York Sims Jr.

Forward deployed engineer for production AI systems.

I build across customer-facing software, automation, hardware-adjacent systems, and regulated operations. The common thread is ownership: understand the work, design the system, ship it into reality.

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Folsom, CAOpen to remoteFounder/operatorProduction systems

Selected work with production evidence.

Case-study rows are ordered for hiring signal: what was hard, what was built, and what proves it left the demo stage.

Creator & Maintainer

Open Source / Local AI Runtime

Nia

Problem: Operations workflows often spend tokens on steps that should be deterministic and auditable.
Built: A local-first runtime where workers execute deterministic actions and invoke an LLM only behind explicit judgment gates.
Evidence: Ships with inspect and dry-run paths so workflows can be audited before touching live systems.

PythonClaude SDKCLIOpen Source

$ nia dry-run worker morning-ops

sweep-email / deterministic / ok

classify / judgment / skipped

render-brief / deterministic / ok

run complete / 0 tokens spent

Founder & Full-Stack Engineer

Endless BioTech

VitrOS

Problem: Tissue culture labs need traceability across vessels, contamination events, genealogy, roles, and billing.
Built: A multi-tenant SaaS platform with barcode tracking, RBAC, automated provisioning, and Stripe-backed billing.
Evidence: Live with paying customers and built around production lab workflows rather than a demo surface.

Next.jsTypeScriptPostgreSQL/NeonSupabaseStripe

Founder & Sole Engineer

AI Companion for Smart Glasses

AEGIS

Problem: Hands-free AI needs to turn natural speech into reliable phone, computer, meeting, translation, memory, and web actions.
Built: A React Native iOS app that runs Claude as a structured router across 22 validated tools, with Meta Ray-Ban integration and an optional token-authenticated Mac bridge.
Evidence: Used daily in active development; Meta glasses integration is live, hardware partner integration is underway, and V2 prototype hardware is in hand.

React NativeTypeScriptClaude SDKMeta SDKBLE LE AudionRF5340Node.js

Founder & Architect

Cloud-Native Fintech

DualPay

Problem: Fintech workflows need API-first infrastructure, event flows, ledger integration, and reconciliation from the start.
Built: Cloud-native infrastructure with event-driven workflows, REST APIs, compliance automation, and XRP Ledger integration.
Evidence: Mobile build completed and prepared for App Store submission.

XRPLNode.jsAWSEvent-DrivenREST APIs

API-first ledger workflows

event-driven reconciliation

XRPL integration path

mobile build prepared

Founder & Engineer

Cloud Automation Practice

Caipher AI

Problem: SMB clients need practical automation that connects sales, voice, lead generation, and back-office tools.
Built: Production AI deployments across voice agents, agentic workflows, and lead-generation pipelines using 20+ tools.
Evidence: Customer discovery and delivery fed directly into the open-source Nia runtime.

AWSClaude SDKMCPTwilion8nOpenAI

voice agents / Twilio

workflow orchestration / n8n

lead systems / Apollo

runtime lessons / Nia

Designer

Semiconductor RTL

HBM Memory Subsystem

Problem: High-bandwidth memory subsystems require controller logic, interleaving, ECC, and power-state behavior to work together.
Built: An architectural RTL prototype of an HBM-style memory subsystem written from scratch in SystemVerilog.
Evidence: Includes controller, interleaving, ECC, DRAM-style behavior, and power-state modeling.

SystemVerilogRTLECCDRAM

controller / interleaving

ECC path / DRAM model

power states / RTL

SystemVerilog from scratch

Open source

Creator of Nia AI runtime

SaaS

VitrOS live with paying customers

Hardware

Firmware, BLE audio, and iOS ownership

Operations

$3M+ operated across regulated businesses

Range

AI, cloud, fintech, RTL, and field operations

AWS /Next.js /Supabase /Vercel /Stripe /ElevenLabs /OpenAI /Claude SDK /MCP /n8n /Twilio /PostgreSQL /Neon /Solana /XRPL /EVM /Bitcoin /SystemVerilog /Zephyr RTOS /nRF5340 /BLE LE Audio /LC3 /Three.js /GSAP /Framer Motion /Python /TypeScript /React Native /Docker /METRC /

Technical range, grouped by where it gets used.

Cloud / Infra

AWSVercelSupabaseNeon PostgresDockerREST APIsEvent-DrivenMulti-Tenant

AI / Automation

Claude SDKOpenAIElevenLabsMCP Serversn8nTwilio VoiceVector SearchApollo

Software Eng.

Next.jsReactTypeScriptPythonNode.jsPostgreSQLStripeCI/CD

Hardware

nRF5340Zephyr RTOSBLE LE AudioLC3 CodecSystemVerilogRTLVLSI

Web3 / Fintech

XRP LedgerEVMSolanaBitcoinComplianceMETRC

Operations

P&L OwnershipPractice MgmtStakeholder MgmtHiringVendor MgmtStrategic Planning

A path built around ownership under pressure.

2005-2009

Division I Basketball

University of Central Arkansas full-scholarship point guard. Competitive environment, preparation, and accountability before engineering.

Conway, AR

2010

Professional Basketball

Signed with OGM Ormanspor in the Turkish Basketball League and learned to operate alone in a high-pressure overseas environment.

Ankara, Turkey

2011-2016

Operations & Hospitality

Tyson Foods and Trader Joe's management work across scheduling, people operations, P&L awareness, and customer-facing execution.

Sacramento Valley

2017-2022

Cannabis CEO

Founded Elite Eighth Farms, raised and operated $3M+, managed regulated cultivation, board reporting, METRC compliance, and physical operations.

Oklahoma / Sacramento

2024-present

Forward Deployed Engineer & Founder

Creator of Nia and founder of VitrOS, DualPay, and Caipher AI. Current work centers on production AI systems and customer-facing engineering.

Remote

Profile

Built across operations, ownership, and code.

Born in Oklahoma. Played Division I basketball at the University of Central Arkansas and signed professionally with OGM Ormanspor in Ankara, Turkey.

Came home through Tyson and Trader Joe's, learning how high-scale operations actually run when people, inventory, customers, and accountability all meet.

Founded Elite Eighth Farms in 2017, raised and operated $3M+, and built the compliance and operating systems for a regulated cultivation business from zero.

In 2024 I moved technical full-time. Caipher AI, VitrOS, DualPay, Aegis, and Nia all came from the same operating pattern: understand the work, build the system, ship it into reality.

The path looks wide because the work has been wide. That range is useful in forward deployed roles where technical decisions, customers, and messy operational constraints sit in the same room.

"I am most dangerous when I am desperate."

Education

BS Computer Science in progress / SNHU

Certifications

AWS / IBM AI / Google IT Automation / L&T VLSI

Athletics

D1 UCA / Pro Turkey / OGM Ormanspor

Companies founded

5+ across SaaS, hardware, fintech, and agriculture

Compliance

METRC seed-to-sale / multi-tenant security

Languages