Custom AI & Python builds
A senior AI engineer for hire, not an agency
Quick answer: I build production AI systems for founder-led businesses. Retrieval over your own documents, grounded assistants that cite their sources, document intelligence, and automation that snaps onto the tools you already run. You work directly with the person who writes the code, and you can start with a small paid pilot instead of a leap of faith.
What I build
Four kinds of work, one discipline underneath: the AI only speaks from material you control, and every claim is checkable.
RAG over your documents
Ask questions across your contracts, reports, filings, or knowledge base and get answers grounded in your files, not the open internet.
Grounded LLM & agent apps
Assistants and agents that cite their sources and refuse to guess. Anti-hallucination is the architecture, not a footnote.
Document intelligence
OCR plus structured extraction that turns scans, PDFs, and messy forms into clean, validated, queryable data.
Automation & integrations
The AI layer that snaps onto your existing CRM, storage, and internal tools. No rip-and-replace.
How it works
The honest path is proof, not a contract. You start small, judge a working result on your own data, then decide on the larger build.
- Async intake. You send one workflow that hurts through a short written form. No call.
- Paid proof pilot. One clear deliverable, fixed price from $2,500, about one to two weeks, on your real data.
- Full build or fractional. If it works, we extend it into a fixed-scope build, or I stay on as a fractional AI engineer. The pilot fee is credited toward the build.
Investment
Legible pricing, not a discovery-call mystery. Three ways to work, and you always know the number before we start.
Paid proof pilot
from $2,500
- •One clear deliverable
- •Fixed scope, ~1 to 2 weeks
- •Run on your real data
- •Fee credited toward the full build
Fixed-scope build
$8,000 to $25,000
- •One defined system
- •Clear spec + acceptance test
- •Time-boxed delivery
- •You know the number up front
Fractional AI engineer
from $4,000/mo
- •Or a day rate from $750
- •Ongoing build capacity
- •On call for your AI roadmap
- •Scale hours up or down
Proof, not promises
These are real, shipped systems, not demos. The point of hiring at this level is that the exact kind of system you need has already been built and is running in production.
Deal OS
A cited M&A diligence platform that reads 100-page deal documents, runs OCR and extraction, and returns findings with sources attached under a verify-not-summarize rule. See Deal OS.
Amy
A grounded product-Q&A voice assistant running live for a Shopify brand, quoting real prices from a live catalog sync instead of inventing a number that sounds right. Hear a live voice AI.
Nadia & Delia, website concierge AIs
Source-gated chat assistants that answer visitor questions from a real knowledge base and refuse to invent policy, escalating to a human when they cannot answer. Nadia runs on Devaland's own site (she is the assistant in the corner of this page) and answers in seven languages; Delia runs the Goldlett store. See our AI agents.
Who this is for
The work fits best with bootstrapped founder-operators, often running a multi-entity group or holding, with heavy document, regulatory, or data workflows and a real budget. Biotech and diagnostics, professional services, roll-ups, and M&A-active acquirers are typical. If a wrong answer in your business costs real money, that is exactly the kind of problem these builds are for.
Frequently asked questions
What do you actually build?
Production AI systems for founder-led businesses: retrieval (RAG) over your own documents, LLM and agent apps with anti-hallucination, document intelligence (OCR plus structured extraction), and workflow automation that snaps onto the systems you already run. Not slideware, working software you can judge on your own data.
Are you an agency?
No. You work directly with one senior AI and Python engineer who writes the code and is accountable for the result. No account managers, no juniors learning on your budget.
How do we start without a big commitment?
With a paid proof pilot: one clear deliverable, fixed price from $2,500, about one to two weeks, run on your real data. If you continue, the pilot fee is credited toward the full build. You buy proof before you buy a project.
What does it cost?
Paid proof pilot from $2,500 (credited to the build). Fixed-scope build typically $8,000 to $25,000 depending on scope. Ongoing work as a fractional AI engineer from $4,000/month or a day rate from $750. You know the number before we start.
How do you stop the AI from making things up?
Architecture, not hope. Every claim is grounded in your source material and cited back to where it came from, with human approval for anything consequential and evaluations that measure accuracy. The rule on every build is simple: cite the source or cut the claim.
Do I have to get on a call?
No. Intake is async through a short written form. Marius reads it, tells you honestly whether a build makes sense, and if it is a fit you scope one clear deliverable in writing. No sales calls.
Who is this for?
Bootstrapped founder-operators, often running a multi-entity group or holding, with heavy document, regulatory, or data workflows and a real budget. Biotech and diagnostics, professional services, roll-ups, and M&A-active acquirers are typical.