Jacob Rhys Stone

Jacob Rhys Stone

It's the questions we can't answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question and he'll look for his own answers.

👋🏻 Hi, I’m Jacob!

🤖📊 Currently working towards my BSc as a final year undergraduate student in the field of Data Science, Machine/Deep Learning and Machine Intelligence

💡 I am interested in Deep Learning, Conversational AI, Data Science, Computer Vision and Machine Learning in general

💻🎨 I creatively code (sometimes) and post it to instagram!

Professional Experience

OpenDialogAI - Software Engineer Intern | August 2022 - August 2023

I spent a year working at London-based Conversational AI startup called OpenDialogAI as a Software Engineer! Though my job title was Software Engineer, I was spread across many disciplines involving PHP (Laravel) back-end, Vue.js front-end, AWS SageMaker for testing and deploying LLMs in Python, using testing frameworks like Cypress and even IaC (Infrastructure as Code) using Terraform.

Worked mainly as a backend PHP engineer for my first 5 months at OpenDialogAI, having spent my first 6 weeks learning Laravel and Vue online. Focused on fixing bugs whilst also building customer features for real, high-profile clients like Davies Group and PeppercornAI. As my experience grew, I actively contributed to training, optimising and testing NLU models for the conversation engine, as well as taking my own features through the whole development pipeline from getting customer requirements, planning, back-end and front-end development, testing and presenting to the client. I participated in all knowledge sharing sessions and show & tell meetings, showcasing my ability to communicate complex ideas comprehensively and adapt quickly to change in a growing start-up environment. Throughout my placement I learned to use Docker and enhanced my knowledge of Git and gained basic proficiency in AWS. After 8 months, they extended a return offer to me, and offered again after finishing the term.

Extracirricular Experience

3000 Pushups in November for Teenage Cancer Trust | November 2023

During the month of November I managed to raise over £510 split across JustGiving and Facebook in donations for TCT. I created and posted time lapses of myself doing 100 pushups every single day for that month to raise awareness and funds for the charity. One of my close friends lost someone to cancer when he was young and it was a profoundly difficult time for everyone. It was my first time doing a self-directed charity event like this, but I really enjoyed the experience and challenged myself, pushing beyond my limits. The page is still active here.

BU Game Jam | January 2020

Competed in the BU Game Jam where we were tasked to create a game in 1 week using the theme of ”expansion”. Using Unity and C# I created a 2D platformer, also experimenting with behaviour trees to create an interactive boss battle. Though I do not pursue game development professionally, it was a great way to be creative and practice coding during the pandemic and to observe how others interpreted the brief.