W. Bryan Smith, PhD
Data, AI &
the Science
Between
Building applications at the intersection of AI, ML, and the data integration systems that connect them to business-critical decisions. Expertise in managing, and extracting value from, high-dimensional messy data where privacy and compliance are not optional.
Background
I'm a multidisciplinary executive with strong IC capabilities, at my best when I can lead a team by being part of the day to day work we execute together. My lifelong interest in learning systems has taken me through computational neuroscience, data science, machine learning engineering, and executive leadership roles across many different industry domains. PhD from Caltech in neuroscience, where I studied mechanisms of neural coding in real and artificial neural networks. That broad, rigorous training — designing experiments, building models from first principles, communicating findings clearly — has shaped everything I've done since.
I've held technical and executive roles across biotech, healthcare, gaming, market research, and enterprise retail. Currently Co-Founder and CTO at Earthineering. Previously CDO at Sequoia, led identity, interoperability, and AI for Walmart Health & Wellness, co-founded Myia Health (a predictive health monitoring platform), and served as Chief Scientist at PokitDok.
For engineering fun, I build things outside of work too — four independent web products, each addressing a different problem I cared enough to solve. I am an avid photographer, focusing on landscapes, macro, and abstract imagery. And I spend a lot of time on trails, both shoes and wheels.
Selected roles
Co-Founder & CTO
EarthineeringSMRs for process heat to efficiently generate hydrocarbons (like jet fuel) from carbohydrates (like agriculture waste products). Leveraging ML and AI for process automation, regulatory document parsing and responses, high-dimensional site selection strategies.
Group Director, Infrastructure & AI
Walmart Global TechLed identity, interoperability, information management, and AI for WMT Global Tech. Focused on entity resolution across regulatory boundaries at scale. Deployed Privacy-Enhancing Tech to accommodate business-critical analytics across domains.
Co-Founder & CTO
Myia LabsBuilt an intelligent health platform for remote monitoring and engaging patients with chronic conditions. Reduced unplanned hospitalizations by >50% in a remotely managed population using custom predictive models.
Chief Scientist
PokitDokHealthcare transaction platform — consumer marketplace, claims, provider networks, pricing intelligence. Acquired by Change Healthcare.
PhD, Neuroscience
California Institute of TechnologyMolecular and cellular neurobiology. Local control of synaptic strength via dendritic protein synthesis.
Director, Data Science and Infrastructure
SapientBuilt the global data science practice at Sapient, acquired by Publicis. Large scale analytics on retail data (for Target and other large enterprises).
What I work with
AI & Machine Learning
Machine learning, statistical modeling, NLP, computer vision, recommendation systems, predictive analytics. From Bayesian networks to transformer architectures.
Data & Infrastructure
End-to-end data strategy and implementation: pipelines, warehousing, governance, APIs, integrations. Building data organizations from the ground up.
Visualization & Communication
Interactive data visualization, scientific communication, translating complex technical work for executives and stakeholders.
Interests
Photography
Landscapes, macro, and abstract photography — often inspired by my home state of California. My gallery lives at picgraf.com.
Trail Running
The best way to think through a hard problem is on a trail with no cell service.