Erika Barker
Independent Quantitative Researcher & AI/ML Consultant • Market Microstructure Specialist
Professional Summary
Quantitative researcher with demonstrated expertise in building and deploying algorithmic trading systems and AI-powered market intelligence platforms. Achieved 62% reduction in hedge fund research cycle time through production-ready agentic AI systems with 20% improvement in directional prediction accuracy. Deep experience operationalizing ML models in cloud environments, with proven track record including $40K+ annual savings through automation and 78% OpEx reduction across portfolio companies.
Professional Experience
Independent Quantitative Researcher & AI/ML Consultant
Boutique Research Practice • Serving Hedge Funds & Systematic Managers
May 2020 – Present | Miami, FL
- Architected and deployed production-ready agentic AI research system using Polygon and FRED APIs on Cloudflare Workers infrastructure, achieving 62% reduction in research cycle time (Q1 2024 client benchmark)
- Developed and operationalized Z-Score Probability Indicator with 20% lift in directional hit rate over RSI baselines (S&P 500, 2014-2024, walk-forward validation) using MLflow for model versioning and monitoring
- Built and deployed serverless economic dashboard on Cloudflare Workers with Durable Objects for state management, processing real-time macro and market data
- Implemented LLM-powered financial report summarization using Hugging Face Transformers and RAG architecture, reducing analyst review time by 40% while maintaining 95% accuracy on key metrics extraction
- Designed and developed cross-platform data visualization dashboards using IBM Carbon and Google Material design systems, creating intuitive interfaces that transform complex financial data into actionable narratives, improving executive decision rates by 35%
- Engineered full-stack solutions combining sophisticated backend analytics with polished, responsive frontends that work seamlessly across web, mobile, and embedded platforms, demonstrating that functional systems can also be beautiful
Manager, Data Systems & Digital Transformation
Patriarch Partners • Wall Street Private Equity
August 2015 – March 2020 | New York, NY
- Led digital transformation across 11 portfolio companies, reducing non-revenue tech OpEx by 78% at Dana Fragrances (FY2017-2019) through automated ERP consolidation on Azure Data Factory
- Deployed automated inventory management system using Shopify webhooks and Dynamics 365 integration, processing 10K+ SKUs daily with real-time synchronization
- Built and deployed executive KPI dashboards using Power BI with automated data pipelines, enabling direct CFO/COO decision-making without analyst mediation
- Implemented custom job board system using Python/FastAPI backend with PostgreSQL, saving $40,000 annually while reducing time-to-hire by 35%
- Drove 30% revenue growth through ML-powered pricing optimization models deployed via Docker containers with CI/CD automation
Course Director, Data Journalism & Digital Media
Full Sail University • Graduate Faculty
January 2011 – February 2014 | Winter Park, FL
- Developed automated grading pipeline improving turnaround time by 48% while maintaining rubric consistency across 500+ students annually
- Authored 65 graduate-level lessons covering data-driven storytelling, digital production, and analytics-based journalism
- Built newsroom simulation workflow mirroring professional editorial operations with version control and production standards
Mass Communications Specialist • Combat Photographer
United States Navy • Expeditionary Combat Command
January 2004 – December 2009 | Multiple Deployments
- Documented combat and humanitarian operations producing 20,000+ photographs and 60 minutes of HD video for international release
- Designed and managed secure 12TB media networks with metadata standards, redundancy protocols, and rapid retrieval systems
- Awarded 4 Navy Achievement Medals for exceptional service in high-risk operational environments
Technical Expertise
AI/ML Systems & Production
PyTorch, Hugging Face Transformers, LLM/RAG Architecture, Agentic AI Systems, MLflow Model Registry, Azure OpenAI Service, Model Explainability (SHAP/LIME), A/B Testing Frameworks
Quantitative Finance & Trading
Market Microstructure Analysis, Algorithmic Trading Systems, Time Series Forecasting (Prophet, ARIMA), Polygon.io API, FRED Economic Data, Order Flow Analysis
Data Engineering & Cloud Infrastructure
Python, SQL, PySpark, Azure (Data Factory, ML Studio, Functions), Databricks & Delta Lake, Cloudflare Workers & Durable Objects, Docker & Kubernetes, CI/CD (GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps)
Analytics & Visualization
Power BI, Real-time Dashboard Development, KPI Design & Implementation, Cohort Analysis, Revenue Attribution Modeling
Education
Master of Science, Entertainment Business
Full Sail University
2011
Bachelor of Science, Digital Arts & Design
Full Sail University
2010
Mass Communications Specialist Certification
Defense Information School (DINFOS)
2004
ATS-compatible PDF format • Optimized for applicant tracking systems