Aric Camarata — Principal AI Engineer

Summary

Principal AI Engineer with 20+ years building distributed systems, AI infrastructure, and full-stack applications across defense, enterprise, and product companies. Deep expertise in multi-model AI routing, hybrid retrieval (RAG), federated GraphQL, and high-throughput Go backends. Founder of nSelf and nClaw. TS-cleared (expired). Remote-only.

Skills

Languages	Go, TypeScript, Rust, Python, PHP
AI / ML	Multi-model routing, RAG, pgvector, BGE-M3, RRF fusion, Ollama, Claude API, Gemini API
Data	PostgreSQL, Redis, Elasticsearch, Hadoop, HBase, Cassandra
API	GraphQL, Hasura Federation, REST, gRPC
Infrastructure	Docker, Nginx, Hetzner VPS, Vercel, Cloudflare, Linux
Frontend	Next.js App Router, React, Tailwind CSS

Experience

nSelf / nClaw

Principal AI Engineer

2024 – Present

Built nClaw: multi-model AI router with classifier-driven tier ladder routing queries across Ollama, Gemini, and Claude; reduced inference costs 60% vs. naive model dispatch.
Retrieval layer combines PostgreSQL tsvector + pgvector + RRF fusion + BGE-M3 cross-encoder reranking for simultaneous lexical and semantic recall.
Built nSelf: self-hosted PaaS in Go with 30+ CLI commands, 5,000+ lines, single-command VPS deploy, Hasura Remote Schema federation, and 55+ commercial plugins.

Unity Platforms

Principal Software Architect

2014 – 2024

Principal-level contract delivery for Credit Karma, Walmart Labs, Cigna, Cambium Networks, Progress Software, and CMD.
Architected a multi-tenant Next.js platform powering the Flock, Veterans, FlockTV, and FlockNAS brands.
Led full-stack teams across React, TypeScript, Go, and PostgreSQL stacks.

Northrop Grumman — U.S. Treasury GSOC

Lead Developer

2011 – 2013

Led development of the GSOC cybersecurity observability platform under TS clearance.
Maintained 24/7 multi-site disaster recovery SLA; built Hadoop, Hive, HBase, and Cassandra data pipeline for high-volume threat event processing.

Pearson

Senior Developer

2010

Enterprise education platform development for one of the world's largest learning companies.

Apple

Senior Developer — Cupertino HQ

2007 – 2010

Internal tools development at Cupertino headquarters, supporting core engineering and operations workflows.

AT&T

Developer

2006 – 2007

Built call center consolidation system integrating legacy telecom infrastructure.

Roxbury Group

Developer

2004 – 2006

PHP/LAMP enterprise application development for regional business clients.

Education

Belltown University

B.S. Management Information Systems

2008 – 2011

Military Service

U.S. Army National Guard

19D Cavalry Scout

Honorable discharge • TS clearance (expired)

2001 – 2004

Selected Projects

nClaw	Multi-model AI router with classifier-driven tier ladder routing, RRF hybrid retrieval (tsvector + pgvector + BGE-M3), and 60% inference cost reduction vs. naive dispatch.
nSelf	Self-hosted PaaS Go CLI — 30+ commands, single-command VPS deploy, Hasura Remote Schema federation, 55+ commercial plugins.
Unity Sites	Multi-tenant Next.js CMS with Hasura federation, custom theming engine, and Vercel Edge deployment powering Flock, Veterans, FlockTV, and FlockNAS.