Vetted Head of Engineerings

“CTO-minded builder seeking to join a startup; previously created an AI-driven platform that abstracted away DevOps and infrastructure for drug discovery researchers. Emphasizes high-leverage, zero-to-one execution with managed cloud/open-source tooling, and a strong reliability/reproducibility mindset validated against existing scientific pipelines.”

“Engineering leader (12+ years Director, 17 years lead) focused on developer productivity and platform/framework work across Oracle, PlayStation, Workday, and CafePress. Notable for building distributed teams from scratch and delivering high-impact platform architecture—e.g., re-architected PlayStation’s upload pipeline to support 500GB–5TB submissions using browser-to-AWS chunked uploads with SNS/SQS and deduplication/resume support.”

“Engineering leader (Sr Director/VP) with healthcare marketplace and e-commerce/art marketplace experience who has shipped AI-driven pricing, scaled engineering teams rapidly, and navigated messy legacy integrations. Currently doing fractional tech advisory, leading a migration from self-hosted infrastructure to Google Cloud using IaC while mentoring a junior developer and modernizing security/patching posture.”

“Founder/idea lead behind InvantX, an AI-powered product helping people make better decisions with their own data. Developed the business model canvas and MVP plan, set up an early customer feedback loop, and iterates roadmap/architecture based on beta-user learning. Has participated in accelerators including FinAccelerate, Pegasus, and an NVIDIA program (AWS credits), and applies a metrics-driven, structured approach to traction building.”

“Entrepreneurially driven technical leader seeking to partner with a founder/business plan owner to provide technical expertise. Helped drive Wiser's expansion into Europe by evaluating acquisition targets' technical estates and making the recommendation that was chosen. Applied lean, high-leverage product thinking at Nabis on a two-sided marketplace, delivering buyer value with a simple algorithm and later adding paid boosting for brands.”

Erik Melanson

Screened

Executive intelligence and cyber operations leader in defense and national security

Annapolis Junction, MD19y exp

“Aspiring founder in the early stages of shaping a startup concept, with a practical plan to refine the initial offering, sharpen the value pitch, and secure both investors and early client interest. Brings firsthand exposure to private-equity-backed companies, including experience seeing capital raising and board accountability from the operating side.”

“Robotics software engineer who delivered the Lunar ROADSTER—an autonomous bulldozing rover for lunar terrain manipulation—building the control system, path planning, and perception in ROS 2. Implemented crater detection using a YOLO model fused with ZED stereo depth to recover crater geometry, and structured autonomy around ROS 2 actions integrated into an FSM with CI/CD-backed system testing. Also has industrial robotics experience controlling a Fanuc arm for additive manufacturing and building ROS interfaces for PLC I/O.”

Richard Ferguson

Screened

Executive technology leader specializing in government, cloud, and cybersecurity

Reno, NV31y exp

“Founder with a bootstrapped startup who navigated early hiring and scaling by leveraging contractor talent before converting key contributors to full-time employees. Active in Northern Nevada's startup ecosystem through Generator and StartupNV, and notably declined angel/VC offers to preserve equity because of strong conviction in a differentiated product and its market fit.”