AI Systems Builder / Automation Engineer / Full-Stack Dev

I'm a British entrepreneur based in Thailand running multiple ventures: ScaleSage (an AI Systems & Automation Specialists agency), a Caribbean restaurant in Pattaya (Belly Full), a Caribbean seasoning brand launching into UK retail with production in China (Belly Full Seasonings), a kids' education app (Legacy Curriculum), and internal AI systems for algorithmic trading and business automation.

I operate through voice-to-text, Claude, and Claude Code — I architect systems and my team executes. My bottleneck isn't strategy, it's execution bandwidth. I already have an EA (Cy, Filipino, doing strong work). I now need a technical counterpart — someone who can use AI tools, APIs, and automations to build the systems my businesses run on.
I'm a founder, not a big corporation. This means two things: I can move fast and make decisions without red tape, and I pay what's fair without corporate budgets to throw around. The trade-off is real opportunity — the right person here grows with me as the businesses grow.

I'm not necessarily looking for an elite "senior AI engineer" who needs $3,000/month. I'm looking for a hungry, AI-native technical builder — mid-high level technically, senior in hunger. Someone who uses existing models, APIs, automations, and tools to ship working business systems fast.

HOW THIS WORKS
I want to start someone part-time (20-25 hours/week) for the first month as a paid trial. This protects both of us — we find out if we click without either side being locked in. If the fit is right and the work justifies it, we move to full-time hours over time.
Nothing is promised. Everything is earned. IF we click, IF the work ethic is there, IF the fit is right — this role has real growth potential.
Performance is everything. Bonuses are paid for execution, reliability, speed, and quality — when you ship a big build, solve a complex problem, or hit a real performance milestone. Pay rises are earned through consistency, loyalty, and reliability over time. Eventually leading a small dev / tech team as we scale.
We aim for high standards and quality constantly. We don't ship sub-standard work. I'd rather you ship less, cleanly, than rush something half-built. Shortcuts cost us more than slow shipping ever will. The right person here takes pride in their craft and signs their name on what they ship.
I won't sell you a dream. I'll tell you the ceiling is high for the right person.

WHAT YOU'LL ACTUALLY DO
Trial month — full ScaleSage technical foundation:

Mac Mini #2 set up as production server (security, Tailscale VPN, Docker, monitoring, backups)
Self-hosted n8n with Claude API integration
7 production AI agents minimum — lead enrichment, cold email personalisation, reply triage, follow-up sequencer, client reporting, voice agent (Vapi/Retell), plus a 7th you propose after analysing the operational flow with Cy
Three landing pages (scalesage.ai/local, /business, /enterprise) using Lovable, v0, or Bolt
Tracking infrastructure (GA4, Meta Pixel, Looker Studio dashboards)
Integrations ---------- GoHighLevel, Apollo, Instantly, Stripe
Documentation + Loom handover

The target is the full ScaleSage launch-ready stack in 30 days — Mac Mini server + 7 production agents + 3 landing pages + tracking + integrations + documentation. All of it. Live. Working. Ready for cold email launch on June 2nd. I know it's aggressive — that's intentional. I want to see how you prioritise, ship, and document.

A good candidate ships the core spine
A strong candidate ships most of it
An exceptional candidate ships the whole thing and improves the brief

Post-trial — you become a TMC tea ---------- mber at 20-25 hrs/week, working alongside Cy across the portfolio:

Belly Full Seasonings brand website + e-commerce
Legacy Curriculum educational app builds
AI image / video production (Runway, Higgsfield, Flux, Nano Banana Pro, HeyGen avatars)
AI voice cloning + persona building (ElevenLabs)
AI personalities, content factory, plant/leaf diagnosis tools, lead-gen engines, app prototypes — whatever the portfolio needs
Internal tools, dashboards, scaling work for ScaleSage clients

You're not on a phased roadmap. You're a TMC tea ---------- mber shipping what the business needs. Variety is the deal.
MUST HAVE

n8n / Make / Zapier automation experience (n8n self-hosted strongly preferred)
Claude / OpenAI API experience — built real workflows, not just played with prompts
API / webhook integration — REST, OAuth, rate limits, error handling
GHL or similar CRM automation understanding
Basic JavaScript or Python for custom logic
Landing page builders — Lovable, v0, Bolt, Webflow, Framer, or similar
Docker basics or ability to self-host tools on a Mac/Linux server
Basic server / security discipline — firewall, VPN (Tailscale), backups, monitoring
Loom documentation — you record walkthroughs without being asked
Excellent written and spoken English — we work over WhatsApp and Loom. English will be tested live.
Self-managing — take a brief and ship, no babysitting
AI-native workflow — you use Claude / Cursor / Claude Code daily as power tools
Reliable internet, quiet workspace, valid passport

NICE TO HAVE

Openclaw / claude-flow / agent orchestration tools
Supabase / Firebase / Vercel / Cloudflare
Stripe payment integration
Apollo / Instantly / Clay (cold email infrastructure)
AI voice agents — Vapi, Retell, ElevenLabs
AI image / video tools — Runway, Higgsfield, Flux, Nano Banana Pro, Sora, Veo, HeyGen, Midjourney
App builders — FlutterFlow, Bubble, Replit, Cursor
RAG / vector databases — Pinecone, Weaviate, pgvector
Computer vision APIs (for things like plant/leaf diagnosis or product image analysis)
Active GitHub with public commits in the last 90 days
Entrepreneurial mindset — you've tried to build something yourself
Willingness to travel (Thailand, expenses covered)
Openness to relocation long-term if the fit is right

You don't need to know every tool already. But you must be the kind of person who can learn a new tool in a weekend, build with it by Monday, and document what you did so the rest of the team can use it.

HOW TO APPLY
Send a message with:
1. A 5-7 minute Loom walking me through how YOU would tackle the trial-month build.
Don't just say hi — show me your brain. Open Loom, share your screen if you want, sketch on a whiteboard, or just talk it through. Cover:

How you'd sequence the 30-day build (what you'd do first, second, third)
Which tools you'd reach for and why
The biggest risk you'd plan for
What you'd ship in Week 1 to prove ---------- ntum
Any questions or assumptions you'd want me to clarify

This Loom is your application. If you can't do this Loom, you can't do the job. No script needed — I want to see how you actually think.
2. Start your written message with the word "AGENT-READY" (so I know you read this carefully)
3. Link to your portfolio + GitHub username
4. One production system you've built — what it does, how you built it, why you built it that way. Screen-share Loom strongly preferred (5 mins, showing it working live, not slideware)
5. Skill self-assessment — for each, mark Strong / Decent / Weak / Never tried:

n8n workflows (self-hosted, Docker)
Claude / OpenAI API agents
GHL / CRM integrations
Landing pages with Lovable / v0 / Bolt / Framer
Stripe / payment APIs
AI voice agents (Vapi / Retell / ElevenLabs)
AI image / video workflows (Runway / Flux / HeyGen / Higgsfield)
Simple app prototypes (FlutterFlow / Bubble / Cursor)
Mac Mini / Linux self-hosting (Docker, Tailscale, security)
Documentation + Loom handover

Then tell me: which 3 are your strongest? Which 3 are your weakest? How fast could you learn the weak ones?
6. Answer these questions (one or two sentences each):

What AI tool do you use most and what do you use it for?
What's the most technical thing you've figured out on your own with no one to teach you?
What's the most complex production system you've built end-to-end?
If you had to automate one part of your own daily life right now, what would it be and how?
Describe a problem you solved by writing code or building a workflow without being told how
Would you be open to traveling to Thailand for an in-person workshop if needed? (expenses covered)
Would you be open to relocating eventually if the fit was right?

7. One paragraph: what's your dream for the next five years? Where do you want to be? What kind of role? What kind of life?
8. Your starting part-time retainer rate ($450-$600/month at 20-25 hrs/week baseline, or your number — explain why)
9. Earliest start date + how many hours/week you can commit
10. One thing you'd push back on or improve in this brief (shows me you think, not just execute)
11. One question you have for me about the role, the company, or me
Generic CVs without the above will be ignored. The Loom plan and self-assessment matter more than the CV. If you used AI to help write your application, just tell me which tool — I respect AI use, I don't respect pretending.
HIRING PROCESS

I review applications + the trial-month plan Loom — Cy and I shortlist together
30-minute video call with shortlist (English tested live, screen-share showing one production system)
Selected candidate starts 30-day paid trial — $450 fixed for 20-25 hrs/week
End of month, we both d ---------- : continue and grow the role, or part ways clean
If continuing ? part-time retainer at $450-$600/month, then path to full-time over time

Payment: Wise transfers OR crypto (USDT/USDC on a network of your choice — TRC-20, ERC-20, Base, Solana). Your call. Monthly in arrears, on time, every time.

If this sounds like your kind of role — apply.

— J W-Blake