Senior Software Engineer with 15+ years experience in the government and enterprise sectors. Expertise in modern frameworks/libraries, modular component architecture, and cloud-enabled services. I specialize in transforming legacy monoliths into maintainable, accessible, and high-performance ecosystems.

I believe that in an era of rapid AI advancement, the most critical skill is Meta-Learning—understanding the mechanics of how we acquire and apply new knowledge.

My current focus is shifting from "AI-assisted development" to "AI Engineering"—understanding the low level design of RAG, embeddings, and model orchestration.

• 🤖 PLANTS NLQI — A Natural Language Query Interface for the USDA botanical database. Solving for accuracy in specialized scientific domains using RAG.
• 📚 OpenSpec Architecture — Experimenting with declarative, YAML-based AI agent definitions to ensure developer-led control over agentic workflows.
• 💡 Model Translation — Learning to port Python ML models to browser-ready TypeScript/TensorFlow.js to enable high-performance, client-side intelligence.
• ♿ 508 Accessibility Tools — Prototyping applications that help developers automate and verify Section 508/WCAG compliance in modern SPAs.

A lab for production-ready AI implementations.

• FieldGuide Assistant: Multi-document RAG system focused on context-aware retrieval.
• Agent Orchestration: Building frameworks that keep the human "in the loop," prioritizing developer agency over autonomous agent control.

A laboratory for problem-solving and meta-learning.

• Learning How to Learn: Using challenges as a medium to refine Active Recall and Spaced Repetition techniques in a technical context.
• First Principles: Breaking down complex problems into primitive patterns (Graph theory, Dynamic Programming, Sliding Windows) to build a reusable mental library for system design.
• Process over Product: Each solution is an exercise in documenting the "why"—translating abstract requirements into clean, performant TypeScript/Python code.

• Core: JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, HTML5, CSS3/SCSS
• Frameworks: Angular, React, Vue.js, Node.js
• Compliance: Section 508, WCAG 2.1, Semantic HTML, ARIA
• AI/ML (Research): Claude API, RAG, Pinecone (Vector DB), Voyage AI, TensorFlow.js
• DevOps: AWS (Lambda, S3), GitHub Actions (AI-integrated PR reviews), Docker, Jenkins

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rsimpson2
• GitHub: github.com/pertrai1