Founder of Buffalo Jump Forge, an AI + hardware practice based in Three Forks, Montana. After 11 years at Microsoft (most recently Director of Strategy & Planning for Microsoft Learn and Azure Portal) and then a Distinguished Solution Architect at Harper, I've turned my attention to the intersection of two things I love most: applied AI systems and custom electronics — agents, firmware, PCBs, and the glue that ties them together.

Expertise:

• AI Systems & Agents — Multi-model orchestration, LLM tool use, retrieval, local-first AI (Claude, Gemini, Ollama)
• Embedded Systems & Firmware — ESP32, C/C++, RTOS, sensor integration
• PCB Design & Hardware Bring-Up — KiCAD, small-batch manufacturing, design-for-test
• Distributed & Cloud-Native Software — Python, Node.js, Go
• Solution Architecture & Technical Strategy

Current Focus: Memento (my local-first AI supervisor) plus three hardware + software systems through Buffalo Jump Forge — ranch infrastructure, astronomy, and LED — each built end-to-end from PCB through firmware to the software and AI glue around it.

Location: Three Forks, Montana

Memory-Indexed Reflective Reasoning and Orchestration Runtime

A local-first AI supervisor that routes between Claude, Gemini, and Ollama — injecting your personal principles and project context into every conversation. Always available: web chat UI, WhatsApp notifications, and desktop alerts, all from a persistent daemon on your own machine.

What makes it interesting:

• 4-stage agentic pipeline — Gather (tool-capable model) → Synthesize (local reasoning) → Plan (risk-tiered actions) → Execute (with human-in-the-loop on irreversible changes)
• Privacy gate — personal data is hard-blocked from cloud backends; routing is driven by privacy class, trust tier, capability, and cost
• Semantic memory — conversation history and project context stored as plain markdown, indexed with ChromaDB for fuzzy recall
• Trust tiers — models earn autonomy through demonstrated reliability, promoted automatically via nightly reflection
• Live tool use — git, GitHub, docker, filesystem ops injected as context before the model responds

Built on Python, Claude Code CLI, Ollama (DeepSeek-R1), ChromaDB, Twilio, and a lot of opinionated routing. Private while under active development.

What I'm building at Buffalo Jump Forge:

• Memento — Local-first multi-model AI supervisor (see above)
• Ranch Infrastructure — Custom PCB-based sensing and control for Buffalo Jump Ranch (telemetry, automation, off-grid comms)
• Astronomy Systems — Hardware hacks and software tooling around the ZWO Seestar S50 and a broader astrophotography workflow
• LED Systems — Driver boards, matrix controllers, and firmware for programmable LED projects

Ask me about: Agentic AI systems, multi-model routing, embedded firmware, PCB design for small-batch hardware, ESP32 projects, or bridging edge devices to LLM-powered services.

gantt
    title Professional Journey
    dateFormat  YYYY-MM
    section Buffalo Jump Forge
    Founder                             :2026-02, 2026-05
    section Harper
    Distinguished Solution Architect    :2025-01, 2026-02
    section Microsoft
    Director Strategy & Planning        :2022-01, 2024-12
    Various Roles                       :2014-01, 2021-12

2026 - Present

Founded Buffalo Jump Forge to build AI systems and custom hardware. Shipping Memento (local-first multi-model AI supervisor) alongside a portfolio of PCB + firmware projects spanning ranch infrastructure, astronomy, and LED systems.

Technologies: Python, Claude / Ollama / Gemini, ChromaDB, MCP, ESP32, C/C++, KiCAD

2025 - 2026

Architected scalable, cloud-native solutions with focus on developer productivity and system reliability.

Technologies: Python, Node.js, FastAPI, Fastify

2022 - 2024 · Azure Experiences & Ecosystems Division

Led strategic planning and execution for Microsoft Learn and Azure Portal. Drove platform strategy, developer experience improvements, and ecosystem growth initiatives.

Prior Microsoft Roles: 2014 - 2022 (11 years total at Microsoft)

Focus Areas: Strategic Planning, Developer Platforms, Cloud Architecture, Ecosystem Development

• Founder of Buffalo Jump Forge — building Memento, a local-first multi-model AI supervisor with agentic tool use, semantic memory, and privacy-aware routing
• 11 years at Microsoft (2014-2024), culminating in Director of Strategy & Planning for Microsoft Learn and Azure Portal
• Led strategic initiatives for developer platforms and ecosystem growth in Azure Experiences & Ecosystems Division
• Distinguished Solution Architect at Harper, focusing on scalable cloud-native architectures
• Hardware + firmware portfolio spanning ESP32-based sensor/controller boards, LED drivers, and astronomy instrumentation
• Active contributor to open source and technical communities

View full professional history on LinkedIn