Dr Alexander Mikhalev

Managing Partner and CTO building applied AI and autonomous delivery systems

I combine technology direction with hands-on engineering in Rust, Python and TypeScript. My work spans industrial monitoring and anomaly detection, knowledge search, client applications and autonomous engineering infrastructure. At Zestic AI, I shape technology strategy and delivery across the client portfolio. I also lead Terraphim AI development and build the autonomous delivery factory. My experience includes enterprise architecture and the Synthetic Data Platform at Nationwide Building Society Ltd, industrial AI leadership at Klarian, startup team building at Shopitize and applied research at Cranfield.

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Featured Projects

Terraphim AI

Terraphim AI

Local-first Rust/WebAssembly knowledge-search platform combining role-specific knowledge graphs, deterministic text matching, command-line tools and Model Context Protocol integration. Its graph-embedding approach uses curated concepts, synonym mappings and graph co-occurrence to rank documents and expose the relationships behind results. Local-first search and context engineering connect domain knowledge, session history and reusable learning to AI tools.

RustAIKnowledge GraphsMCP

Autonomous Delivery Factory

I built and operate the AI Dark Factory (ADF), taking work from requirements through to a pre-production environment. It connects issue prioritisation and agent execution with separate review, verification and validation gates across development projects.

AI AgentsDeliveryVerification
The Pattern

The Pattern

Machine Learning NLP pipeline for knowledge discovery using Redis ecosystem. Combines VR/AR interfaces with AI to fight information complexity and enable spatial information exploration.

RedisNLPPythonVR/AR
Blockchain-Inspired Distributed System

Blockchain-Inspired Distributed System

Led team to build innovative distributed system resulting in a technology patent. Demonstrated systematic approach to innovation and ability to inspire teams to achieve breakthrough results.

DistributedBlockchainPatent
Terraphim AgentForge

Terraphim AgentForge

I extended a Gitea-based development platform with scoped agent identity, signed audit events, a unified event stream and branch-based collaboration. A Rust bridge connects the platform to a kanban workflow for task coordination and review.

GiteaPageRankMCPDevOps
Terraphim Skills

Terraphim Skills

42 production-grade skills for AI coding assistants. Disciplined engineering, Rust performance, DevOps and agent orchestration skills, cryptographically signed and installable with one command. Compatible with Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, and OpenCode.

SkillsAI AgentsRustOpen Source
Time Agent

Time Agent

AI-native time tracking via CLI. Login, create projects and tasks, start and stop timers, log time with natural language, generate reports, sync to cloud. Local-first with zero config. Rust core with Cloudflare Workers API, Tauri desktop app, and MCP server.

RustCLICloudflareTauri

Technical Expertise

AI & Data Science

  • Natural Language Processing
  • Machine Learning
  • Knowledge Graphs
  • Deep Learning (BERT, T5)

Systems & Infrastructure

  • Distributed Systems
  • Redis Ecosystem
  • Enterprise Architecture
  • Cyber-Physical Systems

Languages & Tools

  • Python
  • Rust
  • Graph Databases
  • VR/AR Development

Specialisations

  • Data Privacy & Security
  • Synthetic Data
  • AI Ethics
  • Sensor Networks

Key Achievements

Managing Partner, CTO and Head of AI

Zestic AI | Jul 2023 - Present

I set technology direction and delivery priorities across Zestic AI’s client portfolio, combining hands-on engineering with reusable AI infrastructure and staged engineering reviews. I shape a services-and-platform strategy that turns client delivery into reusable capabilities, connecting architecture choices and pilot scope to the wider business model. My delivery spans confidential digital-learning and impact-finance platforms.

Chief Technology Officer

Klarian | Nov 2023 - Jun 2025

Led AI and technology development for industrial pipeline monitoring and analytics, combining engineering models and machine learning to investigate pump efficiency and equipment anomalies. Co-authored published case studies on pump-performance analysis and orifice-plate anomaly detection.

AI/ML Architect

Klarian | Dec 2022 - Dec 2023

Solutions Architect

InfinyOn | Dec 2022 - Dec 2023

Concurrent contract appointment.

Director

Applied Knowledge Systems | Dec 2022 - Present

Concurrent self-employed appointment.

AI/ML Architect

Nationwide Building Society Ltd | Jan 2019 - Dec 2022

Led the Synthetic Data Platform from inception to enterprise capability to support data-driven innovation and reduce reliance on live data. Developed privacy-preserving machine-learning and digital-twin approaches.

Head of Prototyping Engineering

Nationwide Building Society Ltd | Jan 2018 - Jan 2019

Established and ran a prototyping engineering lab, developed distributed-infrastructure prototypes and contributed to AI and blockchain strategy. Sponsored and mentored the team member whose work resulted in a distributed-data-storage patent.

Solutions Architect, Accelerated Change Efficiency and DevOps

Nationwide Building Society Ltd | Jan 2017 - Jan 2018

Shaped the enterprise DevOps blueprint, demonstrated architecture as code through a proof of concept and proposed a common business-value measure for change delivery.

Tech Lead

Nationwide Building Society Ltd | Dec 2014 - Jan 2017

Led teams of 2–12 technical architects across strategic banking and regulatory-change programmes. Governed supplier designs and delivery quality, aligned architecture with enterprise strategy and challenged technical debt.

Director of R&D

M2M Ecosphere | Jan 2019 - Jan 2021

Concurrent appointment with Nationwide Building Society Ltd. Established innovation processes, an R&D ecosystem, knowledge management and organisation design across Group Olvia. Deployed an AI prototype for the Group’s copper supply chain from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to China, addressing route optimisation and response to unexpected disruption.

Head of Architecture and Development

Shopitize Ltd | Nov 2011 - Dec 2014

Served as the most senior technology professional, aligning business strategy with product development. Managed up to 32 engineers and designers across four locations and built an in-house engineering team. Owned architecture across automated receipt processing, OCR, product search, mobile APIs, backend services and cloud infrastructure. Mentored data scientists and was a named co-inventor on patent application WO2013057491.

Research Fellow

Cranfield University | May 2007 - Jan 2012

Developed wavelet-packet methods for mobile spectrum sharing and implemented the waveform on signal-generation and analysis hardware. Researched communications for in-vehicle sensor networks in an aerospace health-monitoring programme supported by a consortium led by Rolls-Royce and Boeing.

IT/IS Executive

Microsharp Corporation Limited | Feb 2003 - May 2007

Design, development and testing of IT and phone infrastructure, created fully automated and redundant IT infrastructure.

Co-founder and Editor-in-chief

System Administrator magazine (samag.ru) | Feb 2002 - Feb 2003

Responsible for developing and controlling the publishing process. Management of a small team (5-8 employees) ensuring timely delivery to the printer.

Connect

Interested in collaborating on the convergence of AI, ethics, and systems engineering? Let's discuss how we can build the future of intelligent systems together.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexmikhalev
GitHub: github.com/AlexMikhalev
Website: metacortex.engineer

Areas of Interest:

Natural Language Processing, Knowledge Graphs, VR/AR Interfaces, Data Privacy, Synthetic Data, Distributed Systems, AI Ethics, Healthcare AI, Biotech Applications, Enterprise Architecture

"Meta needs Brain -- Cortex: combining AI, ethics, systems and enterprise engineering to solve real-world complexity."