Hi, I'm Richard Shan

I'm a systems-focused engineer working across generative AI, machine learning evaluation, and embedded computing. My work focuses on generative AI assurance and evaluation and building real-world applications.

With a strong computer science foundation and an eye for systems design, I enjoy building products with tangible impacts. From retrieval pipelines to embedded AI for accessibility, I bring a builder's mindset to complex technical challenges to create intelligent systems that matter.

When I'm not coding, you'll find me translating Latin and Greek poetry, which has shaped much of my view on interpretability and LLM research. I also work in venture capital and spend my afternoons on the ultimate frisbee field. I'm passionate about accessibility, education, and the intersection of technology and social impact, and I'm always looking for ways to apply technical skills beyond the screen.

Recently, I built MERIT, a mechanistic interpretability framework for analyzing LLM reasoning which uncovered novel feature-controlled reasoning modalities and difficulty-based fracturing; and built Brailliant, a modular refreshable Braille translator and display powered by solenoids and embedded intelligence. These projects reflect my focus on building novel end-to-end systems that combine AI research with practical design to enhance human-AI interaction.