Engineering leader with 20 years of experience. Currently an engineering manager at Optum (UnitedHealth Group) and the founder of Kaweah Tech, an AI and software consultancy I started in 2023 to serve businesses in California's Central Valley. Recent work includes a Kafka-driven provider data pipeline that processes 3.2M updates a day for 50M+ members, a production RAG system for clinical document retrieval, and the Bluetooth FTMS GATT specification that is now used industry-wide by fitness equipment manufacturers. I build engineering teams from zero, hire deliberately, mentor people into promotions, and pick the right tool for the problem at hand, whether that is software, AI, or a smarter process.
Core competencies
Leadership
Engineering Management · Engineering Leadership · Team Building · Hiring · Career Development · Retention
AI
Generative AI · Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) · AI Strategy · LLM Workflows · Applied AI Advisory
Currently leading engineering for the Manage & Receive Care platform: appointment management, an AI-powered scheduling voice agent, and a referral management app. Earlier led the Directory Modernization Team, replacing a weekly file-based pipeline with a Kafka event stream that cut provider data latency from two weeks to four hours. The pipeline now processes 3.2M updates per day across 1.7M providers and 50M+ members and saves $1.2M monthly. Completed Optum's 80-hour AI Dojo with a production-grade RAG capstone for clinical document retrieval.
Founder
Kaweah Tech · Self-employed · Tulare, CA
2023 - present
An AI and software consultancy for businesses in California's Central Valley. Recent work includes Fertilytics, a RAG-driven fertilizer scheduling tool built for Farmer's Fertilizer; the Work Order Management system that runs R.M. King's cotton picker head rework operations in Fresno and Moultrie; and a robotics path-optimization study for an early-stage agriculture startup. We also ship two in-house products: Licentio (a licensure tracker for therapy professionals, launching in 2026) and Signal Fire Games (free games for Christian youth groups).
Software Engineer to Engineering Director
Keiser Corporation · Fitness Equipment Manufacturer · Fresno, CA
2012 - 2022
Built Software, IT, Electrical Engineering, and Digital Marketing departments from scratch. Proposed what became the Bluetooth FTMS GATT specification, now industry standard. Shipped Keiser's first Bluetooth-enabled bike (Bluetooth 4.0 / BLE, 200,000+ units, one of the earliest BLE consumer devices). Architected a flagship connected-strength platform with PWM-controlled pneumatics, PoE touchscreens, biometric and facial recognition, and real-time rep-data streaming, deployed to U.S. Air Force Special Forces, U.S. Army, and an Olympic training center. Led R&D with the Oakland Raiders, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and the German National Soccer Team.
Lead engineering for member-facing care workflows in the Manage & Receive Care division, appointment management, an AI-powered scheduling voice agent that calls providers on members' behalf, and a referral management app serving the full UHG population including a new Quick Referrals feature.
Previously led the Directory Modernization Team. Re-architected the provider data pipeline from a weekly file-based batch process to a continuous Kafka-driven event stream. The pipeline now processes 3.2M provider record updates per day, dropped update latency from two weeks to four hours, and serves accurate provider search across 1.7M providers to 50M+ members. Delivered with zero downtime, one week ahead of schedule, for $1.2M per month in processing savings.
Scaled the Directory Modernization team from a 7-engineer core (1 architect, 2 leads, 4 seniors) to 20 by negotiating 13 additional offshore engineers for Phase 2. Owned product and engineering for FPC (Find & Price Care) services through multi-team consolidation as the company transitioned to its modernized PSX experience.
Hired, mentored, and managed engineers ranging from intern through Lead level. Currently piloting AI-Driven Development Life Cycle (AI DLC) workflows on live engineering work, partnering tightly with product to improve specifications and deliverable requirements upstream so engineering can run at higher velocity downstream.
Completed Optum's 80-hour AI Dojo program. Capstone, a production-grade RAG system for retrieving clinically relevant documents, tested for performance and accuracy.
Founder
Kaweah Tech · Self-employed · Tulare, CA
2023 - present
Engineering and AI consultancy serving Central Valley businesses across agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, fitness, e-commerce, and non-profits.
Lead end-to-end client engagements spanning custom software, applied AI (RAG pipelines, document ingestion, domain-specific workflow automation), and engineering and AI advisory.
Representative work: Fertilytics, a RAG-driven fertilizer scheduling tool built for Farmer's Fertilizer; the Work Order Management system built for R.M. King, a cotton picker head rework shop (now running operations across exchange, reporting, and partial-rework modules in Fresno and Moultrie); and a robotics path-optimization study for an early-stage automated farm-management startup.
Shipped two in-house products: Licentio (a licensure tracker for therapy professionals, launching in 2026) and Signal Fire Games (free games for Christian youth groups).
Advise organizations on AI adoption, identifying where AI can add real value, determining when it's the right fit, and implementing it safely and responsibly.
Software Engineer to Engineering Director
Keiser Corporation · Fitness Equipment Manufacturer · Fresno, CA
2012 - 2022
Built and led engineering and IT departments from zero; shipped industry-leading connected fitness equipment; represented Keiser in international Bluetooth standards work.
Integrated Technology Manager
2019 - 2022
Held executive oversight of Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, IT, and Digital Marketing. Built Digital Marketing from scratch and transitioned it to a dedicated VP six months before departure. Grew the Electrical Engineering function from a single contracted engineer into a full team.
Led engineering on the company's most ambitious connected-strength platform, PWM-controlled electronic air valves, PoE-powered touchscreens, biometric and facial-recognition member identification, and real-time streaming of rep data to the cloud for analysis. ~100 test units deployed for evaluation across U.S. Air Force Special Forces, U.S. Army, an Olympic training center, and other research sites.
Shipped Keiser's first Bluetooth-enabled indoor cycling bike, one of the earliest Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE / Bluetooth Smart) consumer devices on the market. 200,000+ units sold. Maintained the cloud infrastructure backing 150K+ active users.
Software Engineering Manager
2016 - 2019
Built and led Software Engineering and IT departments from zero, after starting as the company's first dedicated software engineer. Grew the SE team to 7 engineers; established the hiring, R&D, and engineering processes still in use today.
Architected the Metrics software suite spanning mobile, desktop, web, and cloud (Angular, Node.js, Electron, Cordova, MySQL, Redis, ActionHero). Ran R&D engagements with industry partners including the Oakland Raiders, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and the German National Soccer Team.
Designed and shipped the broadcast Bluetooth protocol behind the Keiser M3i, the best-selling indoor cycling bike in the world at one point. Built consumer mobile companion apps reaching 200,000+ organic downloads with no marketing spend. Open-sourced 1-Wire-JS and eChip libraries enabling JavaScript-based interaction with smart-key identity hardware.
Interactive Technology Support
Best Buy · Fresno, CA
2006 - 2012
Six-year progression from seasonal cashier to running in-store demo systems, WiFi infrastructure, and internal tooling. Built department tools through Best Buy's Employee Toolkit (ETK) ASP.NET program for Mobile Audio, Appliance, and Musical Instrument departments.
Built and locally distributed an HTML5 / PHP iPad customer-qualification app that replaced paper packets across Computer, Geek Squad, Car Audio, Home Theater, and Photo. Member of Best Buy's national Car Audio Council; helped bring Kicker Audio into the Best Buy assortment.
Education
Bachelor of Science, Information Technology
Western Governors University, Salt Lake City, UT · 2013
Graduated with CompTIA, CIW, and Microsoft (MTA) certifications.
Undergraduate Studies, Computer Science
California State University, Fresno · 2006 - 2012
Community
Business Advisor · Valley Community SBDC
2026 - present
Advise roughly 20 Central Valley founders on technology strategy, business formation, financial planning, marketing, and AI evaluation. Led the AI Without the Hype training (March 2026, hosted by TBIZ) and the SOP training portion of the SBDC's Business Bootcamp.
Engineering Advisory Board Member · Mission Oak Academy of Engineering
2018 - present
Computer Science Pathway Advisor for Tulare CTE Pathways, Visalia CTE Pathways, and Visalia VPIE.
Youth Technology Mentor · CSET Youth Programs
2025 - present
Spoke at five student events in 2025 reaching approximately 260 high schoolers across the Central Valley on practical AI, modern engineering practice, and career pathways.