Samuel Oladejo — Software Engineer, Applied AI
About me
I'm a software engineer with 4 years of experience building production AI and cloud data-platform systems across FinTech. I run Contour Labs, a startup focused on product development and tech consultancy, taking projects from client scoping to production.
I work full-stack: LLM applications with grounding and verification layers, RAG systems on Google Cloud, ETL pipelines and backend APIs. Before Contour I shipped AI reporting at Xero, and before that built data pipelines at Syft Analytics (acquired by Xero). I'm also finishing an M.Sc. in Computer Science (by Research) at the University of Johannesburg on deep reinforcement learning for portfolio optimisation.
Languages
AI / ML
Data
Backend / Frontend
Cloud / Infra
Consulting
Education
University of Johannesburg
Research: Deep Reinforcement Learning & Financial Mathematics for portfolio optimisation.
Skills: Python, TensorFlow, Financial Maths, Docker, Keras, NumPy, Sklearn, Deep Learning, FIN-RL, Pandas, Matplotlib
University of the Witwatersrand
North-West University
Certifications
Experience
AI/ML & Software Consulting · est. 2021 · contourlabs.xyz
@@ Client: Confidential (Scientific / Technical Reporting) @@
- Led delivery from client scoping to production: proposed the RAG architecture and shipped a report-generation app (ingest → outline → drafting → DOCX/PDF export with grounded citations) on FastAPI and React + TypeScript.
- Designed the retrieval and LLM stack (hybrid TF–IDF + embeddings, domain-aware ranking, streaming with timeout/retry/cancellation) and deployed to GCP (Cloud Run, Cloud SQL + pgvector) with CI/CD and observability.
@@ Client: Confidential (Geospatial / GovTech) @@
- Architected a production RAG system for natural-language querying over 100K+ geospatial features, combining ChromaDB with a multi-signal retriever (semantic, TF–IDF, fuzzy match, H3 proximity) on FastAPI and GeoPandas.
- Integrated open-source and cloud LLMs with intent-aware routing and fallback to optimise cost and latency; shipped to Cloud Run with a Leaflet UI rendering GeoJSON.
Projects
AI GIS Analyst
Production geospatial RAG.
Led the development of iziMapping, an intelligent geospatial platform for natural-language querying over 100K+ features. Combined ChromaDB with a custom multi-signal retriever (semantic, TF–IDF, fuzzy match, H3 proximity) and intent-aware LLM routing, with a Leaflet UI rendering GeoJSON results.
RAG Systems with Gemma & LangChain
Implemented Retrieval-Augmented Generation pipelines.
Implemented embedding, indexing, and retrieval to enhance response accuracy and minimize hallucinations using open-source frameworks.
Deep-Q Networks & PPO
Reinforcement learning for MiniHack environments.
Developed agents using deep-Q networks (3DQN) and Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) to solve different Mini-Hack Environments with a team of 4.
CNNs for Speech Emotion Detection
Audio analysis for emotion prediction.
Developed a CNN model that converted audio to tensors and predicted human emotions with 84% accuracy.
Autonomous Surveillance Bot
AI-driven security robot simulation.
Programmed and deployed a security robot (in simulation) that scans surroundings for suspicious objects and avoids obstacles to reach targets.
Talks
Community
Recent mentorships
Co-organizer and mentor · 24 Apr 2025 - 15 May 2025
AI Study Jam
Helped guide a 5-week learning sprint from beginner to intermediate AI/ML practice with hands-on exercises and project support.
Technical mentor · 25 Sep 2025
Google DeepMind AI Hackathon
Mentored teams prototyping AI solutions across HealthTech, EdTech, FinTech, AgTech, and GovTech, with emphasis on architecture and applied Google AI tools.
Hands-on mentor · 09 Nov 2024
Google Cloud Hero labs
Guided participants through Gemini 1.5 Pro labs on Vertex AI, helping them complete challenges and apply GenAI tooling in practice.
Co-led mentor · 27 Jul 2024
Google I/O Extended workshop
Ran a hands-on generative AI lab with Vertex AI and Gemini, while mentoring participants through Google Cloud Skills Boost pathways.
Leadership & Volunteering
Mentor — Google Developer Groups (GDG) Johannesburg
Apr 2024 - PresentCo-Lead (Hackathon / Partnerships) — Deep Learning IndabaX
Feb 2024 - PresentMentor — Eskom Expo for Young Scientists
Feb 2023 - Feb 2025Sub-Committee Member (Developer) — Wits Developer Society
Apr 2022 - Dec 2022Mentor — NEMISA Data Science Hackathon
Feb 2021Fundraising & RAG Officer — Student Campus Council (SCC), NWU
Aug 2019 - Dec 2020Awards
Post Graduate Merit Award — University of the Witwatersrand
2021Golden Key Honour Society Award — North-West University
2018Affiliations
Get in touch
Schedule a Meeting
Book a 30-minute slot directly on my calendar.
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