RYAN ZERNACH

Senior AI Systems Engineer

Ryan_Zernach_2025_Senior_AI_Systems_Engineer_Remote_United_States

πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ Gauntlet for America

I am a Gauntlet AI G3 graduate now in the pipeline for Gauntlet for America β€” the federal-government track of the most selective AI engineering fellowship in the country. GFA trains proven builders to modernize U.S. public-sector systems: legacy codebases, security constraints, compliance environments, and high-stakes delivery where failure is not an option. I have already shipped under Gauntlet pressure. I am ready to bring that same AI-native execution to federal agencies and the contractors who serve them.

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Ryan Zernach at Gauntlet AI G3 graduation, December 2025
Gauntlet AI G3 graduation, December 2025 β€” proof of performance under the hardest AI engineering bar in the industry.

Summary

Gauntlet for America is not a bootcamp. It is a fully funded, 10-week, observed-performance fellowship β€” launched January 29, 2026 β€” that sources, trains, and places AI-native engineers into federal roles and government contractors. Selection runs around 2% acceptance from 5,000+ applicants per cohort. I already cleared that bar once as a G3 graduate. Entering GFA means I am not learning AI tooling from scratch; I am sharpening the government-facing delta: brownfield reliability, traceability, compliance-minded engineering, and the ability to ship production AI inside real public-sector constraints.

Why Hire a Gauntlet G3 Graduate for Federal AI Work

Federal modernization does not need more slide decks about AI strategy. It needs engineers who can walk into a legacy codebase, design a retrieval pipeline, wire up agents with real eval gates, deploy under security review, and still hit a Friday deadline. That is exactly what Gauntlet trains β€” and what I have already demonstrated at G3.

Pipeline Status

I am currently in the Gauntlet for America pipeline as a prior Gauntlet graduate, a U.S. citizen, and a resident of the East Coast.

πŸ’Ό G3 Proof of Work

The strongest credential for a federal hiring manager is not a certification β€” it is a portfolio of systems shipped under pressure. My G3 body of work speaks for itself.

What I shipped at Gauntlet G3

Federal-adjacent work beyond the fellowship

βš™οΈ Skills I Bring to the Table

The GFA curriculum emphasizes exactly the engineering muscle public-sector AI modernization requires.

Technical capabilities aligned with GFA

Engineering philosophy

Federal contracting channels

πŸ›‘οΈ The Gauntlet Standard

Gauntlet AI targets the 98th percentile in raw intelligence and the 95th percentile in coding ability. It is not theoretical coursework β€” it is observed performance on real systems under real deadlines. Agencies hiring from GFA cohorts receive a documented performance record: portfolio pages, architecture decisions, eval evidence, and Demo Day delivery. I have already proven I can operate at that standard. GFA is where I convert that proof into federal impact.

πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ Available for Federal AI Engineering Roles

If you are a federal agency, government contractor, or hiring partner looking for an AI-native engineer who has already shipped production systems under the most selective fellowship bar in the industry β€” and who is actively training for public-sector placement through Gauntlet for America β€” I would welcome the conversation. I build fast, I ship under pressure, and I hold myself to standards that matter when the systems are critical and the stakes are real.

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