What's up?¶
I'm Jason Liu, staff-level machine learning engineer, angel investor, startup advisor, and a16z scout. I write about open source and how to systematically improve AI applications.
After years at top tech companies, RSI forced me to reinvent myself. Instead of writing code, I now focus on teaching teams to work more scientifically—measuring improvements, iterating quickly, and focusing on what truly matters.
I previously did consulting, expert calls, and cohort-based training. Those offerings are now closed.
If you want hands-on help, I recommend reaching out to my friend Nila: nila.is. Please mention you came from me.
The best way to keep up with new posts is my newsletter:
I'm also the creator of Instructor, a popular Python library for structured outputs from LLMs, which was cited by the OpenAI team as inspiration for their structured output feature.
Independent Consulting (Closed)¶
Previously, I ran a solo consulting practice focused on helping startups as many software companies transitioned to AI.
| Client | Contact | Industry |
|---|---|---|
| Zapier | VP of Product | Automation |
| HubSpot | GM | Sales & Marketing |
| Enterpret | CTO | Analytics |
| Tensorlake | CEO | Data |
| Limitless AI | CTO | AI |
| Trunk Tools | VP Eng | Construction |
| Naro | CTO | Sales & Marketing |
... including many others like New Computer, Sandbar, Dunbar, Bytebot, Kay.ai, Raycast, Weights & Biases, Modal Labs, Timescale, and Pydantic.
Systematically Improve Your RAG (Closed)¶
I previously ran a cohort-based RAG course. Enrollment is closed, but I’m keeping the material and posts up.
Where students came from:
| Company | Industry |
|---|---|
| OpenAI | AI Research & Development |
| Anthropic | AI Research & Development |
| Search Engine | |
| Salesforce | Customer Relationship Management Software |
| Microsoft | Software, Cloud Computing |
| Amazon | E-commerce, Cloud Computing |
| Zapier | Automation Software |
| Adobe | Software, Creative Tools |
| Company | Industry |
|---|---|
| Accenture | Consulting, Technology Services |
| McKinsey & Company | Management Consulting |
| Bain & Company | Consulting |
| PwC | Professional Services |
| Cisco | Networking Technology |
| Electronic Arts | Gaming |
| Shopify | E-commerce Platform |
Free 6-Day Email Course RAG resources
What People Are Saying¶
| Person | Role | Quote |
|---|---|---|
| Sam Flamini | Solutions Engineer at Anthropic | "As an Applied AI Engineer at Anthropic, I was familiar with all of the standard retrieval methods and RAG papers going into the course, but Jason's frameworks helped me to operationalize what I'd learned and it's had an incredibly positive impact in my work with customers." |
| Team | Camu (a16z backed) | "Jason helped us break down our vision into actionable steps, providing clear recommendations on the best models for each use case. His guidance gave us a tangible roadmap for our next steps and introduced practical techniques that drive continuous product improvements. Grateful for his expertise and support!" |
| Christian | Founder at Dunbar | "Full-stack AI-business guidance in a box. The value went beyond just product acceleration." |
| Taylor | Head of Product at Zapier | "Jason gave our AI product the horsepower it needed. He's a pro if you need real results fast." |
| Avthar | Lead PM at Timescale | "Brought a wealth of experience and understanding that helped us develop better ideas and move faster. 100% worth it." |
| Vitor | Staff Engineer at Zapier | "Highly recommend Jason if you want to level up your AI product and team. Always came away with insights and actionable ideas." |
| Luke | CEO of Kino AI | "Definitely speak with Jason if you're doing RAG or semantic search. Amazingly helpful." |
| Jay | VP of Technology | "Jason's writing introduced me to several effective patterns for wrangling and using LLMs in actual user-facing systems. His insights have been instrumental in helping my teams launch two LLM-based features with measurable business impact. We're working on a new product now." |
Free Resources¶
- Looking for AI Engineering Jobs?
Discover AI engineering roles at well-funded startups. Our job board features companies with strong growth potential and innovative projects.
- Start Reading
Start with my RAG playbook or browse all articles.
- Social Media
Stay connected and get the latest updates by following me on YouTube, Twitter, and GitHub. These platforms are where I share my latest content, thoughts, and projects in the world of AI and machine learning.