Bryan Leonard
Co-Founder & Lead Researcher — Qira LLC
Summary
Self-taught systems engineer and applied researcher who builds production AI platforms from the ground up. Co-founded Qira LLC to apply network physics to real-world problems — currently operating a live traffic intelligence system monitoring 8 Phoenix freeway corridors with AI-driven analysis, training custom language models on Google TPU pods, and running an empirical consciousness study with 58+ participants. U.S. provisional patent filed. 6+ years in customer-facing roles across fintech, payments, and financial services with strong technical communication skills.
Technical Skills
Python PyTorch FastAPI React TypeScript JAX / TPU NumPy / SciPy SQL / PostgreSQL Next.js Tailwind CSS Node.js nginx Linux / Ubuntu Git / GitHub DigitalOcean Cloudflare Stripe API REST API Design LLM Integration Data Analysis
Experience
Qira LLC — Co-Founder & Lead Researcher
Jan 2025 – Present
  • Built and deployed Phoenix Traffic Intelligence — a live system monitoring 8 freeway corridors using HERE Traffic API, AZ-511 event feeds, and Cerebras AI. Generates crew dispatch recommendations and DMS messages every 2 minutes. 48,000+ analysis sweeps, 14+ days continuous uptime, 700K+ data points collected.
  • Designed LOLM, a 5-stream hybrid Transformer-SSM language model with a novel gating mechanism. Accepted into Google TPU Research Cloud (v4-32 pod). Trained models from 20M to 1B+ parameters.
  • Created EGC (Expression-Gated Consciousness) — an empirical study on how identity pressure modulates expression. N=344 subjects across 20+ countries, inverse comfort × resistance correlation r = −0.988, three-type response structure (Compressors 40%, Suppressors 30%, Expanders 30%) stable from N=9 through N=344. Active collaboration with Dr. Joshua Aronson (NYU).
  • Filed U.S. Provisional Patent #64/002,166 covering the core mathematical framework.
  • Architected full-stack production infrastructure: Python/FastAPI backends, React frontends, nginx with SSL, systemd services, SQLite/PostgreSQL databases, automated monitoring crons, CI/CD via GitHub Actions.
  • Shipped Codey — AI coding SaaS with structural code analysis, multi-provider LLM routing (Cerebras, Groq, GPT-4o), Stripe billing, and GitHub OAuth. 50+ registered users.
Block (Square) — Customer Success Specialist
Jan 2026 – Present
  • Partner with Square sellers to optimize POS operations across Block's payments ecosystem.
  • Resolve complex technical, billing, and integration issues for merchants with high satisfaction ratings.
Amazon — Associate Candidate Care Specialist
Oct – Dec 2025
  • Managed Tier 1 onboarding workflows for incoming associates. Identified and implemented process improvements that reduced candidate friction.
Edward Jones — Tailored Branch Support
Sep 2024 – Oct 2025
  • Supported financial advisors and high-net-worth clients across multiple branches. Handled investment account operations, transfers, and complex client inquiries in a regulated environment.
Bakkt (Chase) — Customer Service Specialist
Sep 2022 – Jun 2024
  • Provided support for Chase Ultimate Rewards and digital asset experiences in a high-volume fintech environment. Consistently met performance metrics.
Majorel (Ally Bank) — Customer Service Representative
Nov 2019 – Jan 2022
  • Assisted Ally Bank customers with financial transactions, account management, and dispute resolution over 2+ years.
Research & Publications
"Expression-Gated Cognition" — Preprint · zenodo.org/records/19242315
LOLM Architecture & Adaptive Training Dynamics — U.S. Patent Pending #64/002,166
Active collaboration with Dr. Joshua Aronson (NYU Steinhardt) on stereotype threat and expression suppression
Education & Credentials
Self-directed — Machine learning, systems engineering, applied mathematics, cognitive science
Google TPU Research Cloud — Accepted researcher, 2026
Bryan Leonard — Resume