Arthur Bernier Jr

Professional Summary

Driven and results-oriented Developer Relations Engineer, Enterprise Hackathon Director, and Technical Educator with 15+ years uniting engineering excellence, AI enablement, and large-scale community programs. Specializes in designing world-class enterprise hackathons, building SDK and CLI demonstrations, authoring developer-focused content, and leading technical activations that accelerate product adoption. Brings experience across spacecraft systems, high-traffic APIs, venture-backed startups, and global developer education ecosystems. Known for producing widely adopted GitHub examples, creating large online developer communities (100K+ subscribers), and delivering hackathons tied directly to measurable business outcomes. Recognized for architecting repeatable playbooks, running rapid AI sprints, and simplifying complex workflows through clear technical storytelling. Serves as a strategic connector between developers, product teams, and enterprise stakeholders transforming advanced tools into intuitive, actionable, and high-impact solutions.

Key Achievements

🏆 100K+ YouTube Subscribers - Silver Play Button for AI tutorials and developer education content

🚀 50+ Technical Workshops & Hackathons - Including enterprise clients (Adobe, Uber, Citibank) and educational programs

📚 10,000+ Hours Teaching - Full-stack engineering across 20+ immersive bootcamps

💻 40+ Educational Repositories - Starter kits adopted globally across bootcamps

💼 Former CTO - VC-backed startup ($3.5M raised), 10+ distributed engineers

Technical Skills

Languages: JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, SQL, C++, Ruby

Frameworks: Node.js, Express, React, Vue, Next.js, Nuxt, Django

Databases: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis

Infrastructure: Docker, GitHub Actions, Linux, CI/CD, DigitalOcean, AWS, NGINX

DX & Tooling: API Design, SDK Development, CLIs, Automation Workflows, Agentic Development Systems, AI API Integration

Platforms: GitHub, Slack, Discord, Notion, OBS, LMS, VS Code

Content: Videos, Livestreams, Workshops, Documentation, Diagrams, Onboarding Flows

AI Tools: GitHub Co-Pilot, N8N, ChatGPT, Cursor, Lovable, PRD Kit, Gemini, Claude, DeepSeek, Custom GPTs

Core Competencies: Developer Advocacy, Community Building, Enterprise Hackathons, AI Enablement, Technical Storytelling, Product Education, SDK Integrations, Workshop Facilitation, Developer Experience, System Design, Event Operations, Stakeholder Alignment

Professional Experience

Independent Consultant 2018 – Present

Enterprise Hackathon Instructor & Director

Clients: InternXL (AfroTech), Per Scholas, General Assembly, Digital Boss Code

Designed and delivered enterprise-grade hackathons, Gen AI activation programs, and Lovable-focused certification + build sprints that aligned technical outcomes with business objectives, driving measurable adoption, increased usage, and accelerated enterprise engagement
Created full playbooks including challenge framing, success metrics, templates, event flow, and post-event storytelling frameworks that enabled repeatable, scalable hackathon execution for teams of varying technical maturity across multiple industries and organizational sizes
Led multi-day innovation labs where enterprise teams built functional AI applications under tight timelines, providing structured mentorship, workflow guidance, and technical escalation support that ensured high-quality prototypes with VS Code and strong executive presentations
Managed end-to-end execution including ideation, team formation, technical mentorship, UX guidance, and executive-level presentations, ensuring alignment between product strategy, stakeholder expectations, and real-world AI implementation success
Produced case studies, demo videos, and summary content that amplified event wins, highlighted customer value, and provided reusable narrative assets for Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success teams to accelerate future enterprise deals
Built a 100K-subscriber YouTube community and earned the Silver Play Button with 1M+ views by producing engaging AI tutorials, developer workflows, and hackathon training content that consistently strengthened brand visibility and learner impact

Per Scholas May 2021 – Aug 2025

Developer Relations / Senior Director, AI, Programming & Cloud (Part-time contract)

Architected enterprise-grade GitHub repositories and hands-on technical content featuring GitHub Copilot, VS Code, and Generative AI agent workflows; engineered cloud automation demos that reduced developer onboarding time and established the national standard for 5,000+ learners
Synthesized raw developer telemetry and feedback into high-leverage roadmap items; analyzed usage patterns across Gen AI workshops and enterprise programs to align product engineering with emerging industry shifts
Engineered scalable technical content pipelines supporting 5,000+ annual users; standardized VS Code environments, example projects, and Copilot-assisted assessments to drive 10x consistency across all instructional formats
Designed repeatable developer enablement frameworks deployed across 20+ national campuses; streamlined instructional delivery through AI-driven tooling, raising instructor readiness and program graduation outcomes
Facilitated high-impact technical engagements—including livestreams and VS Code pair programming sessions—leveraging Generative AI to provide personalized debugging and community trust at scale

General Assembly (US, Canada, Middle East) Aug 2018 – Sept 2024

Lead Instructor, Software Engineering Immersive (Part-time & Contract)

Deployed 10,000+ hours of live technical instruction across 20+ immersive bootcamps, integrating GitHub Copilot and Gen AI into the core curriculum; maintained a 90+ NPS while pivoting legacy workflows into AI-augmented engineering patterns
Mastered and delivered full-stack engineering curricula—including Python, JavaScript, and Node.js—by architecting all workflows within VS Code; leveraged Generative AI to bridge the gap between technical rigor and learner accessibility for diverse global cohorts
Engineered globally adopted VS Code starter kits and template repositories that standardized student project architecture; built Copilot-ready full-stack example applications that served as the foundational infrastructure for multiple campuses
Commanded the training and mentorship of global instructor teams; established teaching frameworks centered on AI-assisted debugging and Gen AI curriculum consistency to elevate instructional quality and student job-readiness

Path AI Sept 2023 – Jan 2024

Tech Lead

Led engineering efforts for an AI-powered job platform, architecting and enhancing core features including AI career mentoring, automated resume optimization, and real-time job matching driven by advanced LLM-powered recommendation systems serving thousands of users
Implemented structured debugging, triage, and root-cause analysis processes that significantly increased model-pipeline uptime, reduced regression frequency, and strengthened cross-functional alignment between engineering, QA, and product teams during rapid iteration cycles
Defined technical requirements, engineering milestones, and deployment standards for AI-driven features, guiding junior developers and ensuring that architecture updates, code quality improvements, and model integration workflows met enterprise scalability expectations

Astranis Space Technologies Mar 2023 – Aug 2023

Tech Lead, Ground Software

Built backend/frontend tooling for spacecraft telemetry, automation, and mission-critical operational workflows that supported live satellite operations and ensured high reliability across complex aerospace communication pipelines
Authored internal documentation, architecture guides, and onboarding material that dramatically reduced ramp time for new engineers while improving organizational knowledge-sharing and long-term system maintainability
Led cross-functional triage cycles with hardware teams, DevOps, and ground systems engineers under strict aerospace constraints, ensuring rapid, safe, and mission-critical fixes with zero tolerance for error

Seventh Ave (VC-Backed, $3.5M raised) Oct 2020 – Mar 2023

CTO & Co-Founder (Freelance initially, then FTE)

As Technical Co-Founder, helped raise $3.5M in venture capital and angel funding, built the engineering team from 2 → 10+ developers, and owned system architecture, microservices, and sprint execution for a high-scale live audio platform
Architected distributed Node.js microservices powering real-time audio experiences and interactive user engagement, ensuring high performance, low latency, and scalable infrastructure for a rapidly growing startup user base
Built internal developer tooling, SDK-style interfaces, and integration guidelines that accelerated engineering velocity and enabled external partners to onboard quickly with minimal technical friction
Managed a distributed 10+-engineer team, driving system design, roadmap planning, sprint execution, and cross-functional alignment while maintaining a high-quality bar for architecture and code delivery
Created content and community activations that expanded brand presence, improved developer sentiment, and supported both user acquisition and customer retention across digital ecosystems

Blavity Inc. Dec 2018 – Feb 2021

Software Engineer

Built API systems serving 50M+ monthly requests with strong performance, caching efficiency, and error resilience, ensuring uptime and scalability for high-volume media properties
Delivered reusable UI components, internal engineering documentation, and developer tooling that increased team productivity and established consistent patterns across multiple product lines
Triaged 500+ incidents and delivered fast, production-safe fixes by leveraging strong debugging habits, cross-team coordination, and deep knowledge of system architecture
Integrated partner ad systems for major brands including The Shade Room and Hollywood Unlocked, ensuring stable monetization pipelines and smooth cross-platform interoperability
Built scalable frontends with React and Vue, and developed high-performance REST APIs using Node, Express, and NGINX in close collaboration with Product and DevOps teams
Standardized the company's UI architecture by implementing BEM conventions in CSS Modules and enforcing JS Standard style across all internal style guides

Freelance Web Developer Aug 2010 – Aug 2018

Freelance

Delivered 100+ fully customized web applications, marketing sites, and automated digital workflows across a wide range of industries, leveraging HTML, CSS/SCSS, JavaScript, React, Node.js, and MongoDB to build scalable, secure, and visually compelling solutions for diverse client needs
Built SEO-optimized and analytics-driven digital funnels by integrating Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and advanced email automation platforms such as Aweber, Mailchimp, and GetResponse, applying CRO strategies that significantly increased client conversions and campaign performance
Designed responsive, mobile-first interface templates; converted PSD assets into production-ready HTML5/CSS layouts; customized complex WordPress themes; and implemented modern UX/UI principles that improved usability, accessibility, and long-term site maintainability

Leadership & Service

United States Navy

Recognized for exceptional performance as Senior Sailor of the Year (2016), consistently ranked Early Promotable (Top 20%) for five consecutive years, and awarded two Navy Achievement Medals and two Battle "E" Awards for operational excellence and leadership impact
Led multi-day operational readiness training programs involving stringent evaluation standards, high accountability expectations, and mission-critical preparation processes designed to ensure unit safety, performance consistency, and overall deployment readiness
Supervised, coached, and assessed diverse personnel while delivering high-stakes instruction in security operations, tactical training, and non-lethal weapons certification, ensuring compliance with Navy standards and elevating team capability under demanding conditions

ChaRosa Foundation

Webmaster

Designed, maintained, and continuously improved the organization's web presence using early-stage web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, ensuring an accessible, visually engaging, and reliable digital experience for community stakeholders
Implemented foundational SEO strategies including backlinking, link-wheel structures, and metadata optimization that significantly increased online visibility for cultural arts programs and strengthened community engagement across multiple outreach initiatives
Digitized decades of physical records and developed lightweight custom digital tools that streamlined administrative workflows, improved operational efficiency for the Executive Director, and modernized long-standing organizational processes

Selected Achievements

📦 Built 40+ GitHub repos (tutorials, SDK examples, workflows) adopted by dev communities and bootcamps

🎥 Produced high-impact developer video content with 100K+ subscribers and 1M+ views

🚀 Successfully led 50+ hackathons, sprints, innovation labs, and enterprise onboarding activations

🔄 Acted as a consistent bridge between developers and product teams, shaping roadmaps through feedback loops

Education & Certifications

M.S., Software Development – Maryville University (6 credits remaining)

Certificate, Full-Stack Web Development – General Assembly

B.S., Management – University of Phoenix

Certifications: Triplebyte Certified JavaScript Engineer | HackerRank (React, JavaScript, CSS)