Open to opportunities

Tarik Riley

@tarikriley

AI Solutions Architect building backend-first evidence platforms and AI-native routing across cloud and local providers.

United States

Message

What I'm looking for

I want to build AI-native, evidence-driven platforms where backend contracts power multiple user surfaces, with strong Kubernetes/observability practices, multi-provider inference, and room to extend systems for both engineers and AI agents.

I’m an AI Solutions Architect with 20+ years designing infrastructure and automation, and I now build AI-native diagnostics platforms. I architected BMI2.com / TestPulse, a backend-first evidence platform that keeps API, MCP, CLI, and React surfaces aligned on shared contracts, eliminating drift between operator tools and AI-facing tools.

I lead Kubernetes/VMware migrations, GitOps delivery, and telemetry-driven FCAPS automation for telecom-scale systems. I build systems designed to be extended by both engineers and AI agents, including multi-provider inference/embedding routing across AWS Bedrock, SageMaker, and local models, and I deliver automation at scale for 5G VNFs and lab environments.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

AI Systems Architect & AI Trainer

Current

BMI2.com / TestPulse

Jan 2022 - Present (4 years 6 months)

Designed a backend-first evidence pipeline for 802.1X/RADIUS/TACACS/NAC diagnostics that both human operators and AI models consume. Built multi-provider AI inference/embedding routing and kept API, MCP, CLI, and React surfaces aligned on shared evidence contracts.

Evidence Contracts Multi Provider Routing RAG Vector Retrieval API Design MCP CLI React

QA Manager

Upstart Cyber

Dec 2025 - Jun 2026 (6 months)

Managed a small Python QA team delivering Forescout RADIUS Plugin automation SOW artifacts and compliance tracking. Drove automation development and quality gates, including prompt-engineering workflow changes and Git peer code reviews.

Python QA Test Automation Forescout RADIUS Plugin Automation Compliance Tracking Claude Codex Prompt Engineering Pytest Git

Automation Engineer & Architect

Dish Wireless

Feb 2025 - Sep 2025 (7 months)

Led VMware v7 to Kubernetes migration on Wind River StarlingX, integrating VNFs/CNFs into a telecom-native multi-cluster Kubernetes environment. Designed FCAPS-driven EMS automation including GitOps configuration, observability dashboards, telemetry pipelines, and security via RBAC/TLS.

VMWare Kubernetes Wind River StarlingX VNF Prometheus AlertManager ArgoCD Kustomize GitOps Grafana Telemetry RBAC TLS SR IOV Network Attachment Definitions

Lead System Automation Engineer

Kforce

Feb 2024 - Jan 2025 (11 months)

Architected deployment and infrastructure-as-code for 130 HP blade servers using Redfish (Python API) across two data centers, covering SAN, RAID, SSO, Active Directory, VMware ESXi, Linux distributions, and vSphere. Managed a 4-engineer team through code review, GitOps, and Agile Scrum delivery.

Redfish Infrastructure as Code GitOps Agile Scrum Code Review RAID SSO Active Directory VMware ESXi VSphere Linux

Sr. System Test Engineer

Spirent

Jun 2021 - Mar 2023 (1 year 9 months)

Consulted on left-shift/right-shift DevOps automation architecture for 4G/5G, NFV, and ATF programs for Verizon Wireless Maintenance Engineering. Led data-comparison architecture for Smart NIC evaluation using Spirent Virtual Centers for functional and RFC 2544 performance testing.

DevOps Automation 4G 5G NFV ATF Functional Testing Data Comparison

Lead System Test Engineer

K-Force

Oct 2018 - Jun 2021 (2 years 8 months)

Architected CI/CD using Jenkins, Git, and Robot Framework for multi-vendor Wi-Fi CPE testing, and built Selenium/UFT-based Web UI automation tooling. Provisioned AWS IAM, VPC, EC2, and S3 resources for an IMS/RCS testing platform.