Tyler J. Banks

Machine Learning Engineer

Techcyte, Orem, UT

Machine learning pipeline teams. Joined as Software Engineer, Senior Software Engineer from 2024, Machine Learning Engineer from 2026.

• Developed an end-to-end Docker-based AI model deployment service that lets customers securely create and deploy their own models to the Techcyte platform.
• Researched and implemented a new Mask R-CNN image segmentation software stack.
• Trained several new image classification models: mitosis detection, an improved mold classifier, and general tissue segmentation.
• Collaborated with Mayo Clinic research groups to develop models operating on Techcyte data.
• Led AWS-based deployment of new software stacks, major architecture changes, and web applications, including a client-side DICOM de-identification app and AWS Lambda bridges to third-party AI.

Co-Founder and CTO

VUCA Inc., Bethesda, MD, makers of thinktankcalendar.com

• Developed several modular, Docker-based, API microservice infrastructures, and handled all aspects of web development, data collection, processing and presentation.
• Designed and built an infrastructure for serverless collection of web information using AWS Lambda, Elasticsearch, SQL, automated testing, and GitLab CI/CD.

Cyber Security Analyst

City of Columbia, Columbia, MO

• Developed web-based vulnerability reporting systems that reduced network vulnerabilities by more than 90% over the course of one year.
• Established and managed a multi-year security training curriculum for more than 1,400 City employees: yearly mandatory web-based training, phishing campaigns, and weekly citywide cybersecurity updates.
• Wrote citywide cybersecurity policy, procedures, and incident response plans that put the City of Columbia ahead of its peers on industry metrics.
• Built security information and event management (SIEM) on the ELK stack; UNIX system management and automation, PowerShell and UNIX scripting, PKI and cryptography.

Software Developer II

Shelter Insurance, Columbia, MO

• Scrum team work on interdepartmental programming projects in Java, HTML, PHP, JavaScript, SQL, jQuery, REST, Spring Boot and Git.

Cyber Security Intern

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA

• Identified web-based attacks on the laboratory network, developed scripts, and documented policy.

Computer and Media Technician

Lackland Independent School District, San Antonio, TX

• Supported staff, developed the student ID system, and maintained technology infrastructure.

PhD, Computer Science

University of Missouri, Columbia, MO

Computational neuroscience and machine learning. Dissertation: Neural Modeling Case Studies at Biophysical, Machine Learning, and Automation Levels (PDF). Advisor: Dr. Satish Nair, Neural Engineering Lab.

Master of Computer Science

University of Missouri, Columbia, MO

Thesis project: CNN-Fold: Protein Fold Recognition by Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (PDF). Advisor: Dr. Jianlin Cheng, Bioinformatics, Data Mining and Machine Learning Lab.

BBA, Infrastructure Assurance (Cyber Security)

University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX

Minor in Computer Science. Advisor: Dr. Nicole Beebe. Final two years financed by a $50,000 NSF Scholarship for Service grant, awarded 2011.

Researcher, Neural Engineering Laboratory

University of Missouri, Columbia, MO

• Worked with a team of PhD researchers analyzing biologically realistic neural networks: single-cell models of the crustacean cardiac ganglion, hippocampal theta models, amygdala models of more than 27,000 cells, micturition, and LFP prediction using machine learning.
• Designed SimAgent, BMTool and SimBuilder, Python programs that streamlined designing and running large-scale neural simulations on supercomputers.
• Mentored undergraduate seniors on capstone projects such as automated parameter selection in small networks and automated rejection sampling.
• Listed contributor to the Allen Institute’s Brain Modeling Toolkit (BMTK).
• Maintained the CyNeuro.org website.

WOC Affiliate Researcher, Veterans Health Administration

Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, Columbia, MO

• Data scientist: deep neural network, random forest, and linear regression modeling.

Research Assistant

University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX

• Developed offsite malware analysis facilities to study the statistical prevalence of malicious code.
• Wrote custom software and scripts in Bash and Python for a government client.

Adjunct, Computer Science

University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO

• CS 4700: Artificial Intelligence (course site).
• CS 4150: Object Oriented Programming and Data Structures.
• Developed curriculum and lectured to incoming graduate students from diverse academic backgrounds.

Teaching Assistant, Senior Capstone Design I and II

University of Missouri, Columbia, MO

• CMP_SC 4970W and 4980W. Helped design prototype senior projects and gave feedback on essays.

Teaching Assistant, Neural Models and Machine Learning

University of Missouri, Columbia, MO

• CMP_SC 7580/4580. Developed curriculum for machine learning and pipeline automation tasks.
• Led a team of developers and designed an original Docker-based cyberinfrastructure that gives students access to all the software their course needs.

Teaching Assistant, Honors Research in Computational Neuroscience

University of Missouri, Columbia, MO

• ECE 4995, 13 students. A lecturing position; helped develop the curriculum on Hodgkin–Huxley theory.

Teaching Assistant, Software Engineering

University of Missouri, Columbia, MO

• CMP_SC 4320, more than 50 students. Supervised and assisted 14 team programming projects run with Scrum.

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, Java I and II

University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX

• Instructional aid for student programming homework and projects.