# Jeffrey V. Johnson, Ph.D. Building foundations for reliable, specification-driven agentic development Location: Homer, Alaska Email: jeffrey@jvjohnson.dev Website: https://jvjohnson.dev GitHub: https://github.com/verlyn13 LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/drjeffreyjohnson ## Target roles Research engineer; model evaluation engineer; agent systems engineer; evaluation infrastructure engineer; safeguards engineer. ## Summary Ph.D. mathematician and systems builder focused on the infrastructure that makes agent-assisted development reliable: typed contracts, explicit permissions, reproducible environments, automated checks, and reviewable evidence. Applies these controls while building applications, data pipelines, evaluation systems, and infrastructure. Strongest fit: agent systems, developer infrastructure, model evaluation, and safeguards. ## Core skills Languages: Python, TypeScript, SQL, Bash, Kotlin, C, C++, Ruby. Contracts and controls: Zod, JSON Schema, OPA, Rego, OpenTofu, typed authorization, sandboxing, egress policy, provenance, schema drift checks, policy checks, CI-enforced conformance. Agent and evaluation systems: model evaluation, harness evaluation, evidence contracts, independent result verification, OpenAI-compatible LLM gateways, provider routing, coding-agent workflows, trace pipelines, provenance pipelines. Infrastructure and data: PostgreSQL, Supabase, TimescaleDB, Redis, pgvector, Cloudflare Zero Trust, Hetzner, Proxmox, Docker, GitHub Actions, self-hosted runners, OpenTelemetry, Infisical, 1Password. Native and application systems: Android, Kotlin, Jetpack Compose, USB, UVC, libusb, libuvc, JNI, NDK, CMake, WebAssembly. Mathematics and statistics: functional analysis, applied statistics, Wilson intervals, bootstrap confidence intervals, paired sign tests, statistical inference. ## Agent-development infrastructure ### Host Capability Substrate Typed contracts for host capabilities, operations, execution contexts, policy decisions, evidence, approvals, leases, audits, and authorization. Technology: TypeScript, Zod, JSON Schema, GitHub Actions. Evidence: - Built 46 Zod entity schemas compiled to 67 generated JSON Schemas, with about 500 tests. - Modeled host capabilities, operations, execution contexts, policy decisions, provenance-typed evidence, approvals, leases, audit chains, and scoped authorization grants. - Authored a 19-invariant governance charter and four-ring architecture. - Enforced merge-time discipline with a composed CI policy, boundary, secret, and schema-drift gate. - Public typed model and enforced source boundaries; no universal host-level runtime-enforcement claim. Public proof: https://github.com/jefahnierocks/host-capability-substrate ### Governance and agent-control architecture An anonymized private case study in agent governance, safeguards, and policy-as-code. Technology: OpenTofu, OPA, Rego, TypeScript, Cloudflare, Hetzner, Proxmox, GitHub governance-as-code. Evidence: - Designed a multi-repository architecture that separates human decision rights, agent permissions, capability and credential reach, infrastructure enforcement, runtime admission, and repository-local authority. - Modeled agent authority as the intersection of mandate, available capability, and credential reach, with structured, secret-free handbacks for human judgment or privileged work. - Implemented selected controls including 26 OPA/conftest plan rules, repository governance as code, Zero Trust infrastructure, and scheduled drift checks. - Selected controls are operational; runtime admission is source-tested rather than deployed across the organization. Single-operator case study; no enterprise-adoption claim. Public case study: https://jvjohnson.dev/projects/governance-agent-control.html ### Agentic Architecture Audit Specification and drift verification for agent-operated codebases. Technology: specification authoring, Python tooling, JSON schemas, pre-commit, CI. Evidence: - Authored a two-stage `audit-spec` of 2,075 lines that keeps evidence collection separate from judgment. - Defined an 11-dimension rubric, 12 JSON output schemas, and a prioritization model based on severity, confidence, and weight. - Built a stdlib-only Python drift linter with 10 deterministic checks, including content-hash binding of derived documents to specification bytes. - Wired a 27-case negative self-test into pre-commit and CI. Public proof: https://github.com/verlyn13/agentic-architecture-audit ## Selected applications and evaluations ### Agentic-Coding Evaluation Lab Public methodology and verification prototype for fail-closed model-evaluation evidence. Technology: Python, Quarto, JSON contracts. Evidence: - Built and published a model-evaluation methodology and verification prototype that preserves evidence and withholds a recommendation when scientific prerequisites are incomplete. - Built a draft evidence contract and a separate verifier that independently recalculates a synthetic `NOT_EVALUABLE` outcome and rejects missing, inconsistent, or altered evidence. - Current proof is tested framework behavior and synthetic conformance, with no powered real-model result or promotion claim. Public methodology: https://jvjohnson.dev/eval-lab-methodology/ ### Budget Triage Private financial evidence workbench for backend data integrity, model-risk controls, and human review. Not deployed to production. Technology: Bun, TypeScript, Hono, PostgreSQL, Zod, Decimal.js, Plaid, Infisical, OpenTelemetry. Evidence: - Built workflows for statements, receipts, and connected-account data with deterministic-first processing and human review. - Implemented exact monetary arithmetic, tenant-scoped atomic persistence, append-only decision records, authentication, Plaid, Infisical, and OpenTelemetry. - Built a synthetic known-answer and service-observation harness. Current result: 6 passing and 9 pending assertions; incomplete and uncertified. - Prepared a sanitized, MIT-licensed public source candidate that passed its full validation gate on 2026-07-18. It is intended for employer exploration after final operator review; no public source link or contribution policy is available yet. Public-safe project page: https://jvjohnson.dev/projects/budget-triage.html ### ScopeCam Private Android USB/UVC microscope application and client-delivered alpha. Technology: Android, Kotlin, Jetpack Compose, C++20, JNI, NDK, USB, UVC. Evidence: - Built a multi-module Android microscope application spanning Compose UI, Kotlin orchestration, a native C++ camera engine, USB lifecycle, persistence, diagnostics, and physical-device verification. - Diagnosed a camera-replug ANR across the JVM/native teardown boundary and implemented a device-verified recovery with the remaining leak tradeoff documented. - Delivered a signed client alpha. Private source; not broadly released. Public-safe project page: https://jvjohnson.dev/projects/scopecam.html ### Dicee Live family multiplayer game for mobile browsers. Technology: Rust, WebAssembly, SvelteKit, Cloudflare Durable Objects, WebSockets. Evidence: - Built and deployed a family multiplayer game with a Rust-to-WebAssembly rules engine, realtime state through Cloudflare Durable Objects and WebSockets, and a SvelteKit client. - Public source and a live deployment demonstrate end-to-end delivery. Traffic, performance, bundle-size, and current test-count claims remain withheld. Public project: https://jvjohnson.dev/projects/dicee.html ## Professional experience Associate Professor of Mathematics, tenured Kenai Peninsula College, University of Alaska Anchorage Homer, Alaska August 2017-present - Teach undergraduate mathematics and statistics, including calculus and applied statistics. - Full teaching-and-service appointment; awarded tenure in 2023. - Consult for local non-profit organizations on statistical interpretation and study design. - Communicate technical and mathematical ideas to audiences with widely varying backgrounds. Assistant Professor of Mathematics American University in Cairo 2014-2017 Post-doctoral Lecturer / Course Coordinator University of Montana 2008-2014 Independent systems engineer and researcher Self-directed; Happy Patterns LLC product entity Homer, Alaska 2023-present - Build and maintain a multi-repository engineering program for reliable, specification-driven agent development across applications, data pipelines, evaluation systems, and infrastructure. - Develop repository contracts, managed human and agent shell environments, typed authority models, and automated verification gates. - Designed and operate selected controls from an anonymized, single-operator governance and agent-control architecture spanning policy-as-code, infrastructure as code, Zero Trust networking, local and remote servers, and credential custody. ## Education Ph.D., Mathematics University of Montana, Missoula, MT 2013 Dissertation: Peripherally-Multiplicative Spectral Preservers Between Function Algebras. ## Publications Cadieux, J. M., Pyhala, S. L., and Johnson, J. V. (2023). Pediatric Walking Speed Normal Reference Values in a Local Population. Pediatric Physical Therapy, 35(3), 326-331. Statistical analysis. Johnson, J. V., and Tonev, T. (2012). Spectral Conditions for Composition Operators on Algebras of Functions. Communications in Mathematics and Applications, 3(1).