Jacob F. Valdez
Jacob Valdez. Human. I build stuff.
Started programming VB6 when I was 10. Branched out over the years: C#, HTML/CSS/JS, Arduino, Python, TypeScript, AWS, Android, etc. etc. Did lots of engineering projects too. Also, lots of independant study; glad I did Cal I-III and DiffEq when I was 17, which helped a ton with the DL math. Stumbled across arxiv.org by accident in 2018 and fell in love with AI. Saw the future, and read ave. 1+ paper/day for 3 years following. Went back to school for CS in 2020; graduated Summer 2022. Spent the rest of 2022 as a SwE at Motio. Left to work on a full-scale humanoid robot, but then realized many important components of the robotics ecosystem were missing, so I started a general purpose robotics kit.
Still iterating on the BoidKit, but now I’m also using it to build a $1,000 full-scale general-purpose humanoid robot (actually it was $526 last time I checked the BOM in 2024, no including shipping and tax). This is the most important project of my entire life. I talk about it on all my socials. If you have any love for science, technology, engineering, innovation, product development, etc., etc., please reach out about working together.
Update (9-25-2024): I’m working with the Simp4Satoshi to build the Truffle AI Computer. Its a mixture of hardware, software, and mle plus adjacent stuff. It’s such an amazing place to use the CAD skills I’ve learned on a product that millions of people will look at. ‘full stack’ product engineering from the hands on soldering to programming to meeting prospects, 7/11-16 scheudles, jam sessions, vibes, we're really living a movie here. I’ll be here until we get to a good point and then I want to return to the Human Robot along with gohuman.fund (website last updated months ago but i’ve still been deploying/mentoring; we’re currently starting a hacker house in Nigerea) and humanworker.ai (wip).
Update (4-28-2025): I left Truffles after the launch in December to build commandAGI: it was going to be a command center for managing your AGIs (they’re here afaict) and it would eventually become a peice of critical infrastructure to keep humanity holding the leash. Raised 30k for 5% on paper but the angel defaulted on his terms and I ended up looking for work. I’m grateful that one of my commits on some random open-source repo was found by Saul Fuhrmann around that time and he invited me to work with Breezy. We’re building AI phone receptionist and business tech for soloprenuers (primarily nontechnical field contractors). SF is really nice and I’ve met so many interesting people here. I belong here so bad. I’m really grateful to be able to contribute here.
The GoHuman fund had to shutter bec money. I had never taken raising LPs seriously so that’s on me; it was all personally financed. still, i’ve been really inspired by the people GoHuman supported: Advik Kooper went on to raise an undisclosed (large) amount of money from Peter Theil’s 1517 division for his teenage/prodigy funding solana platform Exerton. Sur Naik went on to secure a $20,000 grant from Emergent Ventures to continue building his electronics prototyping system. Emma Obadoni built the 50+ member Tech Family which has helped teach many Nigerians and other Africans about technology and how to work in the industry and helped a few get jobs in tech. And there are so many others GoHuman supported that are up-and-coming in their fields: Pablo Perez in ML, Khadija Ech-Challoey in Physics, (a dozen others waiting to be named)… I am so proud of them all!
Update (10-27-2025): I met Diego Caples and Atharva at Weavehack’s Oct 11-12 Self-Evolving Agents Hackathon where my team made the finalists for building a very primitive GPU-based browser to accelerate computer-use agent data collection and shortly thereafter joined Diego and Atharva at The AGI Company engineering our computer-use agent API. It had always been one of my clearer visions and dreams as a 19-22yo to build multimodal computer use agents that operate across an ever expanding scope of operation and now it seems like I’ll actually be helping bring this to world! :D more ››
Experience
- April 2025 - Present
Software Engineer
Breezy AI
- Designed and implemented the company's browser automation system, enabling scalable and reliable web interactions
- Built an intelligent task extraction system to automate and streamline complex workflows
- Continue to develop and maintain the Next.js web frontend and Ruby on Rails backend for core product features
- March 2025
Developer (IC)
Exerton.XYZ
- Designed and implemented a secure money transfer system using Solana blockchain
- Implemented Web3 authentication system using Phantom wallet integration for secure user verification
- Optimized gas fees through efficient smart contract implementation
- Sept 2024 - Dec 2024
Applied ML Engineer (Intern)
Deepshard
- Worked alongside team of 8 other engineers to bring Truffle computer to its December 2024 launch
- Implemented user interface components for the MacOS app and an endpoint for the website backend ([itsalltruffles.com](https://itsalltruffles.com/))
- [Built CAD models](https://x.com/jvboid/status/1869450137703264522) and [ran simulations](https://x.com/jvboid/status/1869450154551738687) on occasions when we didn't have a hardware engineer
- June 2024 - Present
Developer (IC)
UTA College of Social Work
- Helping interns complete MyAmble, a full stack PWA for social work surveys with real-time LLM-driven analyses
- June 2024 - June 2024
Full-Stack Pipeline Engineer (IC)
Flora Creative Systems
- Worked alongside team of 10 other software engineers to build a node-based AI media editor
- Implemented node editor drawing integration and user credit tracking refinement
- Jan 2023 - May 2024
Independent Research & Development
Human Robot, Midlothian, TX
- Worked on Human Robot: a $1,000 general-purpose humanoid robot prototype with full-scale articulation (not yet finished)
- Engineered innovative low-pressure hydraulic systems, achieving 10x+ cost reduction in valves, actuators, and prime movers
- Designed for scalable manufacturing using welded plastic, CNC routed MDF, plasma cut sheet metal, and custom PCBs
- Conducted research in neurosymbolic AI, focusing on advanced control architectures for humanoid robots
- Pitched project to investors, including Z Fellows (top 10% applicant); received $10k seed funding from aunt, Debra Morgan
- Developed comprehensive business plan targeting $1000 price point with $100/mo AI subscription
- Gained valuable experience in mechanical, robotics, and AI engineering as well as startup basics
- June 2022 - Jan 2023
Software Engineer
Motio Inc
- Developed Soterre for Qlik Sense
- Started as intern in June; full-time after August 16th 2022
- June 2021 - May 2022
Student Research Assistant
IT Lab, UTA
- Collaborated with research group to evolve and test a flask-based statistical visualization tool CoWiz (renamed as Dash)
- Developed full stack web server MLN-Dashboard using Next-React-GraphQL-Strapi stack
- June 2021 - May 2022
Student Research Assistant
UTA College of Social Work
- Maintained and enhanced multi-platform (iOS and Android) data collecting application MyAmble and web admin dashboard
- Stack: JavaScript, Firebase, Flutter (mobile), and Vue (admin dash)
- May 2016 - Mar 2020
Crew Trainer
McDonald's, Midlothian TX
- Led safety committee and addressed employees during 30-minute monthly safety meetings
- Trained employees on-the-job and formally
- In addition to 4 years of formal education, actively used Spanish on-the-job
Education
- June 2020 - Aug 2022
B.S. Computer Science
The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX
- GPA: 3.6/4.0
- Sept 2014 - May 2018
A.A.S. in Mathematics
Navarro College, Waxahachie, TX
- GPA: 3.9/4.0
- 85 hours completed
- Dual-credit program
Projects
- Feb 2019 - Present
Human Robot
- Began development of a full-scale humanoid robot prototype with 2 legs, 2 arms, 5 fingers per hand, supporting all major body articulations
- Integrated 3MP & 12MP dual cameras, stereo mics, stereo speakers, and various sensors
- Designed for fast, scalable manufacturing using mostly welded plastic, CNC routed MDF, plasma cut sheet metal, and off-the-shelf components
- Engineered custom PCBs and injection molded parts to minimize costs and optimize performance
- Achieved 10x+ cost reduction in low pressure hydraulic valve, actuator, and prime mover fabrication
- Pitched innovative robotics technology to investors including ZFellows, Inception Studio, Schematic Ventures, VibeCap, StarshipVC, Y Combinator, and 1517 Fund. Received $10k seed funding from Debra Morgan (family)
- Developed comprehensive business plan targeting $1000 price point with $100/mo AI subscription
- Oct 2021 - May 2022
MLN-Dashboard
- Developed a full-stack Next.js web server for complex data visualization and analysis
- Implemented modular architecture allowing easy integration of new data sources and visualization types
- Utilized GraphQL for efficient data querying and Prisma for robust database management
- Later began integrating Strapi CMS for improved content management and user interface customization
- June - Aug 2021
20Q
- Collaborated in a 4-person team to develop an Android app for the classic 20 Questions game
- Implemented game logic and algorithm for app to guess user's thought based on responses
- Utilized Java and Kotlin programming languages for Android development
- Jan - May 2021
DesparadosAEye
- Led a 5-person team as project manager, general app developer, and ML engineer
- Implemented on-device conversational AI using Facebook's BlenderBot-small, compiled to TFLite format
- Developed one of the first applications to use BlenderBot for on-device mobile chatting
- May 2021 - Jun 2021
CookieCutter CNC
- Designed and built a 2x2 plasma cutter CNC machine to automate sheet metal cutting process
- Developed Windows software in C# to process SVG files and generate optimized path coordination code
- Created Arduino firmware to interpret commands and control machine movements
Skills
-
Programming Languages
- Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, C#, Kotlin, VB6
-
Web Technologies
- React, Next.js, GraphQL, Node.js, Vue.js, Flask
-
Database Systems
- PostgreSQL, SQLite, Firebase
-
Data Science & Machine Learning
- TensorFlow, Keras, PyTorch, BERT
-
Cloud Technologies
- AWS, Firebase, Google Cloud Platform
-
DevOps & Version Control
- Git, GitHub, Docker/Compose
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Other Tools & Technologies
- Android Development, Flutter, Blender, 3D Printing, CNC routing, PCB fabrication
Certifications
- Feb 2022
AWS Certified Machine Learning - Specialty
- Apr 2021
TensorFlow Developer Certificate
- Oct 2020
DeepLearning.AI TensorFlow Developer Specialization
- Mar 2019
AWS Certified Developer - Associate
- Mar 2019
AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate
- Mar 2019
AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
Honors and Awards
- Spring 2024
Top 10% Applicant - Z Fellows Program
- Feb 2022
2022 Future Texas Business Legend Award Finalist
- Apr 2022
Co-Author on Paper Accepted to Baltic DB&IS 2022 Conference
- Sept 2021
Broaden and Build Conference Honorable Mention
- Apr 2021
SCRF Honorable Mention + $100 award
- May 2013
20% Project Presentation Honorable Mention
Leadership Experience
- Jul 2018 - Mar 2020
Crew Trainer and Safety Committee Organizer
McDonald's
- Led Safety Committee and addressed employees during monthly safety meetings
- Trained and mentored new employees both on-the-job and through formal sessions
- Ensured compliance with safety protocols and procedures across all restaurant operations
- Sept 2017 - Dec 2017
Biology Lab Group Leader
General Biology I DC, Senior Year at WGHS
- Initiated and organized a biology lab group to streamline activities for a new teacher
- Authored and implemented a group contract outlining safety, task management, and communication protocols
- Led the Coordinator's Committee, overseeing group instruction, appointing leads, and managing progress schedules
Volunteer Experience
- 2024 - April 2025
Founder and Operator
GoHuman Fund ([gohuman.fund](https://gohuman.fund/))
- Founded and operated a personally-financed global micro-seed fund that completed its mission in April 2025
- Deployed several thousand dollars across dozens of grants (typically $100 initial checks) to support promising entrepreneurs and prodigies worldwide
- Supported founders who achieved significant success, including Advik Kooper (raised funding from Peter Thiel's 1517 fund for Exerton), Sur Naik ($20k Emergent Ventures grant), and Emma Obadoni (built 50+ member Tech Family helping Africans in tech)
- Provided mentorship, networking opportunities, and emotional support to recipients across AI/ML, blockchain, hardware, SaaS, and other innovative fields
Additional Information
- Languages: English (Native), Spanish (Conversational)
- Interests: Neurosymbolic AI, Humanoid Robotics, Entrepreneurship/Investing, Full-Stack Development, 3D Printing, CNC Machining, Neuroscience and Deep Learning Theory, X Posting
Long-Term Goals
-
Help people all over the world with humanoid robots
- Develop a mass-produceable affordable, intelligent humanoid robot
- Manually bootstrap production, but transition to robots making robots
- Deploy on-demand humanoid-robots-as-a-service on the basis of their humanitarian, social, and economic impact
Other Interests
- Walking, hanging out with friends, reading papers, and twittering
- I'm never going to have enough time to satisfy most of my interests
