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Hercules S.

@Herculesz

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5.0
25

8.0

8.0

100%

Principal AI Engineer & Full Stack Engineer

$80 USD / Hour

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United States (9:04 AM)

Joined on December 11, 2015

9 Recommendations

$80 USD / Hour

Principal / Head AI & Full-Stack Engineer with 25+ years of experience architecting, building, and scaling complex software systems across web, mobile, cloud, CMS/eCommerce, and AI-driven platforms. I specialize in delivering production-ready applications from concept to launch, including SaaS platforms, marketplaces, admin dashboards, mobile applications, automation systems, APIs, CMS websites, eCommerce stores, and intelligent AI-powered workflows. I bring a strong combination of full-stack engineering, cloud architecture, DevOps, CMS/eCommerce development, and AI/LLM expertise, with a proven ability to transform complex business requirements into scalable, secure, and user-focused digital products. My experience covers frontend architecture, backend engineering, database design, third-party integrations, real-time systems, performance optimization, CI/CD, observability, and production deployment. Technical Expertise: Frontend: React, Next.js, Vue.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, Tailwind CSS, Material UI, responsive UI/UX implementation Backend: Node.js, NestJS, Express.js, Laravel, PHP, Python, REST APIs, GraphQL, microservices, server-side architecture Mobile: Flutter, React Native, Expo, iOS, Android, cross-platform mobile app development CMS & eCommerce: WordPress, WooCommerce, Shopify, Wix, Webflow, custom theme development, plugin/app integrations, payment setup, product catalogs, checkout flows, landing pages, blog systems, and SEO-friendly website architecture Databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Firebase Firestore, Supabase, Redis, database design, optimization, migrations, and data modeling Cloud & DevOps: AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, DigitalOcean, Docker, Kubernetes, Nginx, CI/CD, GitHub Actions, server deployment, monitoring, logging, and observability AI & LLMs: OpenAI API, LangChain, RAG pipelines, AI copilots, conversational agents, semantic search, embeddings, prompt engineering, fine-tuning, Pinecone, pgvector, vector databases, and agentic workflows Payments & Integrations: Stripe, PayPal, Twilio, SendGrid, Firebase, Google APIs, third-party APIs, webhooks, CRM integrations, automation platforms, and API-based business workflows I have a strong track record of designing and delivering scalable SaaS platforms, marketplace systems, mobile apps, admin dashboards, CMS websites, eCommerce stores, automation tools, and AI-driven products that support real business operations. My work combines clean frontend experiences, secure backend systems, optimized databases, cloud-ready infrastructure, flexible CMS solutions, and practical AI innovation. As a hands-on technical leader, I am experienced in mentoring engineers, leading cross-functional teams, making architecture decisions, and aligning technical execution with business goals. I am passionate about building high-quality software that is scalable, maintainable, and ready for real-world users.

Verifications

On time

100%

On budget

96%

Accept rate

45%

Repeat hire rate

5%

Portfolio

Portfolio

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5.0 · 25 Reviews
25 Reviews
S
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Steve C.

5.0

$4,800 USD

2 months ago

PHP Pear Migration to cPanel

Addressed all of the concerns and needs as discussed. Pleasure to work with. [14 May, 2026] Great to work with.

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Stephen S.

5.0

$16,000 USD

4 months ago

Golf Social Network App Development

I was skeptical at first using FreeLancer, but Hercules has stepped up in major ways to get things done when promised. He goes out of his way to make sure you are satisfied with the project during the process. Extremely flexible, and super knowledgeable, would recommend him to anyone developing an app or website. 10 out of 10 stars if I could. Thanks!!

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Eunsook U.

5.0

$9,050 USD

4 months ago

Custom Feature Development & Integration

He went above and beyond to complete the project. Very collaborative throughout the process and maintained excellent communication from start to finish. A pleasure to work with.

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Lyle N.

5.0

$640 USD

4 months ago

Project for Hercules

Hercules efficiently identified issues with my existing program and clearly outlined a roadmap to fix it

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Experience

Zest AI

Feb, 2021 - Present

5 years, 4 months

Lead AI & Full-Stack Engineer

Feb, 2022 - Present

4 years, 4 months

● Led end-to-end delivery of AI features powered by LLMs across multiple enterprise systems and userfacing platforms, increasing operational efficiency by 35%. ● Designed and built Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines using LangChain + pgvector for internal knowledge Q&A and semantic support agents, improving answer accuracy by 42%. ● Implemented OpenAI Function Calling agents to automate product recommendations, onboarding, and workflow decisions, reducing manual effort by 50%.

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Burbank, United States

Principal / Head AI Engineer

Feb, 2021 - Jan, 2022

11 months, 3 days

● Spearheaded the company’s first LLM initiative — from infrastructure design to capability prototyping — establishing a foundation for 100% of future AI-driven features.● Built early prompting pipelines for classification, summarization, and natural language autofill using GPT-3.5, reducing manual processing time by 40%. ● Structured metadata, embedding schemas, and ETL pipelines to support vector-based semantic search, enabling a future 35% improvement in knowledge retrieval accuracy.

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Burbank, United States

Feb, 2021 - Present

5 years, 4 months

Education

University of East London

1999 - 2000

1 year

MSc in AI & Data Science

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United Kingdom

1999 - 2000

1 year

University of East London

1996 - 1999

3 years

BSc in Computer Science

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United Kingdom

1996 - 1999

3 years

Publications

ExpressionEngine

2014

TrustRadius

ExpressionEngine is dream of any developer This is the best CMS on a market for developers. Turn your eCommerce project to a winner with Brilliantretail module. Anything can be accomplished without breaking your neck! No project will be brilliant without ExpressionEngine. Devot-ee is the place for all plugins needed to accomplish any project your client desires. http://www.trustradius.com/reviews/expressionengine-2014-04-08-08-34-47

2014

AWS Certified Solutions Architect

2010

Associate

The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certificate shows knowledge of cloud computing. It helps design secure and scalable solutions on Amazon Web Services (AWS). This certification is useful for IT professionals who want to improve their cloud skills.

2010

Certifications

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