About Spear AI

Founded in 2021, Spear AI specializes in delivering maritime artificial intelligence solutions that bridge the gap between cutting-edge technology and operational reality.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in Falmouth, MA and Groton, CT, we're dedicated to raising the standard of technical performance in the national security space.

ls -la team

Meet the team

  1. Adam Syed

    Data Scientist

    Adam Syed earned his Master's Degree in Data Science from the University of Connecticut in 2024, following his Bachelor's in Management Information Systems from the same institution. From 2020 to 2023, he worked as a data analyst and contact tracer at UConn, developing strong skills in data analysis and collaboration. He is currently pursuing AWS and Security+ Certifications to enhance his technical capabilities.

  2. Alexander Buck

    Director, Data Engineering

    Alex Buck is a former Naval Aviator and Seahawk Weapons and Tactics Instructor with degrees from the US Naval Academy (B.S. in Aerospace Engineering) and MIT (M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics). He previously worked on Project Harbinger Air, developing processes for collecting operational acoustic data from MH-60R units. He holds AWS Cloud Practitioner and CompTIA Security+ certifications and has accumulated over 1,400 flight hours while continuing to fly in the US Navy Reserve.

  3. Briant Higgins

    JADC2 SME

    Briant Higgins brings over two decades of experience in IT management and defense operations as a Joint Interface Control Officer (JICO) and JADC2 Development Lead, holding a TS/SCI clearance. He earned recognition as the 1st JSOAC Civilian of the Year in both 2022 and 2023 for his work integrating SOF tactics, techniques, and procedures with conventional and coalition partners. He holds an MBA in IT Business Management from the American Public University System and a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology from Southern Illinois University, both completed with honors.

  4. Carl Kaiser

    VP, Hardware Engineering

    Carl Kaiser earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering/Robotics from Colorado State University and previously managed the UUV portion of the National Deep Submergence Facility at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. His career includes significant roles at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center and Saildrone, where he specialized in sensor development and integration for unmanned surface vessels. He brings extensive experience in deep-water deployments, holds multiple patents in acoustics and undersea technology, and is an experienced mixed gas rebreather certified diver.

  5. Cody Kilpatrick

    Full Stack Engineer

    Cody Kilpatrick served nine years as a Sonar Technician in the U.S. Navy, earning five Navy and Marine Corps Achievement awards. His Department of Defense contributions include configuring AWS environments, orchestrating Kubernetes deployments, and leveraging large language models to modernize legacy codebases. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife Sasha and their dog, pursuing interests in fast vehicles, video games, and hiking.

  6. Dennis Torres

    VP, Software Engineering

    Dennis Torres graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University in 2009. After which, he went on to become a full-stack engineer working on diet and excercise applications for clients such as Men's Health. In 2015, Dennis Torres co-founded Blrrt, a goofy real-time voice messaging platform for web and mobile devices with speech recognition. At the same time, Dennis Torres served as technical lead for a Silverstreet Technologies, a fintech platform dedicated to helping people around the world without access to traditional banking services. In 2018, Dennis Torres went on to combine his expertise in full-stack engineering, natural language processing, and diet, to develop machine learning models/pipelines in the food and grocery domain. He was an early adopter of using Transformer models — now known as Large Language Models — by translating human speech to machine interpretable code. Dennis Torres now enjoys his time at Spear AI applying artificial intelligence to the maritime domain. Such as handling large-scale acoustic datasets and acoustic object detect/classification algorithms. Spear AI's pioneering work extends beyond acoustics and into wargaming with multiagent reinforcement learning and much more.When Dennis is not at his keyboard, you can find him listening to audio books, weight lifting at the gym, or hanging out with his sons.

  7. Fedor Orlov

    Project Manager

    Fedor Orlov served 6.5 years in the Navy, including 2.5 years aboard the submarine USS Asheville and 1.5 years leading air and AUKUS initiatives in Project Harbinger. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering from the United States Naval Academy and a Master of Engineering in Robotics from University of Maryland - College Park. Outside of work, he enjoys hiking and training for triathlons.

  8. Jared Wilson

    Director, Product Management

    Jared Wilson graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and earned a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. His military experience includes serving as a submarine officer on the USS Connecticut from 2017 to 2020, where he developed expertise in naval operations and technical systems. He specializes in managing acoustic data pipelines and infrastructure.

  9. Jennifer Lewis

    Executive Assistant

    Jennifer Lewis is the Executive Assistant with 25+ years of experience in administration and organizational leadership. As a administrator at Spear AI, INC , she specializes in a variety of areas, including office management, human resources, and financial management and is known for her administrative support to other employees within the organization . Her career highlights include Service Manager at Wells Fargo Bank, which resulted in the 2007 & 2008 Highest Servicing Branch in Washington State. Jenn holds a Associates Degree in Elementary Education from Daytona State College, but has worked in office management since 2002. Passionate about creating efficient systems, maintaining organization, supporting her team, Jenn takes pride in the behind-the-scenes work that keeps the office running smoothly. Jenn is a retired Navy spouse of 27 years, mother of 4, and grandmother of 3. When not working, she enjoys attending various sporting events, anything Disney, and caring for her family. She is the mother of a special needs child and volunteers at local events supporting Unified Programs.

  10. John McGunnigle

    Co-Founder / Executive Chairman

    John McGunnigle brings 30 years of experience in ASW operations with the US Navy, serving as a submarine Commanding Officer and Squadron Commodore. He holds a BS in Computer Science from the United States Naval Academy and an MS in Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School. As former Director of the Tactical Analysis Group at Undersea Warfighting Development Center, he founded Project Harbinger, pioneering the application of AI/ML to acoustics in the undersea domain.

  11. Joseph Obeid

    Machine Learning Engineer

    Joseph Obeid holds degrees in Physics (Magna Cum Laude) and Mathematics (Summa Cum Laude) from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he was awarded the prestigious Levine Scholarship. After earning his M.S. in Applied Physics with honors, he transitioned to machine learning, leading projects in deep learning object detection and winning the 2022 HacktheMachine Unmanned competition. His current work focuses on developing generalized reinforcement learning tools and acoustic data pipeline management.

  12. Mandi Haase

    Full Stack Engineer

    Mandi Haase brings nearly five years of experience building innovative web applications, holding a Bachelor's in International Relations with a minor in German from UC Davis and a Master's in Education from the University of Phoenix. She is a Registered Scrum Master™ and has extensive experience developing secure web applications using Java and JavaScript for large corporate clients. Her expertise includes engineering student learning management systems and implementing extensive testing protocols.

  13. Matthew Harlow

    Technical Project Manager

    Matt Harlow is a graduate of the University of Idaho (Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering). Matt is a Navy veteran who served as the Main Propulsion Assistant and Quality Assurance Officer on the USS Mississippi from 2019 to 2021. In his spare time Matt enjoys whitewater rafting and music festivals.

  14. Michael Hunter

    Co-Founder / CEO

    Michael Hunter's extensive experience includes serving as a Navy intelligence analyst, supporting SEAL Team Two in Baghdad, and working with the Defense Intelligence Agency. He holds a BA in History and International Relations from Virginia Military Institute and an MA in National Security from Georgetown University. His career highlights include leading Navy projects for Project Maven and serving as a Technical Program Manager at Amazon Web Services.

  15. Rory Keefer

    Project Manager

    Rory Keefer earned his Bachelor of Science in Economics from Grand Valley State University. He served in the Marine Corps specializing in aviation command and control, receiving qualifications as a Tactical Air Director and Air Support Element OIC. He now works in support of CDAO’s Global Information Dominance Experiment, improving DoD planning systems and processes that enable warfighters to deliver data informed options that enhance global awareness and integration.

  16. Thomas Seaver

    Full Stack Engineer

    Thomas Seaver holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology, specializing in media computing and systems architecture. He spent two years at IBM's Weather team developing business-to-business software solutions and integrating complex systems. Outside of work, he enjoys exploring new technologies through hands-on projects, running, watching movies, and spending time with his black cat, June.

  17. Tulsa Scott

    Project Manager

    Tulsa Scott served 8 years in the Navy, including 3.5 years aboard the submarine USS Georgia and 2 years leading submarine initiatives in Project Harbinger. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His expertise includes managing petabytes of data, overseeing algorithm development and deployment among naval platforms, and creating training programs for forward operators.

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