About Me
AI Developer & Full-Stack Technologist based in Austin, Texas
I'm Daniel Kliewer, an AI Developer and Full-Stack Technologist operating at the critical intersection of human alignment, decentralized AI architectures, and high-integrity data systems.
With a professional background spanning over a decade in rigorous data annotation methodologies and self-taught mastery of modern software engineering, I specialize in transforming complex human data—such as psychological traits and writing styles—into quantifiable, machine-readable formats.
My work is driven by a commitment to local-first computing(Loco LLMs), prioritizing data privacy, computational sovereignty, and cost-effective deployment over reliance on proprietary cloud services.
Independent Developer & Annotator
Austin, TX • 2022 - Present
- RLHF Expert: Over a decade of experience in high-integrity data annotation, including foundational work on Amazon Mechanical Turk (pre-iPhone era) and contracts for major tech companies
- Model Alignment & QA: Contributed directly to RLHF pipelines by providing human ranking and feedback on model outputs, training reward models for helpfulness, harmlessness, and truthfulness
- Multimodal Data Processing: Annotated complex datasets including video feeds from AR-integrated devices, transforming raw perception into structured linguistic intelligence
Fine Arts Professional and Web Designer (Freelance)
January 2010 - Present
- Developed and maintained multiple digital presences (danielkliewer.com, kadaligogh.com, eastsidechess.org)
- Produced experimental film and digital art displayed at Austin Film Society's Avant Cinema program and Co-Lab Projects (2012)
B.A. in History
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor • Belton, TX • 2003 - 2007
Self-Taught Mastery
Developed strong theoretical foundations in linear algebra, advanced probability/statistics, data structures, and algorithms through rigorous self-study using MIT OpenCourseWare and Harvard edX.
- Founder, Loco LLM Community — Promoting open-source AI development and community collaboration
- Organizer, Loco LLM Hackathons — Leading global hackathons focused on building open-source AI tools with local LLMs
PersonaGen (Quantified Persona Generator)
A full-stack application leveraging local LLMs (Ollama) to analyze writing samples and generate a detailed 50-metric JSON persona profile for style-cloned content generation.
Uses recursive chain construction via LangChain/LangGraph with ChromaDB vector storage and SQLite for persistent persona evolution.
Tech Company Orchestrator
Open-source guide detailing documentation-driven development workflows for creating technology companies using AI agents with NetworkX graph structures.
Insight Journal Platform
Privacy-focused journaling system integrating locally hosted LLMs (Ollama) for personalized feedback, keeping data out of commercial cloud platforms.
- Local-First Computing — Running models on personal hardware with Ollama and llama.cpp. Privacy, cost savings, and customization through local inference.
- Data Sovereignty — Building systems where data doesn't leave your control. Your personal knowledge and AI assistants should remain under your control.
- Human Alignment — Working on RLHF and model alignment to ensure AI systems are helpful, harmless, and truthful.
- Open Source Community — Founder of Loco LLM Community, organizing hackathons and promoting collaborative AI development.
- Practical Solutions — Building things that actually work and solve real problems. Elegant over complex.
- Producing experimental film and digital art
- Hiking and exploring the Texas outdoors
- Reading about AI alignment, philosophy of mind, and consciousness
- Community organizing for open-source AI development
Want to connect or collaborate? I'd love to hear from you!