Writing
Notes on AI engineering, RAG, MVP/POC builds & Python
Practical guides drawn from shipping RAG pipelines, AI agents, LLM-powered features, MVPs, and Python backends to production.
AI Voice Agent Development: How to Build a Production AI Voice Agent in 2026
A practical guide to building a production AI voice agent — the STT → LLM → TTS architecture, latency budget, telephony integration, guardrails, and what it costs to build one.
2026-07-14
How to Reduce LLM API Costs in Production: 10 Proven Strategies
Ten practical strategies to cut LLM API costs in production — model routing, prompt caching, retrieval hygiene, output limits, and how to find where the spend actually goes.
2026-07-11
Why Your RAG System Isn't Accurate — and How to Fix Retrieval Quality
A practical troubleshooting guide for inaccurate RAG systems — diagnosing whether the problem is retrieval or generation, fixing chunking, reranking, and how to measure improvement.
2026-07-08
RAG POC Engineer: How to Scope and Ship a Retrieval-Augmented Generation Proof of Concept
A practical guide to scoping, building, and evaluating a RAG proof of concept — what a RAG POC engineer does, common pitfalls, and a realistic timeline.
2026-06-12
Hiring a Senior Python Developer for a Project: A Practical Checklist
What to look for when hiring a senior Python developer for project-based or contract work — technical depth, scope-fit, evaluation, and how to structure the engagement.
2026-06-12
LLM Integration for Production Apps: A Practical Guide for Engineering Teams
How to integrate LLMs (GPT-4, Azure OpenAI, LLaMA) into production applications — architecture patterns, RAG vs. fine-tuning, cost control, and MLOps for AI features.
2026-06-12
Principal AI Engineer for Hire: What the Role Actually Covers
What a Principal AI Engineer does differently from a mid-level ML or backend hire, when to bring one in on a project basis, and how to evaluate candidates for the role.
2026-06-22
MVP and POC Development for AI Startups: Scoping, Building, and Validating Fast
How to scope an AI MVP or POC so it actually validates your idea — what to build first, what to skip, typical timelines, and how to avoid the most common reasons AI MVPs stall.
2026-06-22
Hiring an AI Agent Developer: What It Takes to Build Production-Ready AI Agents
What an AI agent developer actually builds — tool use, memory, multi-step planning — common failure modes, and how to evaluate whether an agent is ready for production.
2026-06-22
Fractional AI Engineer for Startups: A Lower-Risk Way to Add AI Without a Full-Time Hire
What a fractional AI engineer does for early-stage startups, when it makes more sense than a full-time AI hire, and how to structure the engagement for real output.
2026-06-22
Fractional AI Consultant: When a Startup Needs AI Strategy Without a Full-Time Hire
What a fractional AI consultant does for a startup, when the role makes more sense than a full-time hire, and how it differs from a fractional AI engineer or advisor.
2026-08-03
Fractional AI Advisor: Senior AI Guidance for Startups Without the Full-Time Cost
What a fractional AI advisor does, when startups need advisory-level AI guidance, and how the role differs from a fractional AI engineer or consultant.
2026-08-03
AI Chatbot Development Cost: What to Budget in 2026
A realistic breakdown of what AI chatbot development costs — by complexity tier, the line items that actually drive the number, and where teams overspend.
2026-06-22
Vector Database Comparison: Pinecone vs. pgvector vs. Weaviate for RAG
How Pinecone, pgvector, and Weaviate actually differ for production RAG — managed vs. self-hosted, cost at scale, and which one fits which kind of project.
2026-06-22
How Much Does an AI MVP Cost? A 2026 Budget Breakdown
What an AI MVP actually costs by scope tier, the cost drivers that matter most, and how to avoid the two most common budgeting mistakes founders make.
2026-06-22
Django vs. FastAPI for AI and LLM Applications: Which to Choose
How to choose between Django and FastAPI for an AI/LLM-powered application — async performance, ecosystem trade-offs, and when each one is the better fit.
2026-06-22
Hiring a Freelance AI Engineer on Upwork: A Practical Vetting Guide
How to write the job post, read a profile, and vet proposals when hiring a freelance AI engineer on Upwork — what actually predicts a good hire versus what's just noise.
2026-06-26