Biotechnology R&D, commercial data products and applied AI.
I'm a PhD microbiologist with 15 years of post-PhD professional experience. At Cargill, Elanco, Land O'Lakes and Signature Science, my work has included fermentation scale-up, microbiome commercialization, global product ownership and R&D portfolio governance. Today I lead consulting engagements and build scientific AI systems.
I led the scientific development and commercialization of a microbiome decision product at Cargill, including its entire go-to-market strategy.
Model-building, customer economics and cross-functional leadership in one program. My scope included early-adopter recruitment and coordinating scientific teams with senior commercial leaders.
Cargill Animal Nutrition · 2015–2018 · Historical employment work
Microbiology & biotechnology
Industrial biotechnology, built and taken to pilot scale.
I led yeast-engineering programs at Cargill, scaled fermentation to 2,000 liters and contributed to patented succinate-production technology. That experience informs my work as a biomanufacturing subject-matter expert and technical advisor.
For biomanufacturing R&D, fermentation leadership and biotechnology subject-matter expert roles.
I led yeast strain-engineering programs from experimental concept through pilot operation, combining metabolic-engineering strategy with fermentation development for succinate and other dicarboxylic acids. I am a named inventor on two granted US patents in this work.
Diagnosing why a process fails at scale
At Cargill, I investigated contamination, yield drift and transfers that worked at bench scale but failed in pilot operation. Design of experiments, fermentation trends and industrial process data informed changes to media, operating conditions and strain selection.
Bioprocess design and technical economics
In consulting, I developed the organism strategy, metabolic-engineering plan, conceptual bioprocess and techno-economic analysis for a space-biomanufacturing study. This work connected biological feasibility to mission constraints and process economics.
Scientific authority in program decisions
At Signature Science, I served as a biomanufacturing and biotechnology subject-matter expert for government scientific programs. My scope included biomass and bioprocess assessment, biological interpretation and technical plans that program leaders could evaluate and execute.
I built microbial-data models for a commercial microbiome product, introduced next-generation sequencing into Cargill Biotechnology R&D and developed Oxford Nanopore validation tools. My work connects biological interpretation to product and operational decisions.
For computational biology, bioinformatics, scientific data science and biological data-product roles.
At Cargill Animal Nutrition, I combined shotgun metagenomic and 16S rRNA analysis with experimental design and multivariate modeling. I translated results into recommendations for poultry producers and nutrition scientists and led the program through commercialization.
Sequencing workflows and biological interpretation
I introduced next-generation sequencing at Cargill for strain development and process troubleshooting. At Signature Science, I built Oxford Nanopore validation tooling and used Kraken and FASTQ, SAM and BAM workflows to assess taxonomic identity and biological interpretations.
Genomic-data validation research
My synthetic-genomics validation program evaluates fidelity, utility and privacy through 19 metrics, using an approximately 11.9-GB Oxford Nanopore reference panel. It includes membership-inference and train-on-synthetic/test-on-real evaluation methods; empirical decision-threshold calibration is the next research phase.
Evidence grading and scientific data integration
I built a literature-backed biological reference catalog spanning 571 organisms, with 1,840 evidence-graded entries. A separate knowledge-graph proof of concept joins UniProt, Rhea, ChEBI and NCBI Taxonomy records with source provenance and confidence controls. These systems support defensible scientific assessment.
Applied AI delivery and scientific model evaluation.
I build AI-assisted workflows that teams use for real work, and evaluation systems for scientific tasks. My experience includes a 15-model bioinformatics benchmark and frontier-model red teaming in CBRNE-relevant contexts.
For applied AI implementation, scientific ML evaluation, AI assurance and technical advisory roles.
Machine learning · Generative AI · Retrieval · Evaluation design · Precision/recall · Evidence grading · Human review
I created a government-contracting workflow used for opportunity tracking, finding and reviewing solicitations, and proposal writing. It combines skills deployed in ChatGPT and Claude with supporting tools, bringing reusable AI assistance into the team’s recurring work.
Comparative model evaluation for bioinformatics
I benchmarked 15 models against a frozen 15-task corpus. The evaluation system includes isolated workers, a fail-closed tool catalog and a Nextflow whole-genome-sequencing reference workflow, so model selection can be based on measured task performance.
Scientific AI safety assessment
At Signature Science, I conducted frontier-model red-team evaluations for major AI developers and technology companies in CBRNE-relevant contexts. Biological-domain judgment informed the assessment of model behavior and scientific risk.
Evidence-grounded analysis and verification
My air-gapped document-intelligence system includes evidence spans, held-out grading and per-document refusal measurement, with 474 test functions. Across my evaluation work, I use baseline comparisons and source checks to identify where an answer is supported and where it needs review.
Evaluation example and scope
In a separate document-analysis evaluation, I identified filename leakage, withdrew the apparent result and reran the comparison with anonymized identifiers. The rerun was a tie. I documented that result and the remaining limits. The 15-model benchmark is task-specific, and software test counts describe verification scope rather than user adoption or model accuracy.
Own the program, the product and the investment decisions.
I led a microbiome program through commercialization, owned HTSi product strategy and managed the PMI R&D portfolio. I connect scientific evidence to customer needs and decide what to build, advance, redirect or stop.
Microbiome research to a commercial decision product.
$180 → $25 per-sample analysis cost
Initial project budget: approximately $2 million.
I led development and commercialization across the scientific, analytical and commercial work. My scope included microbial-data modeling, field-deployable analysis methods and the entire go-to-market strategy.
I defined the customer profile, recruited early adopters and shaped monetization to reduce the financial risk of participation. Delivery required coordinating scientists, bioinformaticians, nutrition teams and product leaders, alongside senior client relationship managers, salespeople and country and product-line directors.
The program made routine customer testing economically practical and became a commercial product. I'm a named co-inventor on the published microbiome-analytics patent application. The commercial product later received a 2023 Gold Edison Award.
The 2023 figures describe platform reach after my 2018-2021 tenure.
I owned HTSi strategy, vision, roadmap and analytics direction. I converted customer needs and scientific capabilities into product requirements and commercial plans, coordinating R&D, veterinary, laboratory, software, field and commercial teams.
I recruited new adopters, supported sales and marketing with analytics, and developed an approach to recover engagement costs while reducing customers' perceived financial risk. I also resolved persistent data-quality problems, standardized performance metrics and guided cloud migration and the introduction of machine learning and image analysis.
This was cross-functional product ownership: scientific credibility, usability and adoption all influenced the roadmap.
Land O'Lakes · PMI
R&D portfolio governance and commercial direction.
Strategy, go/no-go decisions, customer relationships and IP.
I managed the PMI business portfolio against strategic goals and commercial value. I evaluated biological molecules, phytogenic products and fermentation-derived ingredients for technical and commercial viability, then advanced selected concepts through development gates.
Portfolio dashboards and reviews brought progress, risk, value and decision points into the same discussion. I led go/no-go decisions and recommended which projects to advance, redirect, hold or stop. My scope also included customer relationships and IP strategy, connecting field evidence with pricing, positioning and launch decisions.
Consulting and scientific programs
Accountability from scope to executive handoff.
I own consulting engagements from problem definition through technical analysis, validation and executive handoff. That includes defining system boundaries and success measures, managing subcontractors, and delivering recommendations a client can act on.
At Signature Science, I managed day-to-day project work and subcontractors and developed technical proposals with milestones, risk controls and review plans. I translated scientific uncertainty into decisions for program leaders and operational teams.
Leadership scope
My management experience centers on project and subcontractor leadership, product ownership and influence across reporting lines. At Elanco I led cross-functional work without direct reports. The microbiome figure is the initial project budget, not an annual budget or a claim of sole spending authority.
Project portfolio
Inspect the work behind the experience.
Read how I approached bioprocess economics, scientific data integration and AI-assisted workflows. Each walkthrough identifies the work delivered and its development status.
My professional chronology is below. McIntosh Consulting remained active during the Signature Science role; that employment ended in August 2026.
June 2023 to present
Principal Consultant
McIntosh Consulting
Engagement scoping, workflow design, technical delivery and advisory.
January 2025 to August 2026
Biomanufacturing and Biotechnology SME | Data Scientist
Signature Science
Scientific validation, applied AI evaluation, technical program design and project delivery.
April 2021 to February 2023
Innovation Manager, PMI Business Portfolio
Land O'Lakes
Portfolio governance, go/no-go decisions, customer relationships and IP strategy.
2018 to 2021
Senior Advisor and Product Manager, HTSi
Elanco Animal Health
Product strategy, roadmap, analytics direction and cross-functional adoption.
2015 to 2018
R&D Manager, Data Science and Poultry Nutrition
Cargill Animal Nutrition
Galleon development, commercialization and go-to-market strategy.
2010 to 2015
Senior Metabolic Engineer, Biotechnology R&D
Cargill
Strain development, fermentation scale-up and industrial troubleshooting.
I'm a named inventor on two granted US yeast patents and a related WO patent application, and a co-inventor on a published US microbiome-analytics patent application. See patents and publications →
Resume and employment contact
Let's talk about the role.
The flagship resume covers my full background. Send the role description and work arrangement to discuss the experience most relevant to your team.
