Systems Architect | LLM Integration Specialist

Adelaide, South Australia

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Systems architect with nearly 40 years of experience in UNIX-like systems, distributed computing, and infrastructure design. Freelance/contract software architect since 2000, with consistent engagement across diverse sectors including IoT, education, and cognitive accessibility.

Currently specializing in LLM integration and AI-assisted systems development, with focus on prompt engineering as systems architecture, cognitive support tooling, and embedded systems automation. Discovered latent aptitude for LLM-orchestrated development - designing and implementing complex systems through conversational iteration at thought speed.

Self-trained across career including current LLM specialization. Available for remote contract and consulting work.

CORE COMPETENCIES

Systems Architecture & LLM Integration

  • Prompt engineering and LLM orchestration
  • RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) systems
  • Cognitive accessibility engineering
  • Multi-modal search systems (semantic, full-text, temporal)
  • LLM-assisted development and autonomous agent coordination

Databases & Storage

  • SQL databases (25+ years experience)
  • PostgreSQL (primary, with pgvector for semantic search, PostGIS for spatial data)
  • MySQL
  • DuckDB (analytics and vector search)
  • SQLite, MongoDB

Languages & Frameworks

  • Python
  • Go
  • Perl
  • Node.js
  • SQL

Infrastructure & Deployment

  • Docker containerization
  • Distributed systems on heterogeneous hardware
  • Tailscale private networking
  • Bare-metal deployment
  • Infrastructure automation
  • Claude Code for autonomous deployment

Specialized Technologies

  • MicroPython and embedded firmware
  • Whisper ASR (voice transcription)
  • Local LLM deployment (Ollama)
  • IoT protocols (MQTT, HTTP, LoRaWAN)
  • Voice-to-text systems and command grammars

DESIGN & ACCESSIBILITY PRINCIPLES

  • Accessibility-first design for all user-facing systems
  • Cognitive load optimization as architectural requirement
  • Trauma-aware system design for vulnerable user populations
  • Building systems that work with human cognition as it actually is
  • FOSS and open source priority

SELECTED PROJECTS & CONTRACTS

Cognitive Support System for Complex Trauma (2024-2025)

AI-assisted external memory system for users with AuDHD and severe cPTSD

  • Multi-modal search across 2 years of chat history, voice notes, and documents using PostgreSQL with pgvector
  • Adaptive support with learned stress patterns and dissociation detection
  • Distributed architecture on consumer hardware via Docker and Tailscale
  • Voice-first interaction with custom command grammar for zero-ambiguity parsing
  • User-informed development with real-world testing under cognitive impairment conditions

Technologies: Python, PostgreSQL, pgvector, Ollama, Mistral 7B, Whisper ASR, Docker, Tailscale, LangChain, faster-whisper

Culture Atlas Platform - Backend Modernization & LLM Integration (2024-2025)

Educational platform for scholarship students

  • Migrated legacy Perl/SQLite backend to Python/PostgreSQL
  • RAG-based chatbot using DuckDB vector search across curriculum materials
  • Deployed on consumer hardware using local Llama 3.1-8b model (cost-effective, private)
  • Extensive prompt engineering for curriculum-constrained response synthesis from official textbooks, syllabi, and teaching guides
  • Project initiation that led to discovery of LLM integration specialization

Technologies: Python, PostgreSQL, DuckDB, Llama 3.1-8b, Ollama, prompt engineering, RAG architecture

MicroPython Firmware Build System (2024-2025)

Custom tooling for building modern MicroPython firmware across device families

  • Reverse-engineered BBC Micro:bit board-specific code from legacy MicroPython fork
  • Extracted and adapted C code to build Micro:bit firmware with current MicroPython releases
  • Supports ESP32, RP2040, and modernized Micro:bit configurations
  • LLM-assisted development (GPT-4 → Claude) for firmware architecture analysis
  • Planned open source release for MicroPython community

Technologies: Python, MicroPython, C, embedded systems, ESP32, RP2040, BBC Micro:bit, LLM-assisted reverse engineering

Infrastructure Automation via Claude Code (2025)

Autonomous system administration using LLM-directed tooling

  • Automated Ollama migration from Windows to WSL with zero-touch deployment
  • Executed Opencore Patcher for Mac system upgrades bypassing vendor planned obsolescence restrictions
  • Developed patterns for LLM-directed infrastructure operations
  • Infrastructure-as-conversation approach to system maintenance

Technologies: Claude Code, Ollama, WSL, Windows, Opencore Patcher, macOS, autonomous deployment patterns

IoT Data Systems - Opensensing & Hartl Consulting (Contract, Remote)

August 2021 - Present Remote sensing data storage and ingestion for environmental monitoring and animal tracking

  • Universal payload decoder replacing fragmented manufacturer implementations
  • Flood warning, avalanche detection, and animal tracking systems across Europe
  • High-volume sensor data ingestion with PostgreSQL/PostGIS spatial databases
  • Custom Docker deployment tooling for distributed bare-metal infrastructure
  • Ongoing consulting work with Hartl Consulting (most recent: October 2025)

Technologies: Python, Go, PostgreSQL, PostGIS, InfluxData Telegraf, Docker, MQTT, HTTP, LoRaWAN, bare-metal deployment

Software Developer - Frisk (Contract, Remote)

May 2014 - December 2019 (5 years 8 months) Distributed team development for retrieval and management systems

  • Business intelligence and audit reporting systems
  • System management interfaces and Kerberos integration
  • Full-stack development in Perl and Node.js environment

Technologies: Perl, Node.js, GNU/Linux, Kerberos, business intelligence tooling

PUBLICATIONS

Co-author (with Claude Sonnet 4.5), The Joy of Prompts: A Humanities Approach to LLM Interaction (2025)

Collaborative writing demonstrating LLM-human partnership while preserving authorial voice. Documents prompt engineering methodologies and accessibility of LLM tools for non-technical users. Self-published in HTML, ePub, and PDF formats. LLM-assisted publication workflow using Hugo and Cloudflare Pages.

EARLIER CAREER

Early career includes roles in pump engineering, systems administration, ICT management, and membership of the ITT Industries European Network Management Team. Consistent pattern of self-directed learning and systems-level problem solving across diverse technical domains.

AVAILABILITY

Available for remote contract and consulting work. Can travel to Adelaide, South Australia on occasion. Specializing in:

  • LLM integration and prompt engineering architecture
  • Cognitive accessibility and assistive technology systems
  • Distributed systems on constrained/heterogeneous hardware
  • Legacy system modernization
  • IoT and embedded systems

Work Style: Direct communication, clear requirements, focus on functional outcomes. Best suited to teams that value substance over process ceremony and accommodate different cognitive approaches.

Last updated: 2025-10-02

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Last updated: 2025-10-02