Principal AI Engineer @ Verizon
Actively Exploring Opportunities

Scott Severance

Principal AI Engineer
Applied AI & Agentic Systems

19 years of production ML — from Verizon's first TensorFlow model (Brandon Hall Gold Award) to a GenAI self-service platform on Vertex AI serving 1,000+ users. Operates end-to-end: scoping requirements with business stakeholders, shipping POCs to production, and owning the outcome metric.

Currently at Verizon
Education M.S. Data Science, SMU
Recognition Brandon Hall Gold Award
Open-Source 6 AI Frameworks

From First Model
to GenAI Platform at Scale

I built Verizon's first production machine learning model in 2017. Today, I architect the GenAI platforms that put AI in the hands of 1,000+ users — and own the outcome metric from prototype to production.

As Principal AI Engineer at Verizon, I've operated as an internal forward-deployed engineer across 12 enterprise business domains — scoping requirements directly with stakeholders, running LLM evaluation harnesses, and shipping working systems end-to-end. My work spans the full AI stack: production LLM platforms on Vertex AI and Gemini, 95%+ accurate predictive models, and NLP pipelines analyzing 63,000+ employee responses at scale.

What makes me different: I don't just build models — I deliver the full system from concept to production with rigorous outcome measurement. Three consecutive Exceeding/Top Performing ratings. A Brandon Hall Gold Award for AI Innovation. Six open-source AI frameworks on GitHub.

GenAI Pioneer

Architected Verizon's first enterprise GenAI platform using Google Vertex AI + Gemini

Top Performer

Top Performing rating in 2025 — third consecutive year rated Exceeding/Leading

Team Builder

Accelerated model deployment from 8 weeks to 3 — while mentoring the next generation of data scientists

Measurable Results

Production systems shipped. Real metrics. Quantified business value at Fortune 50 scale.

70%
Reduction in Query Time

Enterprise GenAI HR platform delivered real-time, natural-language insights to 900+ stakeholders.

54% → 89%
NLP Classification Accuracy

35-point improvement through novel LLM debiasing pipeline (SpaCy + Hugging Face + human-in-the-loop labeling) on 63,000+ employee survey responses.

95%+
Forecast Accuracy

Voluntary turnover prediction model (PyTorch + Prophet) enabling proactive workforce planning.

10M+
HR Documents Analyzed

RAG-powered AI summarization agent enabling instant policy retrieval across Verizon's entire HR document library.

3x
Online Sales Close Rate

Pioneered cause-and-effect analyses that tripled e-commerce close rates for Fios broadband.

50%+
Coding Velocity Boost

Built an AI coding assistant agent (LangChain + Gemini) that accelerated team development speed.

34% → 77%
Schedule Alignment

Novel network modeling solution for Smart Scheduler optimized in-office collaboration.

40%
Compliance Risk Reduction

AI Risk Clustering Engine (XGBoost + SHAP) auto-flags Code of Conduct violations, triggering personalized interventions for Legal.

"Scott's GenAI leadership has transformed how Verizon leverages AI for people decisions."

Carlos Moreno Director, HR Operations, Verizon

Core Capabilities

Full-stack AI engineering — from LLM evaluation harnesses and agentic orchestration to production deployment and enterprise governance.

Generative AI & LLMs

Enterprise GenAI platform development, LLM evaluation harnesses, RAG pipelines, agentic workflows, prompt engineering, and fine-tuning at scale. Multi-agent orchestration with LangGraph and Claude.

GeminiLangChainLangGraphRAGVertex AIClaudeMCPEvals

Machine Learning

Predictive modeling, classification, clustering, and time series forecasting. Building production ML systems with 95%+ accuracy for workforce analytics.

PyTorchTensorFlowscikit-learnXGBoost

NLP & Text Analytics

Large-scale text analysis across 63,000+ employee survey responses. Topic modeling, sentiment analysis, and debiasing pipelines that improved classification accuracy by 35 percentage points.

SpaCyHugging FaceBERTopicLDA

People Analytics & Research

Rigorous research design, causal inference, A/B testing, and ROI measurement. Quantifying the impact of HR programs with academic-grade methodology.

ROI AnalysisCausal InferenceA/B TestingSurvey Design

BI & Data Visualization

Building interactive dashboards and self-service analytics platforms. Migrating legacy systems and enabling 1,000+ users with natural language data exploration.

Qlik SenseLookerTableauSpotfireLookML

MLOps & AI Governance

End-to-end model lifecycle management with GitLab CI/CD, Domino, and Airflow. Bias detection, drift monitoring, and ethical AI frameworks.

GitLab CI/CDDominoDockerAI Ethics

Cloud & Infrastructure

Multi-cloud platform deployment across GCP, AWS, and Azure. Container orchestration, scalable data pipelines, and enterprise-grade infrastructure for production AI workloads.

GCPAWSAzureKubernetes

GitHub Projects

Open-source tools and experiments spanning MLOps, agentic AI, edge computing, and security.

Self-Healing-MLOps-Pipeline

Production-grade MLOps pipeline with automated drift detection, self-healing retraining, and feature store integration.

Python
scikit-learnFeastGitHub Actions

DeepResearchAgent

Autonomous research agent that plans, searches, synthesizes, and produces cited reports using LangGraph.

Python
LangGraphAgentic AI

Edge-Native-Vision-Copilot

Real-time computer vision assistant optimized for edge deployment with ONNX runtime and voice interaction.

Python
ONNXEdge AIComputer Vision

GraphRAG-Compliance-Navigator

Knowledge-graph-powered RAG system for navigating complex regulatory and compliance documents.

Python
Neo4jGraphRAGLangChain

Autonomous-SOC-Security-Agent

AI-driven security operations center agent with automated threat triage, enrichment, and human-in-the-loop escalation.

Python
SIEMThreat IntelHITL

Data-Science-Toolkit

Interactive Streamlit app for exploratory data analysis, statistical testing, and visualization — fully offline-capable.

Python
StreamlitStatisticsOffline

PDA

Personal digital assistant integrating Twilio, Claude, and Telegram for SMS-driven AI conversations.

Python
TwilioClaudeTelegram

Vulnerability-Scanner

Automated vulnerability assessment tool with CIS benchmark checks, pen testing modules, and anomaly detection.

Python
CISPen TestingAnomaly Detection

ToneAnalyzer

Real-time speech and text emotion analysis using TensorFlow.js with a React-based interactive dashboard.

TypeScript
ReactTensorFlow.jsEmotion AI

TradingBot

ML-gated crypto trading bot using XGBoost for signal confidence scoring and Coinbase API integration.

Python
XGBoostCoinbaseML Gating

CodingAgent

Offline-first AI coding assistant powered by Ollama and local LLMs for private, air-gapped development.

Python
OllamaOfflineLocal LLM

Agent-Builder

Cross-platform CLI framework to design, build, and deploy AI agents with 6 LLM providers, 5 agent patterns, DAG workflows, and MCP compatibility.

TypeScript
MCPDAG WorkflowsMulti-LLM

Professional Experience

Principal AI Engineer

Embedded AI Engineer & Internal Forward-Deployed Engineer across 12 Business Domains
Verizon | Irving, TX
2019 – Present
  • Built Verizon's enterprise GenAI HR platform (Vertex AI + Gemini Pro): greenfield conversational analytics layer over 50+ HR datasets; reduced analyst query time 70% across 1,000+ users
  • PA&I AI Operating System (MCP + CLAUDE.md): architected a production AI config framework for the 20-person people analytics team — version-controlled governance with 8 rules (analysis standards, aggregation, privacy, branding, repo governance) and 23 skills spanning discovery, ETL, presentation layer, UX, and data security; upskilled team on VS Code, GitLab, and AI-first development workflows
  • AI-augmented Qlik Insight Advisor: retrofitted NL→SQL→RAG pipeline into existing BI infrastructure; natural language querying over the enterprise data warehouse for 1,000+ users without a replatform
  • NLP debiasing pipeline (SpaCy + Hugging Face, human-in-the-loop labeling) for 63,000+ employee survey responses: topic accuracy 54%→89% (+35 pts), sentiment 63%→88% (+25 pts)
  • Turnover Forecasting Model (PyTorch + Prophet): 95%+ accuracy; end-to-end from feature engineering through API integration into Workforce Management Dashboard — $500K+ annual recruiter savings
  • AI Risk Clustering Engine (XGBoost + SHAP): auto-flags Code of Conduct violations; 40% compliance risk reduction, $250K+ avoided annually in external legal costs
  • Designed and shipped a 3-phase AI transformation (traditional BI → predictive ML → GenAI self-service); became PA&I's technical direction for 2025
  • MLOps governance stack (GitLab CI/CD + Domino): bias detection, drift monitoring, deployment standards built from scratch — model deployment cycle compressed 8 weeks → 3 weeks
  • Built statistical rigor into 77 enterprise analytics initiatives — causal inference, synthetic controls, A/B testing
  • Mentored 3 junior data scientists on GenAI, RAG, and research rigor
Top Performing Rating (2025) Exceeding Rating (2024) Leading Rating (2023) Brandon Hall Gold Award

Data Scientist

ML & Analytics Pioneer
Tek Systems (at Verizon) | Irving, TX
2017 – 2019
  • Brandon Hall Gold Award for AI Innovation: deployed Verizon's first production ML model (TensorFlow DNN classifying learning feedback at 85% accuracy)
  • Pioneered Qlik Server-Side Extensions (SSE) microservice architecture — first live ML inference integration in Verizon's analytics stack; enabled real-time ML predictions inside existing BI dashboards without a platform rewrite
  • Migrated Cognos → Qlik BI platform, building interactive dashboards for 900+ L&D users
  • Mentored junior data scientists in NLP and advanced machine learning techniques

Head of Business Intelligence

Rs Reps | Grand Prairie, TX
2015 – 2017
  • Leveraged marketing and data science expertise to establish and enhance digital presence, driving increased value and brand visibility
  • Conducted in-depth analysis of market research and manufacturer data utilizing Tableau, Python, and SAS, enabling data-driven decision making
  • Employed multivariate linear regression techniques with SAS and R to perform accurate sales forecasting, facilitating strategic planning and resource allocation

Data Analytics Manager

Verizon | Irving, TX
2011 – 2015
  • Spearheaded cause and effect efficiency analyses on significant marketing campaigns and major website personalization redesigns, tripling online sales close rates and doubling the percentage of FiOS broadband sales completed through e-commerce channels
  • Employed statistical models and dashboards to address business challenges within Verizon's e-commerce sales pipeline, effectively communicating solutions to stakeholders
  • Developed e-commerce channel economics and introduced new operating ratios to accurately measure growth, providing critical insights for strategic decision-making
  • Generated sales and site engagement forecasts through regression analyses, consistently achieving projections within a 10% margin of accuracy and facilitating data-driven planning
  • Formulated and tested hypotheses related to chat engagement, self-service success, and website updates, enabling a refined understanding of user experience and driving optimization efforts

Senior Ecommerce Consultant

Tek Systems (at Verizon) | Irving, TX
2007 – 2011
  • Led the design and construction of statistical models and dashboards, leveraging Verizon's proprietary data assets to drive informed business decisions
  • Served as a key contributor to the senior leadership team's operational reviews and analyses by providing insightful visualizations and data-driven perspectives
  • Devised, refined, and improved regression forecasts by uncovering hidden trends and integrating marketing spend levels, future initiatives impact, socio-economic factors, and engineering plans
  • Collaborated with cross-functional teams to deliver digital marketing recommendations, utilizing campaign management, segmentation, custom metrics, and success events to generate holistic insights and actionable guidance

Education & Skills

Master of Science in Data Science

Southern Methodist University (SMU)

2017 | Dallas, Texas

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration & MIS

Dallas Baptist University

2014 | Dallas, Texas

DeepLearning.AI TensorFlow Developer

Professional Certificate | Coursera

2020

Data Science Academy

Cohort Lead & Participant | Verizon & Coursera

3 Certifications, 2020

Guest Lecturer — AI & ML Applications

George Mason University | Chief Learning Officer Certification Program

2020–2024 | 4 Cohorts

Leadership & Recognition

Brandon Hall Gold Award for AI Innovation
Top Performing Rating (2025)
Exceeding Performance Rating (2024)
Leading Performance Rating (2023)
Guest Lecturer: AI & ML Applications, George Mason University CLO Program (2020–2024)
COVID-19 "Work Forward" Program: Architected enterprise data response pipeline
Member: Data Science Association, Digital Analytics Association, IEEE Computer Society

Languages & Data

Python R SQL NoSQL (MongoDB, Cassandra)

GenAI & LLMs

Gemini OpenAI GPT Claude Claude Code Grok Llama RAG Agentic Workflows LangChain LangGraph MCP Prompt Engineering Evals Fine-Tuning

ML & AI Frameworks

PyTorch TensorFlow Keras scikit-learn XGBoost LightGBM Hugging Face Transformers SpaCy Prophet

Platforms & Tools

Google Vertex AI AWS SageMaker Azure BigQuery ML Qlik Sense Looker Tableau Spotfire Qualtrics Workday SAS

MLOps & Infrastructure

GitLab CI/CD Domino Airflow Docker Kubernetes API/sFTP

Methodology

Predictive Modeling NLP Causal Inference A/B Testing Time Series Clustering ROI Analysis AI Ethics & Bias

Ready to Drive AI Transformation?

Open to Principal AI Engineer, Staff/Distinguished Engineer, Applied AI / Forward Deployed Engineer, and Head of AI roles.

If you're shipping ambitious AI at enterprise scale and need someone who builds end-to-end, let's talk.

Email

scott@scottseverance.net

LinkedIn

/in/scott-severance

Location

Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas