Derek Edwards
Verified Expert in Engineering
Software Developer
Derek is known for building and leading world-class technical organizations to understand complex challenges in regulated spaces and rapidly delivering scalable results. He has a track record of success spanning early-stage startups through Fortune 20 enterprises, leveraging his unique background of business acumen, hands-on technical ability, and deep domain knowledge. Derek has also been recognized as a thought leader in the healthcare industry through recent interviews and panel sessions.
Portfolio
Experience
Availability
Preferred Environment
G Suite, Postman, GitLab, GitHub, Docker, Git, Xcode, Android Studio, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Slack
The most amazing...
...thing I've created is a secure learning healthcare platform to rapidly deploy clinically validated machine learning models to 68 million health plan members.
Work Experience
VP AI Technology
Elevance Health
- Drove rapid implementation of Generative AI tools and infrastructure across lines of business, including enterprise GPT chat and knowledge management, achieving validated team-level operational lifts of up to 60%.
- Mobilized world-class AI, engineering, design (user research, experience, and interaction), product, and program teams. Recruited 150+ top-tier clinical researchers, ML scientists, platform and product engineers, and SRE/infrastructure eng talent.
- Guided the AI and platform teams to create a secure learning healthcare platform to rapidly deploy clinically validated machine learning models, including a diabetes pre-screen model, saving $150 million initially with recurring savings of $95 million.
- Deployed a cloud-native health operating system platform to enable enterprise-class applications with a data foundation of 68 million clinical, claims, and social data records updated daily in FHIR with a zero-trust security paradigm.
CEO
BehaviorCloud
- Architected and implemented initial MVP using a combination of Ember.js on top of Django-REST-framework + Celery in conjunction with a native Android video streaming application.
- Successfully migrated tightly coupled analysis pipeline from initial monolithic architecture to a portable, container-based execution model.
- Worked with CTO to re-architect web and mobile clients around a unified React+React Native codebase, allowing us to share a substantial portion of our business logic and data models across all clients.
- Developed and integrated a container-based embedded Linux IoT bridge device to enable live streaming of research instrumentation data to a central MQTT broker for persistence and real-time preview within web clients.
CTO
Talio Technology
- Oversaw development of intensive, boot camp-format engineering onboarding labs for clients, including Walmart Labs, shortening time to engineering productivity from months to weeks.
- Worked with senior engineering leaders across clients to develop targeted upskilling programs focused on emerging technologies, including React and React Native.
- Crafted a high-impact AI workshop for VP and C-Suite business leaders in conjunction with the Applied AI conference two years in a row.
Founding CTO
Coaching.com
- Co-founded the SaaS executive coaching management platform that Dropbox, Medtronic, EY, and others used.
- Recruited, built, and led an in-house product engineering org of ten.
- Owned delivery of enterprise-grade MVP to market within one year.
- Co-wrote proposals and closed contracts with multiple enterprise clients to achieve the first $1 million in revenue.
- Successfully influenced talent development and CISO teams to approve global implementations of Coaching.com for multiple Fortune 500 enterprises, including Walmart, Linkedin, BNY Mellon, and Mayo Clinic.
- Established employer brand through lightning talks and presentations to the San Diego JS meetup.
Experience
BehaviorCloud Platform
http://www.behaviorcloud.comSkills
Languages
Python, ECMAScript (ES6), TypeScript, Java, Swift, JavaScript, Assembly, C++
Frameworks
React Native, Django, Django REST Framework, Ember.js
Libraries/APIs
React, Node.js
Tools
Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS), AWS CloudFormation, Slack, Android Studio, Xcode, Git, GitHub, GitLab, Postman, G Suite, Jekyll, Vagrant, VirtualBox, AWS Fargate, Amazon CloudFront CDN
Platforms
Docker, Linux, Amazon Web Services (AWS), iOS, Android, Visual Studio Code (VS Code)
Storage
Amazon S3 (AWS S3), MySQL, Google Cloud
Other
CTO, Technical Project Management, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Chatbots, RTSP, Electrode, Leadership, Architecture, Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT), Product Management, Product Marketing, Amazon RDS, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Sales, Technical Recruiting
Paradigms
B2B
Education
Bachelor's Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering
The Ohio State University - Columbus, Ohio
Certifications
PMC-I Certification
Pragmatic Institute