Erick Boychuk Resume

Professional Summary

AI-focused product generalist with a Cognitive Science foundation and 10+ years leading creative, cross-functional teams in film and operations. Builds scrappy prototypes, automates workflows, and translates customer problems into shipped solutions. Strong bias to action, resourceful under constraints, and comfortable bridging business, engineering, and design. Targeting Product Management, Technical Program Management, and Robotics/Embedded-adjacent roles where rapid iteration and clear communication matter.

Target Roles & Core Strengths

Target Roles

Product Manager (AI / Applied ML / Robotics)
Technical Program Manager / Project Manager (AI & Platform)
Solutions / Product Engineer, AI Prototyping
Founder-type Generalist in early-stage teams

Core Strengths

Product: customer discovery, problem framing, PRDs, roadmaps, OKRs, KPI design, backlog prioritization, delivery planning
Program/Project: scope, milestones, risks/issues, cross-team comms, vendor management, postmortems, continuous improvement
Technical: Python scripting, data wrangling, API integration, CV/NLP prototyping, embedded tinkering (ESP32, Raspberry Pi)
Ops: process design, SOPs, dashboards, cost control, training, contract renewals
Communication: executive summaries, stakeholder updates, clear specs, teaching and coaching for non-technical users

Technical Skills

Languages: Python (automation, data scripts), C (intro level), Dart (Flutter basics), JavaScript (basic), Visual Basic (legacy)
AI/ML: Prompt engineering, evaluation, local LLMs (Ollama, LM Studio), OpenAI API, Claude, Groq; YOLO object detection; basic RAG
CV/NLP: OpenCV, Tesseract OCR, basic NER and text similarity pipelines; TTS (ElevenLabs), STT usage
Data/Automation: Pandas, NumPy, CSV/Excel processing, Apple Shortcuts, PyAutoGUI, shell automation
Backend/Web: Flask/FastAPI (basic), REST APIs, webhooks, JSON
Dev Tools: Git/GitHub (actively improving), Docker, virtualenv, SSH, VNC, Linux
Embedded/Robotics: ESP32/Arduino, Raspberry Pi 4/5, I2C/SPI/UART peripherals, servos, steppers, IMU, GPS, temp/humidity sensors, e-ink and LCD displays
Cloud/Platforms: Hugging Face, Groq, xAI, Cerebras, SambaNova; simple deployment to GitHub Pages
Security (hands-on labs): Wi-Fi AP creation, packet capture, deauth/MITM testing in controlled environments; LLM red-teaming/jailbreak studies
Tooling: Notion, Google Workspace, Jira/linear-style flows, Figma (basic), Raycast, Apple ecosystem automation

Selected AI, Robotics & Automation Projects

Monthly Invoicing Automation (Python + CSV/Excel + Pandas): Reconciles company records vs personal logs, normalizes schemas, highlights deltas for human review; reduced monthly invoicing time from ~60 minutes to ~10 minutes; reusable templates with CLI flags.
Onboarding Administration Automation (Local LLM + Scripts): Parses unstructured client intake, drafts welcome emails, generates study plans, and creates iCal meetings using local models for privacy.
Apple Watch “Next Meeting Countdown” (Shortcuts): Single Action Button shows countdown to next calendar event with haptic alert for deep work transitions.
“Hello Robo” Mobile Web App (Flutter/Dart + LLM): Conversational English practice with role-plays, feedback, and spaced repetition using ElevenLabs and simple analytics.
Computer Vision Utilities (OpenCV + YOLO): Scripts for region detection, object detection, and batch preprocessing to prototype assistive tools and datasets.
Embedded Experiments (ESP32/Raspberry Pi): Sensor playgrounds (IMU, GPS, temp/humidity, light) with edge inference; displays via round LCD and e-ink dashboards, captive portal provisioning.
“Fortune Teller” Livestream Bot (TTS/STT + Prompting): Voice-driven audience interaction with simple state machine and content safety filters.
Security Labs (Education/Research): Wi-Fi spoofing, deauth, and MITM exercises in controlled testbeds; documented mitigations and user education.

Additional Projects & Methods

File and media utilities for bulk renaming, checksum validation, transcodes.
Admin toolkit: time-tracking scripts, CSV cleaners, JSON validators, PDF OCR helpers.
Content operations: prompt libraries, style guides, reusable LLM chains for lessons and sales collateral.
Product management methods: discovery interviews, JTBD, PRDs with acceptance criteria, burn-down tracking, KPI-tied retros, lightweight RFCs, change logs, risk registers.

Professional Experience

Business English Coach — TORAIZ & Independent Contractor | Tokyo, Japan | 04/2020 – Present: Coached executives and engineers on communication; designed AI-assisted lesson plans with TTS/LLM personalization; built internal automations for invoicing, onboarding, scheduling; sustained strong re-enrollment and referrals.
Operations Supervisor — Impark (BC Ferries Contract) | Vancouver, Canada | 12/2012 – 09/2019: Led multi-site operations and 10-person patrol team; implemented SOPs improving citation accuracy, contributing to 54% revenue uplift; coordinated stakeholders through contract renewal.
Film/Video Producer — Original Fire Entertainment | Vancouver, Canada | 04/2007 – 12/2016: Directed and produced projects across teams; handled budgets, schedules, contracts, distribution; notable achievements include Doritos “Angry Ranch” finalist, Canadian Film Council programming, coverage on CBC/MuchMusic.
General Manager — Niagara Falls Tourist Centre (Family Business) | Niagara Falls, Canada | 04/2002 – 10/2006: Managed sightseeing tours, FX kiosk, retail; built basic POS for currency exchange; negotiated partner deals and handled payroll/bookkeeping.

Education

B.A. (Honours) in Cognitive Science — Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada Interdisciplinary focus: psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, philosophy, computer science.
CS50: Introduction to Computer Science — Harvard University (Online) Programming fundamentals, algorithms, data structures, web apps.

Selected Media, Talks & Awards

CBC News and MuchMusic features for Doritos “Angry Ranch” finalist spot; Shaw TV interview for feature film.
Festival selections and awards across Canadian shorts and pilots.
Active participation in Tokyo AI/robotics meetups; community demos of simple robots for STEM outreach.

Languages & Citizenship

English: Native
Japanese: Conversational (self-study; JLPT N5 level)
Canadian citizen; long-term resident in Japan since 2019; open to relocation and travel.

Interests & Public Presence

Interests: AI + robotics, embedded systems, process automation, human-centered tools, longevity, healthy cooking, city walks, dad jokes.
GitHub: https://github.com/Eriiiick
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erick-boychuk
X (Twitter): https://x.com/AI_vs_ERICK
YouTube: https://YouTube.com/@Eriiiiiiiick
Portfolio: https://eriiick.com

Technical Keywords (Index)

AI product management; applied ML; LLM; RAG; evaluation; prompt engineering; OpenAI; Claude; Groq; vector databases; embeddings; Python; Pandas; NumPy; Flask; FastAPI; REST; JSON; Docker; Git; Linux; OCR; Tesseract; OpenCV; YOLO; computer vision; NLP; TTS; STT; ElevenLabs; Ollama; LM Studio; Hugging Face; ESP32; Raspberry Pi; Arduino; I2C; SPI; UART; IMU; GPS; servos; steppers; e-ink; LCD; Apple Shortcuts; automation; PyAutoGUI; security testing; captive portal; Wi-Fi AP; Bluetooth sniffing; telemetry; dashboards; KPIs; OKRs; PRD; roadmap; backlog; agile; scrum; kanban; stakeholder management; cross-functional leadership; vendor management; contracts; SOP; SLA; incident postmortem; continuous improvement.

Selected Film Projects

“The Cover-Up” — Feature comedy, Director/Producer; 70+ minutes; team of 30+ cast/crew; IndieGogo-supported.
“Crossing the Line” — Co-director; dark comedy short; festival screenings.
“Better Love Tomorrow”, “Our Paper Dolls”, “Date-O-Phobe” — Writer/Director across multiple shorts.
TV/Series pilots such as “Owen & Drew”; producer roles on indie sci-fi and war drama projects.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3403992/