Hacker News: dovin

New comment by dovin in "Toad is a unified experience for AI in the terminal"

dovin — Wed, 24 Dec 2025 17:55:45 +0000

This has been my experience also, so far. I like a lot about this and want to start using it, but beyond the initial awkwardness of key bindings feeling wrong, it just seems a bit too early for me. For example, most of the agents I tried to get working on my Arch system failed to connect, only Claude Code and Vibe worked. Most worked on MacOS (except Codex, even though it's installed on my system). But I need to be able to set the agent into Bypass Permissions mode, and when I do, I'm still constantly prompted with permissions checks. There also seem to be weird errors caused by fish shell. I'd also really like to be able to define my own custom agents (eg one use case I'd like is to be able to launch Claude Code but swapping out the Anthropic endpoint for OpenRouter's so I can try new models using CC's agent harness).

It's possible this is just part of the learning curve, but it is making me think I'll have to come back to this project in a month or two to see if there are fewer pain points. Great work so far though.

New comment by dovin in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (September 2025)"

dovin — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 19:22:10 +0000

Location: Portland, OR

Remote: yes

Willing to relocate: yes, to SF, NYC, or Seattle

Technologies and tools: Python, TypeScript, AWS (+ a few certs), React, llama.cpp, HIPAA + EMR/EHR experience, know enough to be dangerous in a wetlab

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T_t6Gkib3DCQ1oryyH0oc11XifM...

Email: see resume

Hey there! I'm Rowan. I've built and led software teams (at a molecular diagnostics lab and for a political advocacy project), built an award-winning synthetic bio video game, and have worked with startups and major research groups like at Stanford Health. Recent work of mine: published a survey of semantic search engines for science, building out python client for the vector database Antfly.

New comment by dovin in "Benchmarking GPT-5 on 400 real-world code reviews"

dovin — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 07:07:54 +0000

I don't consider myself a font snob but that web page was actually hard for me to read. Anyway, it's definitely capable according to my long-horizon text-based escape room benchmark. I don't know if it's significantly better than o3 yet though.

New comment by dovin in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (July 2025)"

dovin — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 00:11:38 +0000

Location: Portland, OR

Remote: yes

Willing to relocate: yes, to SF, NYC, Seattle, Berlin, London, and possibly other EU cities

Technologies and tools: Python, TypeScript, AWS (+ a few certs), React, llama.cpp, HIPAA + EMR/EHR experience, competent in a wetlab

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T_t6Gkib3DCQ1oryyH0oc11XifM...

Email: see resume

New comment by dovin in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (June 2025)"

dovin — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 17:57:49 +0000

Location: Portland, OR

Remote: yes

Willing to relocate: yes, to SF, NYC, Seattle, Berlin, London, and possibly other EU cities

Technologies and tools: Python, TypeScript, AWS (+ a few certs), React, llama.cpp, MCP, HIPAA certified, experience with HL7 and EMR/EHR, competent in a wetlab

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T_t6Gkib3DCQ1oryyH0oc11XifM...

Email: see resume

New comment by dovin in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (May 2025)"

dovin — Fri, 02 May 2025 18:24:16 +0000

Location: Portland, OR

Remote: yes

Willing to relocate: yes, to SF, NYC, Berlin, London, and possibly other EU cities

Technologies and tools: Python, TypeScript, AWS (+ a few certs), React, llama.cpp, MCP, HIPAA certified, experience with HL7 and EMR/EHR, competent in a wetlab

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T_t6Gkib3DCQ1oryyH0oc11XifM...

Email: see resume

New comment by dovin in "Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (April 2025)"

dovin — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 20:11:11 +0000

SEEKING WORK | Portland, Oregon | Remote: yes

Technologies: Python, TypeScript, AWS (+ a few certs), React, Ansible, MCP, HIPAA certified, experience with HL7 and EMR/EHR

Hi, I'm Rowan. Would love to hear from you if you're working on data retrieval for agents. Previously built and led software teams, currently working on composing / semi-autonomous LLMs and climate data knowledge retrieval.

Resume: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T_t6Gkib3DCQ1oryyH0oc11XifM...

New comment by dovin in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (April 2025)"

dovin — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 20:06:36 +0000

Location: Portland, OR

Remote: yes

Willing to relocate: yes, to SF, NYC, Berlin, London, and possibly other EU cities

Technologies and tools: Python, TypeScript, AWS (+ a few certs), React, llama.cpp / local LLMs, Ansible, HIPAA certified, experience with HL7 and EMR/EHR, competent in a wetlab

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T_t6Gkib3DCQ1oryyH0oc11XifM...

Email: see resume

Hey there! I'm Rowan. I have ~8 years experience in life sciences startups and research: I built and led the software team at molecular diagnostics lab, built an award-winning synthetic bio video game, and have worked with startups and major research groups like at Stanford Health. Recent work of mine: published a survey of semantic search engines for science and soon to launch a climate data research & analysis agent.

New comment by dovin in "AI 2027"

dovin — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 06:20:41 +0000

Humans becoming domesticated by benevolent superintelligences are some of the better futures with superintelligences, in my mind. Iain M Banks' Culture series is the best depiction of this I've come across; they're kind of the utopian rendition of the phrase "all watched over by machines of loving grace". Though it's a little hard to see how we get from here to there.

New comment by dovin in "AI 2027"

dovin — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 05:40:43 +0000

Dogs offer humans no economic value, but we haven't genocided them. There are a lot of ways that we could offer value that's not necessarily just in the form of watts and minerals. I'm not so sure that our future superintelligent summoned demons will be motivated purely by increasing their own power, resources, and leverage. Then again, maybe they will. Thus far, AI systems that we have created seem surprisingly goal-less. I'm more worried about how humans are going to use them than some sort of breakaway event but yeah, don't love that it's a real possible future.

New comment by dovin in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (March 2025)"

dovin — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 05:05:18 +0000

Location: Portland, OR

Remote: yes

Willing to relocate: yes, to SF, NYC, LA, or Seattle

Technologies and tools: Python, TypeScript, AWS (+ a few certs), React, llama.cpp / local LLMs, Ansible, HIPAA certified, experience with HL7 and EMR/EHR, competent in a wetlab

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T_t6Gkib3DCQ1oryyH0oc11XifM...

Email: see resume

Hey there! I'm Rowan. I have ~8 years experience in life sciences startups and research: I built and led the software team at molecular diagnostics lab, built an award-winning synthetic bio video game, and have worked with startups and major research groups like at Stanford Health. Recent work of mine: published a survey of semantic search engines for science and built a shared LLM playground on top of the chat platform Zulip.

New comment by dovin in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (February 2025)"

dovin — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 07:05:06 +0000

Location: Portland, OR

Remote: yes

Willing to relocate: yes, to SF, NYC, or Seattle

Technologies and tools: TypeScript, AWS (+ a few certs), Python, React, llama.cpp / local LLMs, Ansible, HIPAA certified, experience with HL7 and EMR/EHR, competent in a wetlab

Resume: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T_t6Gkib3DCQ1oryyH0oc11XifM...

Email: see resume

Hey there! I'm Rowan. I have ~8 years experience in life sciences startups and research: I built and led the software team at molecular diagnostics lab, built an award-winning synthetic bio video game, and have worked with startups and major research groups like at Stanford Health. I'm currently consulting and writing on the side (I have a forthcoming article on the state of semantic academic search platforms) and looking for a product-focused technical leadership role at an early-stage startup.

New comment by dovin in "Snyk security researcher deploys malicious NPM packages targeting cursor.com"

dovin — Tue, 14 Jan 2025 05:01:55 +0000

I like to call it informal case.

New comment by dovin in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (January 2025)"

dovin — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 22:17:05 +0000

Location: Portland, OR

Remote: yes

Willing to relocate: yes, to SF, NYC, or Seattle

Technologies and tools: TypeScript, AWS (+ a few certs), Python, React, llama.cpp / local LLMs, Ansible, HIPAA certified, experience with HL7 and EMR/EHR, competent in a wetlab

Resume: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T_t6Gkib3DCQ1oryyH0oc11XifM...

Email: see resume

Hey there! I'm Rowan. I have ~8 years experience in life sciences startups and research: I built and led the software team at molecular diagnostics lab, built an award-winning synthetic bio video game, and have worked with startups and major research groups like at Stanford Health. I'm currently consulting and writing on the side (I have a forthcoming article on the state of semantic academic search platforms) and looking for a product-focused technical leadership role at an early-stage startup.

New comment by dovin in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (December 2024)"

dovin — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 03:18:34 +0000

location: Portland, OR

Remote: yes

Willing to relocate: yes, to SF, NYC, or Seattle

Technologies and tools: TypeScript, AWS (+ a few certs), Python, React, llama.cpp / local LLMs, Ansible, HIPAA certified, experience with HL7 and EMR/EHR, competent in a wetlab

Resume: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T_t6Gkib3DCQ1oryyH0oc11XifM...

Email: see resume

Hey there! I'm Rowan. I have ~8 years experience in life sciences startups and research: I built and led the software team at molecular diagnostics lab, built an award-winning synthetic bio video game, and have worked with startups and major research groups like at Stanford Health. I'm currently consulting and writing on the side (I have a forthcoming article on the state of semantic academic search platforms) and looking for a product-focused technical leadership role at an early-stage startup.

New comment by dovin in "Kagi Update: AI Image Filter for Search Results"

dovin — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 21:40:13 +0000

Okay, but there is a reason that lots of people on here are fans of Kagi. Are you saying you're tired of hearing people praise Kagi or are you just annoyed whenever there's enthusiasm for a product that costs money?

New comment by dovin in "WordPress retaliation impacts community"

dovin — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 04:51:03 +0000

I've been trying to wrap my head around why this feels so wrong. If the project had been run like this from the beginning, in an opinionated way that prioritizes what the few creators of the project think are important, then that's one thing. But it seems like Wordpress has generally been the stable, boring, slow-moving project that isn't run like a personal fiefdom, and Mullenweg is trying to force it from the one model to the other. I haven't used Wordpress in years, and this drama makes me never want to use it again.

New comment by dovin in "Cargo Airships Are Happening"

dovin — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 16:37:47 +0000

I'd imagine the author knows that you can't just sidestep customs, and it does feel a bit disingenuous that they didn't call that out. But hey, it's a pitch for money first and foremost. I'd imagine that they're just giving a complete list of things that slow down air freight and that internally they have plans for tackling each one, like not having to unload cargo to get it through customs and so using the airship as its own trucking vehicle post-customs.

New comment by dovin in "Burning Man festival fails to sell out for first time in a decade"

dovin — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 22:43:50 +0000

I last went in 2022, and it's still a place with amazing art and weird experiences. Being somewhere that's decommodified from advertising is, I think, something everyone should experience. I just think of it more like a really fun and interesting city that I like to visit sometimes, like New York, that's kinda expensive to get to. There's a bunch of gentrification from Silicon Valley, and the tickets not selling out makes me think that the tech recession is still very much on, but there's more to Burning Man than just tech bros.

New comment by dovin in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (June 2024)"

dovin — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 02:01:39 +0000

  Location: Portland, OR
  Remote: Yes, comfortable with primarily remote work but want some in-person
  Willing to relocate: Yes, to NYC, Seattle, or SF
  Technologies: Python, Django, Nextjs + React, EHR, lab automation
  Resume/CV: on request
  Email: hi@rowan.earth

Hi there! I'm looking for a company in the medical or biotech that needs someone with demonstrated technical leadership. I've built teams of engineers and have a track record delivering software products for scientists and startups spinning out products from universities, mostly in the biotech and medical spaces.

Previous work includes building an engineering team a molecular diagnostics lab, fixing medical data integration at Stanford, and helping drug discovery startups visualizing the entire human metabolome.

tools, stacks, etc: python, typescript, react, nextjs, EHR, lab automation, HL7