforce-native mobile forms platform that helped field service teams do their jobs better, especially when they're offline or in remote locations.
Building the Company:
- Raised capital (Salesforce Ventures, Boulder Ventures, +) and grew the business to serve Fortune 100 companies across manufacturing, utilities, oil & gas, healthcare, and public sector
- Led product vision and execution while owning revenue targets and company performance
- Successfully exited to Dispatch (Vista Equity Partners portfolio) in 2022, positioning the technology as a foundation for their future field service orchestration strategy
Product Vision:
- Created a no-code platform enabling citizen developers to build their own mobile workflows and procedures
- Focused on industries where people work in tough conditions - utilities, oil and gas, manufacturing, where reliable offline functionality isn't optional
- Launched AI-powered features including image analysis and intelligent templates that accelerated workflow creation
- Led international expansion with multi-language support for global enterprise customers
Impact:
- Built a platform that upskilled every field technician, giving all workers access to the knowledge and guidance of your best technicians
- Created deep integrations with Salesforce so field data could flow directly into business systems
- Grew the platform to serve customers across utilities, manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and public sector
Oct 2020 - Present · 5 yrs 2 mos
Jan 2008 - Aug 2020 · 12 yrs 8 mos
Co-Founded a Salesforce system integration firm focused on helping enterprise customers implement and get value from their Salesforce investments.
Building the Company:
- Ran a profitable services business and raised capital from private and institutional investors to fund growth
- Built the business serving Fortune 100 clients across multiple industries with an emphasis on healthcare and life sciences
- Led technical vision and service delivery while focusing on revenue growth and company performance
- Transitioned from operational leadership to board advisor role, continuing to guide strategic direction
Service Development & Methodology:
- Created a repeatable implementation framework that helped clients deploy Salesforce faster and more reliably
- Built requirements gathering methodology and tools that bridged the gap between business needs and technical solutions
- Identified opportunities to turn client work into reusable implementation accelerators and industry-specific packages, reducing time-to-value
- Developed configuration, development, and integration kits that accelerated delivery and ensured quality
- Built presales toolkits that helped our team and partners demonstrate value and win deals
Worked with the executive team at a residential development company to design and implement internal technology solutions that helped the business run more efficiently.
- Built systems and tools to support operations across the company - from project management to financial tracking
- Worked directly with leadership to understand business needs and translate them into practical technology solutions
- Helped different departments work together better by connecting their systems and streamlining processes
- Learned how technology decisions impact real business outcomes in a fast-moving industry
Core Competencies
Developer Platform & Ecosystem Building
- API products at scale
- Platform business models
- No-code/low-code design
- Salesforce AppExchange ecosystem
- SDK and integration strategy
Enterprise Platform Strategy & GTM Execution
- Fortune 100 adoption in regulated industries
- Enterprise security and compliance
- Strategic partnerships
- Pricing and packaging
- Customer-facing product leadership
AI-First Product Innovation & Vision
- Early AI adoption (Image Recognition 2020)
- Agentic systems in production
- AI-driven development workflows
- Daily user of Claude and Claude Code
Product Leadership & Team Building
- 20 years including founder and C-suite roles
- Revenue ownership and P&L
- Capital raising (Salesforce Ventures, Vista)
- M&A execution
- Cross-functional leadership
Education
Towson University | Bachelor's Degree
Let's Connect
Ready to Build the Future of AI Development
I'm eager to discuss how my experience building developer platforms at scale can help Anthropic enable the next generation of AI applications.