Location: San Diego, CA, USA or Remote
Remote: Preferred but not required
Willing to relocate: Yes
Technologies: Python, golang, AI, robotics, ROS, GCP, AWS, Terraform, Pulumi, React, Vue, Typescript, Computer Vision, Reinforcement Learning, tensorflow, pytorch
Resume: https://github.com/hlfshell/resume
Portfolio: https://hlfshell.ai/projects
Current startup: https://hiredcoach.ai
Email: keith@hlfshell.ai
I am an experienced systems-focused software engineer who builds and integrates cloud solutions, AI tooling, composable agent frameworks, and robotics-oriented software, capable of building either the low level pieces or of full on orchestration for AI workflows. I have a strong background in cloud SaaS products, robotics, reinforcement learning, AI, and more.
Just launched a startup/life style business where I use AI to help people practice for upcoming interviews - https://hiredcoach.ai
Already have been told by some users that the interview prep they got from it has correctly predicted several of the actual interview questions they got, crediting its prep for their breezing through the interview rounds.
What's missing from this explanation is that the corporate tax rate was also much higher, but R&D dramatically cut down profit that would be taxed and was taxed lower. So large corporations like Bell Labs and co would basically say "do we give the government X in taxes, or do we spend X on research?". They chose research, so we got the technology that powers our world.
That, combined with stock buybacks and the general take over of Friedman-economics resulted in a far more focused short term thinking and outsourcing research as much as possible due to uncertain horizon risks.
These days you're better off giving it to a university with strings attached. Sure, they might piss a bunch of it away, but when you account for the dollars on the subject you care about after taxes are leeched out it's still more efficient than building out research within the confines of a for-profit entity that gets taxed at such.
This is why we no longer have corporate research labs and damn near every university is bristling with BigCo funded stuff.
The generally accepted term for the research around this in robotics is Constitutional AI (https://arxiv.org/abs/2212.08073) and has been cited/experimented with in several robotics VLAs.
There's shilling a product because someone handed you a bag, and then there's building a product you believe in. You feel okay with it because it's clearly the latter versus another NordVPN commercial. Even if the product ends up failing (and I am under no predilection to believe this will) he has presented nothing but honest enthusiasm towards his goal that you can't help but root for it.
He's gone all in on the Crunch Labs brand, which is kind of built around the younger audience. This isn't a bad thing, but it does mean that older edutainment enjoyers kind of age out of his stuff. Not to say there's no value in them, but there will be more of an entertainment focus than prior edutainment focused videos.
I recommend checking out Stuff Made Here; great build videos of engineering principles in an entertaining fashion to show building cool complicated stuff.
Xyla Foxlin, a wonderful maker, also posts educational videos between her projects, like an in-depth look at how plane wings work.
Whenever I am feeling smart or particularly talented, I like watching Shane's videos. I'm swiftly reminded that I have no idea what the hell I'm doing and carry on.
I like that he still shows the struggle, so it’s not like he’s pretending to know it all. I find this helps give me perspective when I’m in a similar situation, where everything seems to be going wrong.
Great recommendations. Steve Mould is another in that vein, and Kurzgesagt (though quite different stylistically) is one of my favorites and could be something you’re looking for.
Do the skills build on each other where they need to be done in order?
I got a subscription, but wasn’t super interested in the first one, so it’s still sitting in the box. Then the other boxes started showing up. I now have a full year’s worth and haven’t done a single one, because I feel like I should start with the one I’m least interested in.
They don’t… just do whichever one you are most interested in doing. Each box more or less stands alone (at least that is what I am observing from my kids assembly of them)
They use some similar ideas (a servo is still a servo in a different context), but they are totally independent of one another. Do the one you find most fun!
