Recommended expert
Cris Lovell-Smith-Head of AI
Check rate
Experience
Jan 2023 - Present
3 years 6 monthsNelson, New Zealand
Head of AI
Harvest Hub
Position Summary
Head of AI at Harvest Hub
Industries
Agriculture
Food and Beverage
Business Areas
Product Development
Research and Development
- Leading AI development for aquaculture startup, optimising shellfish visual assessments with machine learning and computer vision.
- Development and systematic evaluation of ML/CV algorithms for shellfish condition and morphometrics, using Python, Pytorch and MLFlow.
- Analysis of model performance, including identification of failure modes and edge cases in production deployments.
- Design of annotation strategies and refinement of labelled datasets for computer vision tasks.
- Detailed analysis of system performance and communication of findings through publication-quality technical reports to investors and fellow R&D staff.
- Responsible for delivery of technical roadmap.
Jan 2022 - Dec 2023
2 yearsLindau, Germany
AI and CV Specialist (Freelance)
Continental Automotive
Position Summary
AI and CV Specialist (Freelance) at Continental Automotive
Industries
Automotive
Business Areas
Product Development
Research and Development
- Feature development for production ADAS head light assist (HLA) algorithm.
- Consulting on neural network architectures for object detection for HLA function for next generation product.
- Development and evaluation of production grade CV/ML algorithms in C/C++.
- Analysis of model performance in safety-critical systems, including identification of edge cases and failure scenarios.
Jan 2020 - Present
6 years 6 monthsNelson, New Zealand
Head of AI
Nelson AI Institute
Position Summary
Head of AI at Nelson AI Institute
Industries
Information Technology
Business Areas
Product Development
Research and Development
- AI research and technical leadership.
- Developed and evaluated deep learning models for classification, segmentation, and object detection, deployed in the cloud and on mobile devices.
- Honorary Research Associate at the Victoria University of Wellington, NZ.
- Technical supervision of two Masters students in AI with topics in semantic segmentation and large language models.
- Model optimisation, benchmarking, and deployment using ONNX to Android.
- Product definition, refinement, and AI proof-of-concept development.
- Collaboration with scientific and industry partners, academics, internal teams, and boards of directors.
- Development and evaluation of deep learning models in classification, semantic segmentation, and object detection (FasterRCNN, SSD, Yolo, U-Net, DeepLabv3) using Tensorflow/Keras with MLFlow for experiment tracking.
- Development of segmentation models for remote sensing application using satellite imagery, and aerial LIDAR and imagery.
- ML Paper Club: weekly research and presentations of SOTA ML papers, e.g., ViTs.
- Design of training and validation datasets, and data preprocessing and augmentation pipelines to improve model robustness and generalisation.
Jan 2015 - Dec 2019
5 yearsLindau, Germany
Research and Development Engineer
Denso ADAS/ADASens Automotive
Position Summary
Research and Development Engineer at Denso ADAS/ADASens Automotive
Industries
Automotive
Business Areas
Product Development
Quality Assurance
Research and Development
- Concept and development of in-house deep learning framework including custom single stage object detector for embedded platforms in MISRA C.
- Development of DL/CV based collision warning system.
- Concept, implementation, and validation of patented lens obstruction algorithms.
- Evaluation and benchmarking of deep learning based 3D monocular depth estimation algorithms.
- Enhancements to 3D structure from motion technology for assisted parking.
- Design and implementation of validation framework used across multiple projects within department.
- Systematic evaluation of ADAS function performance, including error analysis and robustness improvements under real-world conditions, in multiple projects.
Jan 2010 - Dec 2013
4 yearsFreiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Research Scientist
University Medical Centre, Freiburg Germany
Position Summary
Research Scientist at University Medical Centre, Freiburg Germany
Industries
Healthcare
Business Areas
Research and Development
- Motion correction research in MRI using vision based patient pose estimation system.
- Design and implementation of algorithms in MATLAB and C++ on Siemens MRI scanners to reduce motion artifacts.
- Development of patented MRI system calibration algorithms, and other novel approaches to calibrating patient/MRI coordinate systems using multiple modalities.
- Attendance and oral and poster presentations at MRI research conferences.
- Co-authored research papers in the field.
- Worked with a startup formed to commercialise research.
Jan 2007 - Dec 2009
3 yearsChristchurch, New Zealand
Masters Student
Applied Research Associates NZ
Position Summary
Masters Student at Applied Research Associates NZ
Industries
Aerospace and Defense
Information Technology
Business Areas
Product Development
Research and Development
- Design, implementation, and evaluation of novel 6-DoF optical pose estimation system, including hardware design and implementation of firmware for real-time camera module.
- Technical communication of system design and performance through thesis and management level slides to company stakeholders and Masters supervisors.
Industry Experience
See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time.
Experienced in Information Technology, Automotive, Healthcare, Agriculture, Food and Beverage, and Aerospace and Defense.
Information Technology
Automotive
Healthcare
Agriculture
Food and Beverage
Aerospace and Defense
Business Area Experience
See which departments and functions this freelancer has contributed to most.
Experienced in Research and Development, Product Development, and Quality Assurance.
Research and Development
Product Development
Quality Assurance
Summary
I am an AI and Computer Vision Engineer with 25 years of software experience and 10 years experience developing, evaluating, and deploying computer vision and machine learning systems from research to series production. I have deep expertise in object detection, classification, segmentation, and visual understanding algorithms. I also have extensive experience analysing model performance, identifying failure modes, and improving robustness in real-world applications. I have proven my ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly through detailed analysis and reporting. In particular, I have worked in the push towards autonomous vehicles in the automotive industry, bringing new technologies to the aquaculture industry and in improving MRI quality in healthcare. I am a freelancer living in Germany, working primarily remotely.
Skills
Ai Engineering
- Object Detection
- Segmentation
- Classification
- 3d Monocular Depth Estimation
- Self Supervised Learning
- Genai - Llms
- Model Evaluation
- Failure Analysis
Libraries/Frameworks
- Pytorch
- Tensorflow/Keras
- Mlflow
- Huggingface
- Onnx
- Opencv
- Numpy
- Ollama
- Haystack
Programming Languages
- Python
- Flutter/Dart
- Modern C++
- C
Tools/Platforms
- Aws
- Gcp
- Git
- Atlassian
- Cmake
- Linux
- Cvat
Languages
English
NativeGerman
AdvancedEducation
University of Canterbury
Master of Electrical and Electronic Engineering · Electrical and Electronic Engineering · Christchurch, New Zealand
University of Canterbury
Bachelor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Honors · Electrical and Electronic Engineering · Christchurch, New Zealand
Certifications & licenses
Deep Learning Specialisation
DeepLearning.AI
Machine Learning
Stanford Online
Statistics
Experience
Total positions 6
Experience in Information Technology 9.5 y
Avg length 3 y 11 m
Longest experience 6 y 5 m
Global Experience
Countries worked in 2 (New Zealand, Germany)
Primary country New Zealand
Expertise
Recent roles Head of AI, AI and CV Specialist (Freelance), Research and Development Engineer
Main industries Information Technology, Automotive, Healthcare
Main business areas Research and Development, Product Development, Quality Assurance
Qualifications
Highest degree Master
Certifications earned 2
Profile
Created
Frequently asked questions
Have questions? Find more information here.
Cris speaks the following languages: English (Native), German (Advanced).
Cris has at least 18 years of experience. During this time, Cris has worked in at least 5 different roles and for 6 different companies. The average length of individual experience is 3 years and 1 month. Note that Cris may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.
Based on recent experience, Cris would be well-suited for roles such as: Head of AI, AI and CV Specialist (Freelance), Research and Development Engineer.
Cris's most recent position is Head of AI at Harvest Hub.
In recent years, Cris has worked for Harvest Hub, Continental Automotive, and Nelson AI Institute.
Cris is most experienced in industries like Information Technology, Automotive, and Healthcare. Cris also has some experience in Agriculture, Food and Beverage, and Aerospace and Defense.
Cris is most experienced in business areas like Research and Development, Product Development, and Quality Assurance.
Cris has recently worked in industries like Information Technology, Agriculture, and Food and Beverage.
Cris has recently worked in business areas like Product Development and Research and Development.
Cris holds a Master in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from University of Canterbury and a Bachelor in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from University of Canterbury.
Cris has 2 certificates. These include: Deep Learning Specialisation and Machine Learning.
Cris will be available full-time from July 2026.
Cris's rate depends on the specific project requirements. Please use the Meet button on the profile to schedule a meeting and discuss the details.
To hire Cris, click the Meet button on the profile to request a meeting and discuss your project needs.
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