Ryan Watts
Principal AI & Data Engineer · Head of Artificial Intelligence
About
Visionary AI leader and Principal Data Engineer with 15+ years of experience architecting transformative AI solutions that drive business innovation and operational excellence. Currently serving as Head of Artificial Intelligence at DVx Ventures, where I lead the development of cutting-edge agentic AI systems that exceed industry standards and unlock new business capabilities across domains.
AI Architecture & Strategy
Design and deploy framework-driven AI architectures enabling autonomous decision-making, adaptability, and automation at scale.
Data Engineering Excellence
Build enterprise-grade data infrastructure including multi-cloud data warehouses, real-time pipelines, and AI-powered analytics platforms.
Cybersecurity Intelligence
Architect world-class threat detection systems using advanced ML/AI techniques and real-time data processing.
Strategic Leadership
Lead cross-functional engineering teams, drive AI adoption initiatives, and deliver scalable solutions that power business transformation.
Experience
Head of Artificial Intelligence
DVx Ventures
Remote
- ·Led the architecture and design of cutting-edge agentic AI solutions, driving operational excellence and ensuring strategic alignment with market needs.
- ·Pioneered next-generation AI technologies that exceed industry standards, delivering innovative, scalable systems that are both effective and future-ready.
- ·Built intelligent, adaptive solutions that enhance business performance and unlock new capabilities across domains.
- ·Drove strategic AI initiatives and ensured alignment with business objectives and market demands.
Principal AI + Data Engineering Consultant
Independent
Tucson, Arizona Area
- ·Provide expert guidance on designing, building, and scaling AI initiatives with cost-efficient, scalable, high-performing solutions.
- ·Lead organizations to navigate AI adoption, infrastructure optimization, and model deployment.
- ·Modernize data infrastructure to improve scalability, reliability, and performance.
- ·Work across DevOps and DataOps domains, including data platform design, system configurations, and security/compliance considerations.
Staff Data Engineer
Cork
Remote, United States
- ·Led data engineering initiatives for a cybersecurity startup focusing on the MSP market, building foundational data infrastructure from the ground up.
- ·Architected and engineered multi-cloud data warehouse and data lake solutions using GCP and AWS, enabling scalable cybersecurity intelligence platforms.
- ·Designed and implemented real-time data pipelines powering AI-powered threat detection and risk assessment services.
- ·Developed and deployed risk signal classification systems using Microsoft Graph API integration for comprehensive security monitoring.
- ·Architected the world's first real-time AI-powered threat-detection platform with automated risk signal generation and compliance event convergence.
Principal Data Engineer (Head of Data Architecture)
MANTL
Tucson, Arizona
- ·Served as Head of Data Architecture, spearheading pivotal functions integral to the company's data-driven approach.
- ·Architected MANTL's transactional data pipeline streaming realtime data from Postgres to BigQuery.
- ·Architected MANTL's embedded Looker BI solution, a SaaS offering to clients.
- ·Led data architecture strategy and implementation for an omnichannel online account opening platform.
Senior Data Engineer II
Simpleview
Tucson, Arizona
- ·Senior Data Engineer; oversaw multi-department data initiatives from data center to Google Cloud.
- ·Delegated centralized microservices for data engineering with Kubernetes to divisions across the company.
Asset Protection Analytics Manager
Walmart
Flagstaff, Arizona
- ·Oversaw analytics in the asset protection department; led data-driven initiatives.
- ·Implemented Tableau-based, market-wide BI solutions.
- ·Reported on trends and analysis of organized retail crime.
Skills
AI & Machine Learning
Data Engineering
Cloud Platforms
Infrastructure
Languages
Security & Compliance
Education
Udacity
Data Analytics
Western Governors University
Bachelor of Science, Data Analytics
Senior year — in progress
Northern Arizona University
Bachelor of Science, Software Engineering
Transferred to WGU during 3rd year