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Cristian I.
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Cristian I.

Senior AI Engineer | Production RAG & AI Agents | Python/FastAPI

I build production AI systems, not thin API wrappers. Whether it's a focused MVP or a full-scale platform, I deliver complete pipelines from data ingestion through retrieval and LLM orchestration to deployed, documented APIs. 15+ years in data-intensive software. The last 3+ years focused entirely on LLM-powered products across regulated and high-stakes domains: legal compliance, HR, energy markets, healthcare, financial data, and CX analytics. Before AI engineering, I spent 8 years as a scientific software engineer at CNRS (French National Research Centre), building research-grade crystallographic software and managing HPC infrastructure. That background in scientific computing and peer-reviewed research is what separates my work from typical AI integrations: I build systems with rigour, not just speed. What I deliver: • RAG pipelines over large document corpora with semantic search, hybrid retrieval, and citation tracking (Pinecone, pgvector, sqlite-vec) • LLM orchestration — multi-step autonomous workflows, streaming chat, prompt management, structured output with validation • Production FastAPI backends with auth, caching, background processing, and OpenAPI docs • Data ingestion and extraction pipelines (PDF, Excel, XML, OCR) with AI + traditional fallback strategies • Full deployment: Docker, Nginx, Gunicorn, DigitalOcean, Azure Current production systems include: — Multi-country HR compliance audit platform with branded report exports — Portuguese labour law compliance engine with OCR and vector-indexed legal corpus — AI sales outreach platform orchestrating Perplexity research + Claude composition — CX analytics platform with streaming LLM chat, survey RAG, and embeddable sessions — Real-time lightning risk monitoring system processing EUMETSAT satellite data — Automated payroll extraction from mixed-format archives with banking field validation I own the full backend scope with minimal oversight. Direct communication, clear progress, blockers flagged early.

🇷🇴Timisoara, Romania$80/hr100% JSS4.32 (66)Since Oct 2015

Earnings and projects

MRR
$1.1k

Last 6 months ÷ 6

World#46,060 / 412k
🇷🇴Country#216 / 2,286
Revenue, last 30 days
$0

Last 6 months: $6.3k

Total earnings
$136k

Billed in all: $145k

World#26,828 / 412k
🇷🇴Country#215 / 2,286
Per project
$1.5k

$6.3k in the last 6 months

World#93,809 / 412k
🇷🇴Country#526 / 2,286
Projects, last 6 months
1

Across 2 contracts

50% fixed50% hourly
World#128,095 / 412k
🇷🇴Country#588 / 2,286
Projects in all
89

Across 98 contracts

68% fixed32% hourly
World#32,261 / 412k
🇷🇴Country#241 / 2,286

Earnings, last 30 days

$145kNothing earned in the last 30 daysBilled in all, before Upwork's fee · drag across the chart to see what was earned in any stretch
$142k$144k$146k$148kOct 8Oct 23Nov 7

Skill rankings: Top 9% in Flask

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