Michael Van Veen

Software engineering consultant @self-employed

✔️ IT🧑‍🔬 EngineerBackend DeveloperDevOpsWeb DeveloperML EngineerData ScientistData Engineer

Michael is an experienced AI/ML practitioner and Python expert with over 10 years in backend software engineering and machine learning. He has a proven track record delivering innovative solutions in fintech, robotics, adtech and car sharing domains. As VP of Engineering at FairPlay AI, led development of a SOC 2 certified SaaS platform improving fairness in consumer lending using AI/ML. He has strong Python foundation and extensive experience in ML Operations. Michael co-authored a patent on systems for training fair models. He is passionate about integrating tech into hobbies and making positive real-world impact. Key achievements: Built SOC 2 certified AI/ML platform for fair lending Automated ML pipeline embedded in end-user application Scaled ad platform backend to $1M/month as early employee Co-founded photo sharing startup Zooomr in 2005 Skills: Machine Learning, Python, MLOps, Software Engineering, Web Development

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Work Background

FairPlay AIVP of Engineering

Jan. 2022 - Apr. 2023Los Angeles, California, United StatesAs the first employee and VP of Engineering at a Series A funded fintech startup, I led the development and implementation of a SOC 2 certified SaaS platform to ingest loan applicant PII data and deliver analytics, visualizations and AI/ML models to improve gender, race/ethnicity, and age fairness in US consumer loan decisioning models. I was also responsible for hiring and man- aging a team of up to 5 engineers.

Elementary RoboticsSenior Software Engineer

May. 2020 - Jan. 2022Los Angeles, California, United StatesI led machine learning operations initiatives as a Senior Software Engineer on the CV/ML team, including a fully automated model pipeline that was embedded directly into the end-user application front-end. The solution enabled users on a factory floor to collect & label data, train machine learning models in the cloud and deploy models to IoT cameras deployed at the factory edge. I also directly contributed to the training of several production customer models.

ZestFinanceMachine Learning Engineer, Senior Associate Data Science

Sep. 2018 - Mar. 2020Los Angeles, CaliforniaStarting as a Software Engineer and transitioning to a Senior Machine Learn- ing Engineer role, I contributed to model fairness and explainability research, streamlined proof-of-concept model development processes, and worked on hosting machine learning models for loan assessment in production B2B settings. I was also a co-author on Patent No. 10977729, ”Systems and methods for training models to improve fairness.”

ZestFinanceSoftware Engineer

Jul. 2017 - Sep. 2018Los Angeles, CaliforniaI delivered services for hosting and monitoring machine learning models for loan assessment into production B2B settings

Self-EmployedFull-Stack Software Engineer (Contract)

Feb. 2016 - Jul. 2017I offered services to clients on various projects as a full-stack software engineer consultant, including Python/GIS software consulting, building out a Slack bot SaaS product MVP, and developing a video recording page for a net neutrality campaign.

Varasco LLCSoftware Engineering Consultant

Nov. 2012 - Nov. 2014Consulted for a variety of clients. Clients/projects included: • Matterport, Django Consultant (2014) • Manifest Commerce, Client importer consultant (2013-2014) • Real Pie Media, Godofwar.com tech lead. Built out front-end and backend features including responsive mobile UI support and an ad- min panel. Managed inter-team localization effort across over 17 lan- guages.(2013) • Joystick Interactive, Google Social Voting App backend dev (2012)

Zooomr, Inc.Co-founder

Jan. 2005 - Dec. 2007Co-founded a web-based photo sharing application. Current incarnation is available at http://www.zooomr.com. • Devised and co-developed new features • Provided and managed customer support • Authored documentation for web service

Manifest, IncSoftware Engineer

Nov. 2014 - Feb. 2016San Francisco Bay AreaAs a Software Engineer, I co-authored and launched a rewrite of Manifest’s ad platform backend, scaling the platform from its first test ad to over $1M revenue/month. I defined release, deployment, monitoring and alerting practices for the platform in collaboration with the lead engineer and reporting to the VP of Engineering. I also authored the Facebook Ad API web service layer of the new ad platform and maintained over a dozen client ETL importers.

GetaroundSoftware Engineer

Nov. 2010 - Sep. 2012Was one of the first 5 employees and an early engineering hire. Helped de- velop, maintain and support a 24/7 car rentals platform that enabled users the ability to rent and unlock cars owned by their peers from their phone. Primary author on services for car unlock API and event-based email system. I also built out an internal CI system before the days of Circle CI to facilitate automated testing on github pull requests.

Jet Propulsion LaboratorySummer Hire

Jun. 2010 - Sep. 2010Pasadena, CADeveloped a set of code rule compliance checkers in Python and C++ under the supervision of Gerard Holzmann in the Laboratory for Reliable Software (LaRS). • Employed the visitor pattern to create static-analysis tools in Python • Developed Coverity Extend extensions in C++ • ANSI 89 C was targeted

Jet Propulsion LaboratorySummer Hire

Jun. 2007 - Sep. 2008Co-developed a web application which assisted Systems Engineering team in management of command and telemetry dictionaries. Worked on project for 2 summers. - Developed application front-end - Maintained and updated database backend - Extended dictionary importation and exportation processes - Provided a user permissions framework