Mike Chaves

Systems

Operator profile

AI-native product and experience engineer focused on forward-deployed execution inside complex organizations. I work across product, design, and engineering to move ambiguous ideas from prototype to production.

Product Strategy

Define ambiguous opportunities, align teams, and translate pressure into measurable product direction.

AI Prototyping

Build AI-native workflows, eval loops, and model-backed interfaces that survive contact with users.

Spatial UX

Design immersive interfaces where physical, voice, and screen interaction patterns meet.

Production Hardening

Ship reliable systems with observability, graceful fallbacks, and operational discipline.

Experience

Built under pressure

UGC Engineer (Contract)

Astrocade_AI

November 2025 - Present

Own the end-to-end UGC moderation pipeline, including auto-review logic, QA curation tooling, final review queue behavior, and creator feedback ingestion, supporting daily publishing with a one-day review turnaround target. Designed and operate precision and recall calibration systems to reduce false and repeat rejections and improve moderation accuracy across human review layers. Identify and resolve systemic bottlenecks across automation and human workflows, shipping backend and tooling fixes that improve throughput, reduce latency, and increase review consistency. Lead recurring calibration audits and documentation updates to reduce ambiguity between system enforcement logic and human reviewer judgment.

Founder & Full-Stack Product Engineer

Wizzo_Labs_Inc

August 2025 - Present

Architected and launched a production AI platform from concept through public beta, designing the full application stack and deployment pipeline. Built a Next.js 15 and TypeScript front end with a Python-backed AI layer, implementing evaluation harnesses to test and iterate on LLM-driven features with measurable baselines. Designed structured AI workflows using retrieval pipelines and tool orchestration, incorporating explicit controls and human-in-the-loop review to improve reliability and reduce model error.

Founder & Creative Technologist

Digitalhous_LLC

January 2023 - August 2025

Operated an independent design and technology studio delivering UX, web, and interactive projects for early-stage clients and small businesses. Built high-fidelity web and product prototypes, translating design concepts into functional front-end implementations. Maintained Digitalhous as a boutique outlet while completing a Master of Design and transitioning into AI-focused product and systems work.

Lead UX/UI Designer III (Contract)

Starbucks

March 2022 - December 2022

Designed immersive VR and mobile internal tools for high-priority learning and operations modules, utilizing user research to drive simulation fidelity. Partnered with ML engineers to prototype AI-enhanced simulations, leading to measurable improvements in task completion via targeted usability testing.

Software Engineer II (Unity) (Contract)

Ford_Motor_Company

October 2021 - March 2022

Developed a Unity3D time-study tool deployed globally, contributing to over $1M in annual operational savings per plant. Built WebGL dashboards for factory analytics using custom shaders, reducing data-entry time by 40%.

Frontend Engineer

POWER_Engineers

June 2020 - October 2021

Led design and development of GeoVoice, a web and VR platform for spatial storytelling, increasing stakeholder engagement by 60%. Developed responsive interfaces and interactive prototypes for geospatial and data-rich tools across web, AR, and VR.

Creative Director

Knitting_Factory_Entertainment

August 2008 - January 2016

Directed digital projects and creative teams across five venues, ensuring a consistent visual identity and brand strategy. Led the redesign of the ticketing platform, resulting in a 25% increase in conversion rates.

Fellowships & Recognition

Spectacles Student Accelerator

January 2025 - May 2025

Built voice-first AR experiences for accessibility as part of Snap’s Spectacles Student Accelerator Program.

Campus Strategist

August 2024 - January 2025

Led academic adoption efforts for generative AI search tools.

Student Ambassador

February 2024 - October 2024

Ran creative AI workshops and product demos for student communities.

UX Design Research Fellow

August 2024 - December 2024

Contributed to digital health experience redesign through UX research and testing.

Guest, XReality Podcast

November 2025

AI-assisted accessibility and voice-first XR

Panelist, Futures Summit 2025

2025

Synthetic AI companions

Presenter, XR Access Symposium 2024

2024

Voice-driven mixed reality

Host, Adobe Experiential Horizons 2023

2023

Demo showcase

System Specs

Prototyping & Front-End

  • Next.js 15
  • React
  • TypeScript
  • JavaScript
  • WebGL

AI & Emerging Tech

  • Python
  • LLM APIs
  • RAG pipelines
  • Agentic workflows
  • Voice UI

XR & Spatial Computing

  • Unity3D
  • C#
  • AR/VR Interaction Design
  • Custom Shaders
  • 3D Modeling

Cloud & Infrastructure

  • Vercel
  • Cloudflare Workers
  • GitHub Actions
  • REST APIs
  • GCP
  • AWS

Design & Research

  • Interaction Design
  • Design Systems
  • Usability Testing
  • Accessibility

Contact

Let's build something real.

Send a signal for AI product systems, spatial UX, prototyping, or production hardening work.