nlm/dev✦
APPLIED AI / FORWARD DEPLOYED ENGINEERING

Neil McKenzie.

Applied AI.
From discovery to delivery.

I deliver agentic AI and voice systems for healthcare and life sciences, from discovery and prototyping through implementation and validation.

Explore my experience
VI LABS / MAY 2026 — PRESENT

Senior Applied AI / FDE

Architecture, engineering direction, and delivery ownership.

 OPTUM / 2022 — MAY 2026

AI/ML Engineer

LLM applications, evaluations, and production systems.
01 / THE DEVELOPER

Understand the operation.
Own the delivery.

At Vi Labs, I lead engineering priorities and architect AI systems for healthcare and life sciences. My work spans automated outreach, intake, and transcript and case validation workflows.

I bridge client discovery, hands-on prototyping, solution architecture, and delivery. Before joining Vi, I built and deployed LLM applications at Optum, with evaluation, observability, and production support built into the work.

02 / MY PRACTICE

AI that fits
the operation.

Discovery, architecture,
and hands-on engineering.

I.

Applied AI

LLM applications, retrieval workflows, and reusable agents. Evaluation and observability to understand model behavior, latency, token usage, and production reliability.

  • Python
  • LLM APIs
  • Arize AI
  • OpenTelemetry
II.

Voice & integrations

Voice and agentic systems connected to the tools teams already use. I define data requirements, agent behavior, integrations, and handoffs across operational workflows.

  • Twilio
  • Deepgram
  • Salesforce
  • MuleSoft
III.

Forward deployed

Working with clients and commercial teams to scope solutions, build demos, assess feasibility and unit economics, and guide engineering priorities through delivery.

  • Client discovery
  • Solution architecture
  • Technical scoping
03 / EXPERIENCE

Vi Labs

May 2026 — Present

Senior Applied AI Engineer / Forward Deployed Engineer

Lead engineering priorities across Operate and platform teams, setting technical direction for reusable agentic workflows.

  • Architect healthcare and life sciences AI and voice systems for outreach, intake, and transcript and case validation.
  • Own delivery architecture from discovery and solution design through implementation planning and validation.
  • Partner on technical deal scoping, usage and unit economics, vendor evaluation, and reliability planning.

Optum

UnitedHealth Group
2022 — May 2026

AI/ML Engineer

Designed and deployed an LLM summarization system using agent-based workflows to turn operational data into structured outputs.

  • Built Python services and LLM integrations for enterprise healthcare information retrieval and summarization.
  • Implemented evaluation and observability with Arize AI and OpenTelemetry.
  • Architected backend services, GraphQL APIs, data models, and role-based access controls; owned features through deployment and production support.
ENGINEERING FOUNDATION

Python · TypeScript · SQL · React / Next.js · NestJS / Node.js · GraphQL · PostgreSQL · AWS · Azure · Docker · CI/CD

04 / SAY HELLO

Let’s talk about
AI in practice.

Get in touch about forward deployed engineering, applied AI, or a workflow you want to bring into production.

n.mckenzie@live.com