JB Jim Birch
Cape Cod, Massachusetts 41°39'20.7"N 70°09'53.0"W

Professional

Engineering leader, Drupal contributor, speaker.

I'm Director of Build Engineering at Kanopi Studios, where I lead a team of Drupal and WordPress engineers. For two decades my work has come down to one thing: bridging the gap between technical work and real business goals.

Director of Build EngineeringDrupal CMS CommitterCore Subsystem MaintainerRecipes Initiative Coordinator
Jim Birch speaking at a conference keynote
20+
Years building for the web
18+
Industry award wins (incl. 2× W3 Gold)
10+
Conferences spoken at
Core
Drupal subsystem maintainer
What I do

Three things, one throughline.

Architecture & strategy

Information architecture, content modeling, and platform decisions that hold up as an organization grows.

Engineering leadership

Leading and mentoring teams of Drupal & WordPress engineers — process, code quality, and delivery.

Front end, content & SEO

Accessible front ends, editor-friendly content tools, and the SEO functionality I lead in Drupal CMS.

Award-winning work

Recognized by W3 Awards and Web Excellence.

Open source

Giving back to Drupal.

Core Subsystem Maintainer

Maintainer of the Recipes & Default Content subsystems in Drupal core.

Recipes Initiative Coordinator

Coordinating the Drupal Recipes Initiative — composable, shareable site building.

CMS Committer & Track Lead

Drupal CMS Committer, Track Lead, and Advisory Board member.

Community organizer

Organizing camps and mentoring contributors across the Drupal community.

Speaking & writing

I like to talk shop.

Drupal Recipes Initiative Update
DrupalCon Atlanta 2025
Drupal · Recipes
Drupal Recipes Initiative Update
Initiative update on Drupal Recipes — the composable site-building feature that ships with Drupal CMS.
Video
KEYNOTE: Drupal CMS Spotlights
Drupal Association
Drupal CMS
KEYNOTE: Drupal CMS Spotlights
Keynote spotlighting Drupal CMS features and the teams driving the next generation of Drupal site building.
Video
A Taste of the Future: Site Templates and Recipes in Drupal
Drupal Association
Drupal · Recipes
A Taste of the Future: Site Templates and Recipes in Drupal
Exploring site templates and recipes as the future of streamlined, composable Drupal site creation.
Video
Drupal Distributions and Recipes Initiative Update
DrupalCon Pittsburgh 2023
Drupal · Recipes
Drupal Distributions and Recipes Initiative Update
Progress and demonstrations of the Drupal Recipes initiative — composable, shareable site building.
Slides Video
New England Drupal Camp
Drupal · Recipes
Recipes: Welcome to Chef School
Two maintainers of the recipe system explain everything about Drupal Recipes and how to create your own.
Slides Video
Drupal Association
Drupal · Starshot
Drupal Recipes Starshot Update
Progress update on the Drupal Starshot initiative, providing updates and ways to contribute.
Slides Video
DrupalCon Europe
Drupal · UX
A Tour of Drupal Tours
How the Tour module guides administrators and visitors through a Drupal site, and its use in QA testing.
Slides
Implementing a Top Notch Search and Social Media Meta Tag Strategy
Bay Area Drupal Camp
Drupal · SEO
Implementing a Top Notch Search and Social Media Meta Tag Strategy
Configuring metadata with the Metatag and Schema.org Metatag modules to boost content in search and social.
Slides Video
Optimizing for Search Engines with 20/20 Vision
Multiple conferences
SEO
Optimizing for Search Engines with 20/20 Vision
A future-looking approach to organically marketing content and brand in search results and social media.
Slides
Webinar · December 2020
SEO · Meta Tags
Winter Webinar: Creating a Search and Social Media Meta Tag Strategy
Distribution targeting, content modelling, and testing for a social media and search meta tag strategy.
Slides
Meta and Schema in Drupal: Defining the Content about your Content
Multiple conferences
Drupal · SEO
Meta and Schema in Drupal: Defining the Content about your Content
Implementing Schema.org schemas for structured data and current best practice meta tags in Drupal.
Slides Video
Meta and Schema in WordPress: Defining the Content about your Content
WordCamp for Publishers Chicago
WordPress · SEO
Meta and Schema in WordPress: Defining the Content about your Content
Implementing Schema.org schemas for structured data and current best practice meta tags in WordPress.
Slides Video
Designing for Images in Drupal
Design4Drupal 2019
Drupal · Front End
Designing for Images in Drupal
Using Focal Point, Crop, ImageMagick Image Effects, and Textimage to implement designs in Drupal.
Slides Video
SEO and UX Go Hand in Hand
Design4Drupal
SEO · UX
SEO and UX Go Hand in Hand
SEO fundamentals every design should have, and techniques for aligning with user intent.
Slides Video
Drupal 8 Style Configuration Management for Drupal 7
Multiple camps
Drupal · DevOps
Drupal 8 Style Configuration Management for Drupal 7
Implementing the Features Builder module for Drupal 8-style configuration management in Drupal 7.
Slides
Creating Reusable Functionality Across Projects
Multiple camps
Drupal · Architecture
Creating Reusable Functionality Across Projects
Creating reusable, shareable components in Drupal 8/9 using custom modules.
Slides
Building a Better Page Builder with Bootstrap Paragraphs
Design4Drupal Boston 2018
Drupal · Front End
Building a Better Page Builder with Bootstrap Paragraphs
Deep dive into Bootstrap Paragraphs — accordions, carousels, modals, tabs, and multi-column layouts in Drupal.
Video
BADCamp 2018
Drupal · SEO
Cleaning Up Their Mess: How a Franchise Carpet Cleaning Service Made Their Domain Spotless
How COIT Cleaning migrated 100+ franchise locations from multi-site to domain access, with SEO-optimized sitemaps.
Video
Bootstrap Paragraphs for Drupal 8
Multiple Drupal Camps
Drupal · Front End
Bootstrap Paragraphs for Drupal 8
Combining Bootstrap with Drupal Paragraphs to let content creators build layouts and structured pages.
Slides Video
Holistic SEO and Drupal
Bay Area Drupal Camp
Drupal · SEO
Holistic SEO and Drupal
Building sites where content, marketing, technical SEO, performance, security, and UX all come together.
Slides Video
Bootstrap Framework and Drupal
NYC Drupal Camp / Open Camps
Drupal · Front End
Bootstrap Framework and Drupal
Using the Bootstrap framework with Drupal, from beginner site building to advanced custom theme development.
Slides
Optimizing Drupal 7 HTML Markup
Bay Area Drupal Camp
Drupal · Front End
Optimizing Drupal 7 HTML Markup
Minimizing Drupal markup using Panels, Page Manager, and Fences for complete control over HTML output.
Slides
Standing Up for the Content Creators
Twin Cities Drupal Camp · DrupalCorn
Drupal · UX
Standing Up for the Content Creators
Site building and theming for administrators — roles, permissions, workflows, and streamlined editor UX.
Slides Video

Conferences

DrupalCon North AmericaOpen Camps @ the United NationsDrupal Camp Northern LightsBay Area Drupal CampWordCamp ChicagoWordCamp for PublishersTwin Cities Drupal CampDrupalCornTexas Camp

Press & writing

Drupal WatchdogDrupal PlanetThe Weekly Dropjimbir.ch
Certifications

Keeping up with what's next.

Google Cloud Training — Issued Dec 2025

Generative AI Leader Professional Certificate

This comprehensive Gen AI Leader training guides business leaders through the landscape of generative AI, starting with its use cases beyond chatbots. Explores key concepts like AI, ML, and foundation models, then delves into strategic implementation, responsible AI, and Google Cloud's unique strengths. Covers using gen AI apps to enhance personal productivity and how to transform organizations using gen AI agents and applications.

View Certificate
Google Generative AI Leader Professional Certificate

Anthropic AI

  • Claude Code in Action
  • Model Context Protocol: Advanced Topics
  • Introduction to Model Context Protocol
  • Building with the Claude API
  • Introduction to Subagents
  • Introduction to Agent Skills
  • AI Fluency: Framework & Foundations
  • Claude 101

Google AI

  • Gen AI Agents: Transform Your Organization
  • Gen AI Apps: Transform Your Work
  • Gen AI: Navigate the Landscape
  • Introduction to Large Language Models
  • Responsible AI: Applying AI Principles
  • Google Prompting Essentials
  • Google AI Essentials
  • Intro to Retrieval Augmented Generation (Duke)

Development & Leadership

  • Acquia Certified Developer — Drupal 8
  • Acquia Certified Site Builder — Drupal 8 & 10
  • Acquia Certified Front End Specialist
  • WordPress VIP Advanced Debugging
  • Platform.sh Certified Developer
  • Pantheon WebOps Certified Developer
  • SHRM People Manager Qualification (PMQ)

Let's build something — or talk shop.

Whether you're hiring for a project, organizing a conference, or contributing to Drupal — I'd love to hear from you.

Drupal.org GitHub LinkedIn