AI Systems Consultant

Your Integrated AI Partner

I build custom AI systems that grow your revenue and cut your costs — designed around the way your business actually works, bringing AI automation expertise from top tech companies.

AI-workflow experience trusted at top tech companies.

Schedule a call View my work
Ethan Schneider
Education
AI and Industrial & Systems Engineering
Currently
Apple
Product Operations Intern
Previously
10x Genomics
Product Manager Intern
What I actually do

Less manual work,
more useful systems

I don't sell a single product or one tool. I start by understanding how your business actually operates, find where AI and automation will create the most value, then build the right solution for it — a Claude agent, a custom app, a Python automation, or sometimes just a smarter process. You're hiring my judgment, not a package.

The work usually falls into one of these six areas

Revenue & lead capture

Most small businesses lose jobs they never knew they had: missed calls, slow replies, and quotes nobody followed up on. I build AI systems that answer every inquiry fast, keep following up, and put out the content that brings new leads in the first place.

Inbound
  • AI front desk: missed-call text-back and after-hours answering
  • Instant replies to web, email, and text inquiries
  • Appointment booking into your real calendar
  • Estimate and quote follow-up sequences
  • CRM setup and cleanup (HubSpot, GoHighLevel, and others)
  • Review requests and win-back for past customers
Outbound
  • AI-generated ads & social content (UGC-style)
  • SEO and blog content, written and published on a schedule
Learn more

Workflow automation

Repetitive work eats hours every week: retyping data, sorting email, chasing paperwork. I automate the glue work between your tools, so information moves on its own and your team stops being the integration.

  • Email sorting, routing, and drafted replies
  • Document and invoice data extraction
  • Data entry and reconciliation between systems
  • Compliance and deadline tracking with reminders
  • Approvals, handoffs, and notifications
  • Web and portal automation for sites with no other way in
Learn more

AI agents & assistants

Your team's knowledge lives in documents, inboxes, and a few people's heads. I build AI agents that know your business, answer questions with the source attached, review work against your standards, and carry out multi-step tasks across your tools.

  • Internal knowledge assistants over your SOPs and records
  • OpenClaw setup, tuned to your tools and workflows
  • Customer-facing chatbots trained on your business
  • AI document review against your checklists
  • Drafting from your templates: proposals, emails, reports
  • Multi-step agents with human approval built in
Learn more

Reporting & insights

If someone rebuilds the same report every week, or nobody can quickly answer a question about the numbers, you're running the business on a delay. I automate the reporting, so the numbers arrive on time, match every time, and flag problems early.

  • Automated weekly and monthly reports
  • Live KPI dashboards from your real systems
  • Anomaly alerts when a number looks wrong
  • Owner, investor, and client updates drafted from data
  • Data consolidation across spreadsheets and software
  • Plain-English questions answered from your own data
Learn more

Custom software

When off-the-shelf software doesn't fit, the workarounds become the job. I build the software that does fit, from a small internal tool to a full web app or website, designed, built, and hosted end to end.

  • Internal tools and operational apps
  • Customer-facing web apps and portals
  • Websites and landing pages
  • AI features built into your existing apps
  • Integrations between the systems you already use
  • Hosting, documentation, and handover
Learn more

AI coaching & training

Most teams aren't short on AI tools, they're short on knowing how to actually use them. I teach you and your team the tools that matter — Claude for everyday work, NotebookLM for making sense of your own documents, Claude Code for teams ready to build — so you're not stuck depending on someone else every time you want AI to help.

  • Claude training for everyday work: chat, Projects, and getting good output
  • NotebookLM setup to turn your documents into something you can ask
  • Claude Code setup and training for teams ready to build
  • Prompt libraries and playbooks built for your workflows
  • Honest guidance on what AI is and isn't reliable for
  • Ongoing office hours as new questions come up
Learn more
How I work

A simple process,
built around your team

  1. 01

    Discover how the business runs

    I spend time with you and your team learning your real workflows, software stack, handoffs, and where the repetitive work and bottlenecks actually live — not how an org chart says it should work.

  2. 02

    Find the highest-ROI problem

    I pinpoint the work costing the most time, money, and effort, and estimate the return before we build anything — so the investment is clear up front and we fix the right thing first.

  3. 03

    Design the right solution

    Then I decide what actually solves it. Sometimes that's an AI agent or a Claude project; sometimes a custom app, an automation, or a redesigned workflow. The tool follows the problem — never the other way around.

  4. 04

    Build it

    This is where I'm different from most AI consultants: I actually build. Python, Swift, web apps, APIs, dashboards, integrations, and automations — wired into the tools you already use.

  5. 05

    Drive adoption

    A system only pays off if people actually use it. I handle onboarding, documentation, training, prompt libraries, and SOPs so it sticks. Often this is the most valuable part of the whole engagement.

  6. 06

    Become your long-term partner

    I don't disappear. I monitor your systems, maintain and improve them, and keep finding new opportunities — effectively your outsourced AI & operations partner as the business grows.

Tools & platforms I build with
OpenClaw
OpenClaw
Claude Code
Claude Code
Gemini
Gemini
n8n
n8n
Obsidian
Obsidian
Notion
Notion
Gmail
Gmail
Google Calendar
Google Calendar
Google Drive
Google Drive
Supabase
Supabase
Python
Python
React
React
GitHub
GitHub
Vercel
Vercel
Zapier
Zapier
Why I focus on operations

Adding tech without understanding
the workflow is just another headache.

AI is the most powerful tool I've ever worked with — but it only pays off on top of the right system. Most consultants start with a tool and go hunting for problems to use it on. I start with your problem and choose whatever actually solves it, which is often AI and sometimes something simpler.

That independence is the point. I'm not tied to any one product, so you get the tool that fits your business — not the tool I happen to sell. You're hiring my judgment and my ability to build, not a predefined package.

My background in Industrial & Systems Engineering, manufacturing systems, and product operations means I understand how work actually flows through an organization before introducing automation.

  • Save hours every week
  • Fewer costly mistakes
  • Faster reporting & decisions
  • Full visibility into operations
Industries I'm interested in

Where I'd love
to do more work

I'm particularly interested in operationally intensive industries where teams spend significant time managing information, documents, reporting, and coordination.

Real Estate & Development Property Management Construction HVAC / Plumbing / Electrical
Insurance Agencies
Law Firms
Manufacturing
Engineering Firms
Medical Practices

Pick an industry to see what's worth handing to AI there, and where each piece stops.

Selected work

Real projects,
real operations

A look at where I've applied operations engineering and automation — across product operations, manufacturing, and retail.

Apple
AI Product Operations Intern

AI-powered workflow automation & reporting

Worked on internal AI-powered workflow automation and reporting systems supporting product operations teams.

Worked on Excel automation Multi-source report consolidation Email workflows SMS & comms workflows AI knowledge bases (RAG) PDF extraction Slide deck generation Operational dashboards
10x Genomics
Product Manager Intern

Manufacturing systems automation & analytics

Built automation and analytics tools supporting manufacturing operations, supplier management, and new product introduction.

Worked on SolidWorks PDM automation Arena PLM & BOM Engineering doc management Supplier & inventory analytics Process optimization Data visualization Workflow automation Cross-functional tooling
BB
Boba Bay
Co-Founder & Operations Manager

Operations, inventory & growth systems

Designed and optimized business operations, inventory systems, reporting processes, and customer acquisition initiatives.

Worked on QuickBooks & financial ops Payroll & employee systems Inventory forecasting Purchasing workflows SOPs & process design Operational dashboards Local SEO & marketing Customer acquisition
Selected projects

A few things I've built

Real tools shipped into real operations. Each one started as a process eating hours of someone's week — and ended as something that does the same work in seconds.

Confidential ~5 hrs/week saved

Supply plan automation

A desktop app that watches a shared inbox, pulls and links the right capacity files, and assembles a full weekly supply plan in under a minute — then flags anomalies like unexpected drops and data errors automatically.

Swift Python Excel integration
Confidential Self-serve data access

Natural-language data query

A pipeline that extracts clean, structured data from weekly operational reports into an internal AI assistant, so any manager can ask questions in plain English and get instant answers — no spreadsheet skills required.

Python LLM integration Knowledge base design
Confidential No more correction loops

AI document review assistant

An AI reviewer for incoming engineering requests: submitters upload a proposal and get instant, structured feedback on what's missing or too vague — so requests arrive review-ready and the back-and-forth correction emails disappear.

Claude PDF ingestion Multi-source RAG
Confidential Manual → automated

Inventory & logistics dashboard

A web app that centralizes overseas supplier inventory, lets planners filter by product configuration, auto-generates supplier emails, and tracks shipments — replacing an entirely manual, email-driven workflow.

Python Streamlit
Confidential 8+ hrs/week saved

PDM ↔ BOM spec reconciliation

An AI-driven n8n workflow that reconciles part specs between SolidWorks PDM and Arena BOM, catching mismatches automatically and saving 8+ hours of manual data rework every week.

n8n AI workflow PDM / PLM
Bucket Live product

Bucket — save anything by texting it

A full AI product I built end to end: text one number to save anything. Bucket classifies each message, summarizes and categorizes it, pulls out links and media, handles reminders, and makes everything searchable in a web dashboard — replying instantly with a magic link to the saved item.

FastAPI React Supabase OpenAI Twilio Meta Graph API
bucketai.net ↗
Gymbit Hardware + app

Gymbit — automatic workout tracking

A React Native fitness app paired with custom Bluetooth hardware (an accelerometer and a smart scale) that automatically detects exercises, counts reps in real time from ~100 Hz sensor data, measures the weight lifted, and tracks workouts with personal records and leaderboards.

React Native TypeScript Supabase Bluetooth LE Signal processing
Get in touch

Let's start the
conversation

Have questions about AI strategy, automation, or custom software? I'd love to hear about your business — expect a reply within one business day.

Email
work.eschneider778@gmail.com
Location
Bay Area · Los Angeles
Response time
Within 1 business day
Why reach out
  • Free 30-minute AI strategy consultation
  • A custom roadmap built around your business
  • No-obligation project scoping
  • Direct access to the person who actually builds it

By submitting this form, you're agreeing to be contacted about your project. I won't share your information with anyone else.

About me

A bit about me

Ethan Schneider USC ISE · Apple Ops

I'm Ethan Schneider, a senior studying AI and Industrial & Systems Engineering at USC.

My background spans manufacturing systems, operations, process improvement, automation, and product operations. I've worked on operational systems in manufacturing, healthcare research, retail operations, and product operations.

I'm particularly interested in how AI can be applied to real-world business workflows — not as a gimmick, but as a practical tool that saves time and improves decision-making.

Outside of work, I enjoy surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, hiking, and exploring new food spots around the Bay Area.
— Ethan Schneider
Let's talk

Let's find what's slowing
your business down

Whether you already have a workflow in mind or just know something feels inefficient, tell me how your business actually runs. A few starting points:

  • What's the most repetitive, manual task your team does every week?
  • What's a growth opportunity you've never pursued because it's too tedious to chase?
  • What questions do you struggle to answer because data is hard to find or disconnected?

Start with one project — and if it works out, I'll become the AI guy who quietly runs your systems for the long haul.

Schedule a call View my work