Introduction

Software engineer and AI researcher building advanced systems for complex data problems.

Monroe Stephenson at Reed College

Hello, I'm Monroe Stephenson. I'm a Founding Engineer at Cloudsquid building high-performance data infrastructure for AI systems. I specialize in architecting real-time, event-driven pipelines and cloud-native solutions using Go, gRPC, Kafka, and AWS.

My background combines software engineering with machine learning research, supported by strong foundations in mathematics and statistics. This interdisciplinary approach helps me design interpretable AI systems and transform unstructured data into valuable insights.

I'm currently pursuing my M.S. in Computer Science at Georgia Institute of Technology, focusing on Distributed Systems, Cloud Computing, and Advanced Machine Learning. Previously, I conducted research on ML interpretability as a Fulbright Scholar at the Max Planck Institute.

Work Experience

My professional journey building scalable software solutions and AI systems across Europe and remotely.

Cloudsquid

Berlin, Germany

Founding Engineer

Apr 2024 - Present

Architecting and optimizing real-time, event-driven AI data pipelines in Go, enhancing observability and explainability for large-scale unstructured data processing. Building high-throughput systems with gRPC, Kafka, and ClickHouse, enabling scalable infrastructure for ML model deployment and monitoring. Driving technical strategy with the founding team, shaping product direction and ensuring reliability, scalability, and performance from prototype to production.

Go
gRPC
Kafka
ClickHouse
AI Pipelines
Data Engineering

Project Eaden

Berlin, Germany

Software Engineer

Aug 2024 - Apr 2025

Implemented advanced ML models (PyTorch, TensorFlow) for high-dimensional data analysis in food tech R&D, improving predictive accuracy of product performance by 25%. Deployed scalable APIs (FastAPI, gRPC) and CICD pipelines on AWS (Terraform, Docker), reducing model iteration cycles from days to hours. Led cross-functional collaborations, integrating complex ML pipelines with business metrics, contributing to a 15% reduction in production costs.

PyTorch
TensorFlow
FastAPI
gRPC
AWS
Terraform
Docker

Telis Energy

Remote

Software Engineering Intern (Research & Analytics)

Mar 2024 - Oct 2024

Developed Python and PyQGIS scripts automating wind turbine layouts, enabling data-driven site planning and boosting renewable energy output efficiency by 30%. Implemented large-scale data ingestion and transformation pipelines (Apache Spark, Airflow) to handle multimodal datasets, accelerating environmental simulations by 40%.

Python
PyQGIS
Apache Spark
Airflow
Data Engineering

Max Planck Institute MiS

Leipzig, Germany

Machine Learning Researcher (Fulbright Scholarship)

Fall 2023 - Fall 2024

Pioneered research on non-independent component analysis and interpretability in algebraic statistics for complex ML systems. Published findings in top-tier statistics journals (e.g., under review at Algebraic Statistics), presented at international conferences.

Machine Learning
Algebraic Statistics
Research
Component Analysis

Projects

Open-source projects I've created and contributed to.

Sprawl

Sprawl

A distributed, scalable pub/sub messaging system with intelligent routing and DHT-based topic distribution.

Go
Distributed Systems
Pub/Sub
DHT
Hegemon

Hegemon

A powerful and secure command-line tool for managing database backups, written in modern C++.

C++
CLI
Database
Backup

Simulife

Simulife

An existential clicker browser game that evolves from a standard incremental clicker into an existential experience.

React
TypeScript
Game
Philosophy

Research

Academic research exploring algebraic machine learning, statistical theory, and mathematical foundations.

Cumulant Tensors in Partitioned Independent Component Analysis
2023-2024

My research focused on algebraic machine learning and statistical theory, particularly on non-independent component analysis and graphical models. This work led to the publication of Partitioned Independent Component Analysis, which is available on arXiv.

Algebraic Machine Learning
Statistical Theory
Component Analysis
View Publication
p-anisotropy on the moment curve for homology manifolds and cycles
Summer 2022

We prove that the Gorensteinification of the face ring of a cycle is totally p-anisotropic in characteristic p. In other words, given an appropriate Artinian reduction, it contains no nonzero p-isotropic elements. Moreover, we prove that the linear system of parameters can be chosen corresponding to a geometric realization with points on the moment curve. In particular, this implies that the parameters do not have to be chosen very generically.

Simplicial Complexes
Moment Curve
g-conjecture
Hopf Conjecture
View Publication
Differential Power Operation on Ideals
Summer 2021

Our research focused on the differential power operation on ideals. We identified a class of monomial ideals in characteristic 0 whose differential powers are eventually principal. We also explored the containment problem between ordinary and differential powers of ideals and introduced a novel closure operation, called differential closure, which agrees with taking the radical of an ideal in simple D-modules.

Differential Powers
Monomial Ideals
D-modules
Closure Operations
View Publication
Abelian Sandpile Model for DDoS Mitigation
Summer 2020

Portland State University

Supervisor: Christof Teuscher

Collaborated with Art Duval from UTEP

Created as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic

I collaborated with Art Duval from UTEP on applying the Abelian Sandpile Model to DDoS mitigation. This project led to an ongoing publication titled, 'Analyzing Network Topology for DDoS Mitigation Using the Abelian Sandpile Model.'

Abelian Sandpile Model
DDoS Mitigation
Network Topology
View Publication
LDMX Project in Experimental High-Energy Particle Physics
Summer 2019

Texas Tech University

Supervisor: Andrew Whitbeck

I worked in the Experimental High-Energy Particle department, contributing to the LDMX project. My work included SketchUp design, data collection from oscilloscopes, scintillators, and PMTs, and data analysis using Python. The project also involved designing and modifying electrical circuits.

High-Energy Particle Physics
LDMX
Data Analysis
Circuit Design
View Publication

Travel Photography

A collection of nature photographs I've taken during my travels.

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you." — Frank Lloyd Wright

Mount Hood

Mount Hood

Oregon, USA

Mount Hood in winter

Snowy Mount Hood

Oregon, USA

Reed College Canyon

Reed College Canyon

Portland, Oregon

Cherry blossoms at Reed College

Reed Cherry Blossoms

Portland, Oregon

Reed College in winter

Winter at Reed

Portland, Oregon

Budapest cityscape

Budapest

Hungary

Shipwreck on Oregon coast

Oregon Shipwreck

Oregon Coast, USA

Arizona landscape

Arizona

USA

Northern Jerusalem

Jerusalem North

Israel

Wailing Wall in Jerusalem

Western Wall

Jerusalem, Israel

Overview of Rome

Rome

Italy

Venice Canal

Venice Canal

Italy

Chicago cityscape

Chicago

Illinois, USA

Hostel in Jerusalem

Jerusalem Hostel

Jerusalem, Israel

Southern Jerusalem

Jerusalem South

Israel

Malibu coastline

Malibu

California, USA

Waterfall in Olympic National Park

Olympic National Waterfall

Washington, USA

Eagle Point on Oregon Coast

Oregon Coast Eagle Point

Oregon, USA

Oregon coastline

Oregon Coast

Oregon, USA

Overview of Portland

Portland Overview

Oregon, USA

Redwood forest

Redwood Forest

California, USA

Another view of Rome

Rome Vista

Italy

City of Rostock

Rostock

Germany

Black Forest

Schwarzwald (Black Forest)

Germany

Stein am Rhein

Stein am Rhein

Switzerland

Tel Aviv cityscape

Tel Aviv

Israel

Trout Lake

Trout Lake

Washington, USA

River on Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island River

British Columbia, Canada

Contact

Get in touch with me for collaborations, questions, or just to say hello.

Let's Connect

I'm always open to discussing new projects, creative ideas, or opportunities to be part of your vision.

Phone

+49 157 313 59300

Location

Berlin, Germany