Open to opportunities

STEPHEN SIFA

@stephensifa

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AI engineer and MERN full-stack developer building safe, grounded LLM evaluation systems and end-to-end web apps.

Kenya

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What I'm looking for

I’m looking for Forward Deployed, Applied AI, or Developer Advocate work where I can evaluate LLM quality and also ship end-to-end solutions—closing the gap between model outputs and real client needs—on schedule and within scope.

I build systems that sit at the intersection of AI and the real world—full-stack applications, data pipelines, and human feedback loops that make AI models more useful, safe, and grounded.

As an AI data evaluator, I ship the quality layer of AI systems: evaluating LLM outputs for safety, helpfulness, and factuality, and contributing to RLHF-style alignment workflows. I’ve evaluated thousands of LLM response pairs to optimize benchmarks and improve how models perform in production.

I also manage the full project lifecycle like a full-stack developer. I’ve designed, built, and deployed 5+ production-grade responsive MERN web applications end-to-end—scoping, development, testing, and deployment—while maintaining 100% client retention.

I bring cross-domain thinking across NLP evaluation, search quality assessment, and product categorization, plus the ability to translate non-technical requirements into functional specifications and maintainable code. I also mentor youth and train technical concepts for non-technical audiences, strengthening my developer-advocate communication mindset.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Full-Stack Web Developer (MERN)

Current

Self-Employed

Jan 2023 - Present (3 years 5 months)

Designed, built, and deployed 5+ production-grade responsive MERN web applications end-to-end, maintaining 100% client retention through full project lifecycle scoping, testing, and deployment. Created mobile-first, accessible UIs and translated non-technical requirements into clean, maintainable codebases.

MongoDB REST APIs Javascript (ES6)HTML5 CSS3 Responsive Web Design Git Github

Current

Data Analyst

Current

Self-Employed

May 2020 - Present (6 years 1 month)

Transcribed, cleaned, and structured audio/text datasets to improve upstream data quality for AI training pipelines. Delivered analytical solutions across multiple concurrent client engagements by converting unstructured data into actionable insights within scope and deadlines.

Data Cleaning Data Structuring Data Wrangling Data Pipelines Problem Solving

Current

Youth Mentor & Technical Trainer

Current

Compassion International Kenya

May 2020 - Present (6 years 1 month)

Facilitated life skills and professional development sessions for 30+ youth per quarter, improving leadership and career readiness outcomes. Trained 15+ youth in technical and creative skills by breaking down complex concepts for non-technical learners and supporting community talent programs.

Youth Mentorship Training Facilitation Technical Instruction Leadership Development Lesson planning Communication Skills Stakeholder Engagement

AI Data Annotator & Evaluator

Minddrift

Dec 2024 - Jun 2025 (6 months)

Evaluated thousands of LLM response pairs to optimize safety, helpfulness, and factuality benchmarks, contributing to RLHF-style alignment workflows. Assessed pairwise search results and audited e-commerce content against taxonomy standards to improve recommendation relevance and classification accuracy.

LLM Evaluation Data Annotation Search Quality Assessment AI Safety Helpfulness Factuality Taxonomies Annotation Quality Calibration

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

Kenya Coast National Polytechnic

Diploma in Information Communication Technology (ICT), Information Communication Technology (ICT)

2024 -

Pursuing a Diploma in Information Communication Technology (ICT) with a focus on Full-Stack Development and MERN Stack specialization.

freeCodeCamp

Responsive Web Design, Web Development

2020 - 2024

Completed training in Responsive Web Design over the 2020–2024 period.

Power Learn Project (PLP)

MERN Stack Specialization (16-week program), Full-Stack Development (MERN)

2024 - 2024

Completed a 16-week program covering Python, web technologies, database management, software engineering essentials, startup building, and MERN Stack specialization (via Safaricom Hook).