aaron thomas > ai builder + designer

I ship AI products at lightning speed and believe craft is cope.

I build products that communicate uncertainty, handle failures gracefully, and put humans in the loop.

→ Seeking AI-forward collaboration.

Currently working on

Creating a design system with tools like guidelines.md, coded templates, and recipes for an AI Alignment client. Building an app for choosing the next song without losing the vibe. Raising a mini dachshund puppy named Archie. Learning how to surf in Venice, CA.

Stuff I recently built

AI is Antisemitic↗Surfacing how models handle discrimination

AE Research↗Showcasing AE Studio's alignment research papers

DARPA AIcraft↗AI Alignment work for DARPA

Design Culture Experiment↗A pet project I am still tinkering with

Experience

AE Studio

Head of Design

2021-now

AI-native agency where client revenue funds alignment research. 40+ client projects across healthcare, finance, education, and enterprise tooling.

Investor's Business Daily

UX Design Manager

2019-2021

Designed the primary website and complex tools serving tens of thousands of customers. Ran a research lab and managed a team of designers.

First Capitol Consulting

Senior UX Product Manager

2016-2019

Built automation and data science tools for Affordable Care Act and Equal Pay offerings. This foundational work powers what Trusaic does today.

Let's Build LA

UXUI Design Consultant

2016-2018

System architecture for large and small companies. Won the design concepts bid for Hyperloop One.

SPORTalk

Product Designer & Manager

2013-2015

Founding designer and product manager. Built an entire social media system: mobile app and web platform with advertising and on-campus support.

Community

UXPALA2020-22

Ran weekly courses on content design and product design for 15-20 mentees.

Hack for LA2018-20

Home Unite Us to help solve homelessness in LA. Built a public transit app for more accurate LA transit times.

How I Work

I have an ownership mentality. I do whatever it takes to get the job done. I experiment constantly and share early and often.

I use Claude Code daily. Multiple workspaces building in parallel. I built this portfolio with it. I've shipped mobile apps through Capacitor to TestFlight.

Get In Touch

Building something interesting? I'm always open to talking about AI products, design systems, or weird experiments.

me@aarontho.com GitHub LinkedIn X