a View from the Rock

Professional Profile

Hi, I'm Rock! I am an innovative technical leader with a Master of Science in Computer Science and deep expertise in full-stack Software Engineering, Natural Language Processing, Cloud infrastructure, and Artificial Intelligence.

I have designed sophisticated big-data retrieval systems, managed complex Linux environments, and handled extensive external API and system integrations. I have a proven ability to lead development teams and create high-performance technical solutions. Others describe me as soft-spoken, social, and collaborative, with a focus on results rather than ego.

Core Technical Expertise

AI & Data Engineering

Context Engineering: RAG using OpenAI, Gemini, Ollama
NLP: Semantic Search, Symbolic Logic, Named Entity Recognition (NER), Pattern Analysis
Big Data: Spark, Cassandra (noSQL), Hadoop

Infrastructure & Development

Cloud: Azure, Google Cloud (GCP), Linode
DevOps: Kubernetes, Docker, CI/CD pipelines
Languages: Kotlin, Python, Java, C#, C, Rust, Go, React js + TypeScript

Professional Experience

CSO / CTO | SimSage (UK) Ltd Cambridge, UK | Jan 2020 – Present

Architected a Graph-based Enterprise Semantic Search Engine utilizing advanced NLP for context-engineering in LLMs.
Integrated production AI workflows with Gemini, OpenAI, CoPilot, and AWS Bedrock.
Built and maintained a massive codebase (250k+ lines) with 30+ enterprise connectors (SharePoint, OneDrive, Google Drive). Big-data solution for handling millions of Enterprise documents securely.
Optimized infrastructure using Ubuntu Server, Kubernetes, and Docker.

Developer (Contract) | MBIE, NZ Immigration Wellington, NZ | May 2018 – Dec 2019

Developed the Visa Assessment Tool (VAT) and Risk Analysis Project using C# on Azure/Linux.
Applied Machine Learning for data quality and signal analysis on 170 million unstructured records.
Utilized Python and neural networks to extract statistically significant values from complex datasets.

NLP Specialist | Booktrack.com Auckland/Wellington, NZ | Mar 2016 – May 2018

Led AI and NLP research and development, focusing on emotional text analysis and contextual understanding.
Designed an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) system for automated transcription and sentiment analysis.
Managed deployments using Kubernetes and Docker across Google Cloud and Azure.

Senior Developer (Contract) | Verifone Wellington, NZ | Jan 2015 – Mar 2016

Key member of the Payment Gateway BAU team, responsible for troubleshooting and fixing complex, level-three support issues.
Performed extensive DevOps environment support and bug analysis for mission-critical financial systems.

Chief Scientist & Co-Founder | SYL Semantics Wellington, NZ | 2008 – Jan 2015

Created an innovative semantic search engine currently utilized by several NZ Government departments (NZTA, MPI, MoH).
Defined the technical roadmap and led a development team through the full SDLC and IP creation.
Managed complex integrations with external APIs including SharePoint, CRM, and social media platforms.

Education & Mentorship

Master of Science in Computer Science – University of Auckland
Thesis in AI, Natural Language Understanding (NLU), and Human Computer Interfaces (HCI).
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (Honors) – University of Auckland
Awarded Senior Prize in Computer Science.
Machine Learning Certification – Stanford University (Coursera).

Languages & Interests

English Dutch German (Proficient) French (Proficient)

Outside of engineering, I am a black belt in Wing Tsun Kung Fu and a composer of orchestral music.