# Wayne Gafford

Wayne Gafford is a remote worker on Himalayas, Data Ontologist at Pantheon Data, based in United States.

Source: https://himalayas.app/@waynegafford

```text
Knowledge architecture consultant turning defense standards and university transfer agreements into traceable, AI-ready knowledge.
```

| Detail | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Availability | Looking for a job |
| Location | United States |
| Authorized to work in | United States |
| Salary expectations | 150k+ USD |
| Job categories | Knowledge Architecture Consultant, Ontologist, Program Analyst, Senior Analyst, Publishing Systems Advisor, E Learning Content Integration Strategist, Director Job Performance Technology Center |
| Skills | Knowledge Architecture, Ontology Engineering, Interoperability, Knowledge Graphs, Data Standards, Data Governance, Requirements Analysis, LLM workflows, Prompt Engineering, DoD Acquisition, DoD Logistics, Process Improvement, Workforce Development, Model Based Product Support, Natural Language Processing |
| LinkedIn | https://linkedin.com/in/wayne-gafford-a362535 |

## About

```text
At Pantheon Data, I converted 23 defense and civilian standards into validated knowledge models using a repeatable, prompt-engineered pipeline that preserved clause-level traceability. I also turned MIL-STD-3034A into an ontology-based maintenance workflow connecting failure modes, engineering justifications, and procedures.

Through The Art of Place, LLC, I modeled 130 university transfer agreements into a governed, 80-term vocabulary and brought the findings to Credential Engine's standards community. Earlier, I directed Navy logistics and training initiatives, including a $15M portfolio and the $4.5M Bridge Project; the NSWC–Credential Engine agreement I established supported a documented 25% reduction in training content costs.
```

## Experience

### Data Ontologist

Pantheon Data. Oct 2025 - Jun 2026

```text
Brought into the Architecture Group to make defense and civil logistics standards machine-readable, delivering ontologies, controlled vocabularies, validation rules, and process models. Delivered a data-readiness diagnostic for Coast Guard logistics and converted 23 standards into validated OWL/SHACL/SKOS/PROV-O models.
```

Skills: OWL, SHACL, SKOS, PROV-O, Resource-Description-Framework-(RDF), SPARQL, Prompt-Engineering, Claude, Gemini, Ask-Sage, Copilot, MIL-STD-3034A, Reliability-Centered-Maintenance, Data-Governance

### Knowledge Architecture Consultant

The Art of Place, LLC. Jul 2022 - Jun 2025

```text
Independent consultancy focused on making university transfer agreements machine-interpretable, including scoping engagements, building analysis methods, and delivering semantic models. Modeled 130 transfer agreements into a governed 80-term vocabulary and presented findings at the Groningen Declaration Network conference.
```

Skills: Semantic-Modeling, CTDL, Prompt-Engineering, Knowledge-Graphs, Ontology-Engineering, Data-Governance, Research-Methodology, Content-Strategy

### Senior Analyst

Pentecom. Feb 2022 - Jul 2022

```text
Five-month interim engagement to provide a workforce development structure, including an enterprise assessment of roles, competencies, and processes. Delivered a workforce framework with competency profiles, career pathways, and capability strategy, and consolidated fragmented documentation into a searchable repository.
```

Skills: Workforce-Development, Competency-Modeling, Business-Analysis, Process-Improvement, Document-Management, User-Stories, Functional-Requirements

### Program Analyst

US DoD - OPNAV N1, OPNAV N12. Dec 2019 - Feb 2022

```text
Directed a $15M portfolio with 25 contractors across 15 vendors, spanning data standards, model-based product support, enterprise learning architecture, and emerging technology. Originated the Acquisition Requirements for Training Transformation (ARTT) initiative and applied GEIA-STD-0007, S-Series specifications, and ISO 10303 to bridge systems engineering and logistics data.
```

Skills: Program-Management, Data-Standards, GEIA-STD-0007, S-Series, ISO-10303, Model-Based-Product-Support, Training-Needs-Analysis, User-Stories, Data-Requirements

### Publishing Systems Advisor

U.S. DoD, Port Hueneme NSWC, Office of Logistics. Jan 2013 - Dec 2019

```text
Established the NSWC–Credential Engine CRADA that applied natural language processing to maintenance task analysis, cutting learning-content development cost by 25% as documented by the Institute for Defense Analyses. Advised modernization of supply and publishing systems behind 66,000+ technical manuals and redesigned KPIs for program effectiveness.
```

Skills: Natural-Language-Processing, Maintenance-Task-Analysis-(MTA), Learning-Objectives, Data-Standards, KPI-Design, Program-Evaluation, Technical-manuals

### E-Learning Content Integration Strategist

U.S. DoD, Port Hueneme NSWC, Naval Systems Data Support Acti. Jan 2012 - Dec 2012

```text
Consulted on data integration strategies for submarine training programs by aligning e-learning content, metadata structures, and lifecycle logistics requirements. Supported training data modernization through metadata management, data-procurement reform, and process improvement while earning Level III Life Cycle Logistics certification.
```

Skills: E-Learning, Metadata-Management, Data-Integration, Lifecycle-Logistics, Process-Improvement, Data-Procurement

### Director, Job Performance Technology Center

Advanced Distributed Learning (DoD). Jan 2006 - Dec 2011

```text
Defined, won, and directed the $4.5M Bridge Project with a 20-person team, establishing an enterprise framework connecting training content to technical data and fielded systems. Developed and introduced the first Learning Data Module schema to the S1000D specification and mapped S1000D to SCORM.
```

Skills: Project-Management, S1000D, SCORM, Learning-Data, Technical-Data-Specifications-(TDSs), Training-Content, Enterprise-Frameworks

## Education

### Vanderbilt University

Advanced Prompt Engineering & Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT, Prompt Engineering

```text
Completed advanced prompt engineering and prompt engineering for ChatGPT courses at Vanderbilt University.
```

### Defense Acquisition University

Life Cycle Logistics Level III & Program Management Level I, Life Cycle Logistics and Program Management

```text
Earned Life Cycle Logistics Level III and Program Management Level I certifications from Defense Acquisition University.
```

### San Diego State University

Bachelor of Arts, English

```text
Bachelor of Arts in English from San Diego State University.
```

### Marymount University

Master of Education, Education

```text
Master of Education with a High School English Teaching Credential from Marymount University.
```

## Tech stack

- Gemini
- RDF
- OWL
- SHACL
- SPARQL

To contact Wayne, message them from this profile with a Himalayas employer account: [Hire on Himalayas](https://himalayas.app/hire).

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