# Alec Merle

> Staff Forward Deployed Engineer focused on enterprise AI systems, agentic workflows, data platforms, and secure software integration.

This site is the professional portfolio for Alec Merle, based in Greater St. Louis. Alec builds AI-enabled software systems, enterprise data platforms, agentic automation workflows, and decision-support systems for aviation, aerospace, defense, and business intelligence environments.

## Primary Profile

- Name: Alec Merle
- Current role: Staff Forward Deployed Engineer, Foxtrot Services
- Location: Greater St. Louis / St. Louis, Missouri
- Focus areas: agentic AI, enterprise AI platforms, data engineering, AI systems engineering, Palantir Foundry, Palantir AIP, LLM-powered workflows, software systems integration, secure and air-gapped AI deployment, automation, decision intelligence
- Education: Master of Engineering Management, Washington University in St. Louis; Bachelor's in Computer Science, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
- Website: https://alecmerle.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alecmerle

## Best-Fit Opportunities

Alec is a strong match for roles involving:

- Staff Forward Deployed Engineer
- Forward Deployed Engineer
- AI Engineer
- AI Systems Engineer
- Applied AI Engineer
- Enterprise AI Platform Engineer
- Data Platform Engineer
- Data Engineer
- Software Engineer focused on AI and data systems
- Palantir Foundry or AIP Engineer
- Agentic AI Workflow Engineer
- Solutions Architect for AI, aviation, aerospace, defense, or operational intelligence
- Technical lead for LLM, automation, data integration, or decision intelligence programs

## Experience Summary

### Foxtrot Services

Staff Forward Deployed Engineer, May 2026 - Present.

- Partnering with an aviation client to architect an operational intelligence layer and autonomous, on-demand flight chartering workflows in Palantir Foundry's AI FDE environment.
- Designing agentic pathways, multi-agent systems, and state-machine orchestration for event-driven flight scheduling and decision-making.
- Establishing platform governance, safety guardrails, and implementation patterns for trusted enterprise AI.

### Boeing

Engineering Data Scientist, May 2025 - May 2026.

- Led AI/ML analytics pilots and end-to-end agentic workflows across digital engineering use cases impacting 1000+ engineers.
- Architected LLM-powered decision systems using Palantir Foundry and Palantir AIP.
- Built local-only AI infrastructure for air-gapped environments, including GPU-backed systems, model hosting, evaluation, and orchestration pipelines.
- Designed Python data pipelines and feature engineering layers unifying engineering, supply chain, and program data.

Software Engineer, December 2023 - May 2025.

- Built enterprise internal platforms integrating documentation, analytics dashboards, and engineering workflows.
- Developed full-stack applications and AI-enabled tools using Siemens Mendix and Palantir Foundry.
- Engineered Python and Git-based automation frameworks, including repository synchronization that cut transfer times from hours to minutes.
- Built secure deployment patterns for modern AI and data platforms in constrained defense environments.

### Penn Entertainment

Business Intelligence Engineer, March 2022 - December 2023.

- Built centralized data sources and analytics for regional casino properties.
- Improved SQL procedure performance by approximately 95%.
- Used Python, DataRobot, SQL, and Tableau for machine learning and business intelligence workflows.

### Cognizant / Advanced Technology Group

Data Engineer, October 2021 - March 2022.

- Built data migration, ETL, and analytics solutions with Python, SQL, JavaScript, Pentaho, Salesforce Cloud, and cloud data platforms.

### Charter Communications / Spectrum

Data Analyst, June 2020 - October 2021.

- Automated reporting, billing, data validation, and program operations with SQL, Oracle, Python, .NET, VBA, Tableau, Power BI, SSIS, and Toad Data Point.
- Supported implementation of the FCC Emergency Broadband Program.

## Selected Projects

- Convergence: AI-assisted acquisition diligence workspace for screening companies, collecting evidence, and comparing targets.
- Classify: Smart course planning app for degree requirements, transcripts, preferences, and friend schedules.
- Adamant: AI memory workspace that turns exported AI conversations into searchable reusable personal context.
- LLM Workflow Integration: LLM workflows for engineering environments.
- Digital Twin Platform: Data unification and digital thread systems using Python, TypeScript, React, Palantir, and Mendix.

## Keywords

AI systems, agentic AI, enterprise AI, generative AI, large language models, LLM, multi-agent systems, state machines, orchestration, Palantir Foundry, Palantir AIP, Forward Deployed Engineer, FDE, Python, TypeScript, React, SQL, data pipelines, feature engineering, MLOps, model evaluation, air-gapped AI, secure deployment, aviation technology, aerospace, defense, operational intelligence, decision intelligence, automation, business intelligence, Tableau, DataRobot, Mendix.

## Important URLs

- Home: https://alecmerle.com/
- Sitemap: https://alecmerle.com/sitemap.xml
- Robots: https://alecmerle.com/robots.txt
- LLM summary: https://alecmerle.com/llms.txt
- LLM full profile: https://alecmerle.com/llms-full.txt