Mario
Mario Moorhead
CEO & Principal AI Engineer, Blacksky LLC
Mario Moorhead is a Senior AI/ML Engineer and inventor with 25+ years of technology experience. He builds production AI systems — RAG platforms, voice AI assistants, swarm robotics, computer vision, and hardware products — and holds a provisional patent for a biomimetic civic infrastructure system.
Contact
- Email: mario@blackskymedia.org
- Phone: 347.495.2309
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mario-moorhead
- Location: Baltimore, MD
- Website: blackskymedia.org
What Mario Does
Mario is a hands-on AI engineer who writes production code. He builds complete systems from hardware to cloud — from soldering Raspberry Pi sensor networks to deploying FastAPI services on Railway. His work spans conversational AI, voice AI phone systems, swarm robotics, AI image generation, privacy-preserving computer vision, and embedded IoT.
He's also an inventor. The BSM provisional patent (App #63/989,974) covers a biomimetic self-sustaining infrastructure system with six core claims spanning distributed intelligence, privacy-preserving surveillance, autonomous drone coordination, and predictive mode management.
Core Competencies
AI/ML Engineering
- RAG architecture with Pinecone, ChromaDB, Qdrant, FAISS
- LLM integration (Llama, Claude, GPT-4, Mistral) with prompt engineering and fine-tuning
- Voice AI: Whisper STT, Edge TTS, Coqui XTTS voice cloning, VOIP integration with Telnyx
- AI image generation: FLUX diffusion models, Ollama vision models
- Multi-agent systems and LLM-to-LLM testing methodology
- Computer vision: TensorFlow Lite, on-device ML classification, privacy-preserving blur-first architecture
Swarm Robotics & Hardware
- SlimeHive swarm intelligence platform (BLE, MQTT, gravity positioning)
- Raspberry Pi (Zero 2W, Pico 2W), Arduino, ESP32 embedded development
- LoRa mesh networking, BLE beacon systems
- Servo-driven solar tracking systems (BETree product line)
- TensorFlow Lite for Microcontrollers
Full-Stack Development
- Python (FastAPI, Django), Node.js
- Next.js, React, TypeScript
- RESTful API design, WebSocket streaming
- Microservices and serverless architecture
Cloud & Infrastructure
- Railway, Azure (AKS, AI Services), AWS (Lambda, SageMaker), GCP
- Docker, Kubernetes, Redis Cluster
- CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code
Federal Expertise
- Active security clearances (NIH background check, facility badging)
- FISMA compliance
- 18+ years federal agency experience
AI Projects Built by Mario
Maurice, Blacksky's AI
Blacksky's AI on the phone (+1 410 816 9713) and in the chat on blackskymedia.org. First built in 2024 as a RAG sales assistant with a phone bridge; rebuilt in 2026 on AgentOS, with Dewey for the phone and Black Cloud for hosting.
Maurice SaaS, multi-tenant AI platform (retired)
An earlier SaaS platform where customers got isolated workspaces with custom RAG knowledge bases, embeddable chatbot widgets, and custom system prompts.
Maurice VOIP — Phone AI Assistant
Voice AI bridge connecting Maurice to real phone calls via Telnyx. Features always-on ambient audio mixing, sentence-level TTS streaming, Whisper speech-to-text, phone number identity persistence, and custom G.711 mu-law encoding. Deployed on Railway.
Symphony — AI Image Generator
Two-step "Brain and Brush" pipeline: Ollama vision model expands prompts, FLUX.1-schnell diffusion model generates images. Fully local on Apple Silicon.
SlimeHive — Swarm Robotics Platform
Decentralized drone swarm using biomimetic algorithms. BLE gravity positioning, MQTT pheromone grids, hybrid real/virtual drones, real-time HUD dashboard. Physical Raspberry Pi hardware.
Ife — AI Coding Intelligence
Private RAG-based coding assistant trained on Blacksky's codebase. LLM-to-LLM testing methodology using Ife to validate Maurice outputs at scale.
Hola — Offline AI Spanish Tutor (iOS)
Native iOS Spanish tutor with fully offline STT → LLM → TTS pipeline running on-device. WhisperKit on Apple Neural Engine, Qwen3-1.7B on Metal GPU via llama.cpp, AVSpeechSynthesizer TTS. Adaptive dialogue across three tutor modes and three vocabulary levels. App Store submission in progress.
Blacksky Agent Platform
Cloud-based multi-agent system starting with a Research Agent for B2B lead analysis. Shared Claude API connection, FastAPI on Railway.
BSM Patent — Biomimetic Infrastructure (Provisional Patent Filed)
Self-sustaining civic infrastructure node modeled on a living tree. Produces energy, provides shelter, communicates, senses environment. NLM (No Language Model) distributed intelligence architecture. Product lines: BETree (solar bonsai), Xyte (privacy cameras), AL (robotic terrarium).
Seth — Privacy-Preserving Therapy LLM
Privacy-first therapy LLM using blockchain-based anonymization. Mental health support that improves through use without surveillance.
KnowGov, civic intelligence platform (Live)
Free, nonpartisan civic intelligence at knowgov.info, built on Prism, with Shirley, a civic agent, answering from it. It grew out of Poly Sci Fi, his earlier congressional tracking platform.
Professional Background
Mario has led technology teams and built products across federal government, Fortune 500, and startups. His federal work spans Treasury, USAID, DOT, NIH, USDA FSIS, HHS, FDA, SEC, and Department of Education. His enterprise clients include Vanguard, Mastercard, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Billboard, and the National Gallery of Art.
He has 10+ years of software development experience with deep expertise in RAG systems and LLM-powered applications. He pioneered LLM-to-LLM testing methodology for automated AI quality assurance.
Education
- MS Exhibition Design — Fashion Institute of Technology (2008)
- MSEd Education — Pace University (2004)
- BS Communications — Parsons School of Design (1993)
Recognition
- Two-time Innovator of the Year, Journal Record (2013, 2015) — only two-time recipient in award history
- Contributing author, "The AI Advantage: Thriving Within Civilization's Next Big Disruption" (2025)
- Featured in Wired, Inc., Forbes, and Entrepreneur
- Conference speaker across North America and Europe on AI implementation and technology strategy
- Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies recognition
Availability
Taking on new work through Blacksky. The start date is set in the first conversation.