Cryptography & Security
Production-minded security work around primitives, protocols, and operational trust boundaries.
- · Post-quantum cryptography
- · Protocol design
- · Key management
- · HSM / KMS architecture
- · Threat modeling
- · Secure systems review
Rick Glenn · Exocognosis
I build and rapidly ship useful technical projects that create real-world value.
I work on security, infrastructure, and product-oriented systems, with a focus on turning hard problems into working tools.
One of a small number of people building production post-quantum infrastructure as a solo architect.
Currently taking 1–2 engagements starting Q3 2026
About
I’m a technical builder focused on shipping practical systems that solve real problems. I like work that combines engineering depth, speed, and clear value creation.
Core skills & competencies
Deep systems work across cryptography, infrastructure, and production software.
Blockchain & Distributed Systems
Rust-first architecture for ledgers, validators, consensus paths, and fault-tolerant infrastructure.
- · Rust L1 architecture
- · Consensus systems
- · Validator infrastructure
- · State machines
- · Distributed ledgers
- · Fault tolerance
Coding Frameworks
Frameworks and languages for shipping reliable products, tools, APIs, and automation quickly.
- · Rust
- · TypeScript / Next.js
- · Node.js
- · Swift / SwiftUI
- · API design
- · CLI / devtools
- · Python
- · Qiskit
Infrastructure & Product Execution
Hands-on technical leadership across deployment, performance, networking, and product architecture.
- · Secure networking / VPN
- · Performance engineering
- · Observability
- · Linux deployment
- · Automation
- · Fractional CTO execution
Agentic AI Engineering
Production-grade AI systems for high-leverage technical teams.
Production AI
Designed for reliability, auditability, and cost control
Agentic Workflows
Autonomous execution with clear human control points
Secure Systems
AI integrated with cybersecurity, infrastructure, and PQC thinking
I design, deploy, integrate, and operate AI systems that connect large language models to business processes, secure infrastructure, and domain knowledge. The work is not experimentation for its own sake. It is engineering: clear architecture, observable behavior, bounded risk, and measurable value.
My strongest AI work sits at the intersection of Agentic AI, cybersecurity, distributed systems, Post-Quantum Cryptography, and infrastructure engineering.
Agentic AICybersecurityDistributed SystemsPost-Quantum CryptographyInfrastructure Engineering
Open-source research implementation of recurrent-depth transformer architecture, built as a practical exploration of model structure, inference scaling, and advanced transformer design.
PythonPyTorchTransformersMoEMLA/GQAInference scaling
Agent Architecture
Autonomous systems that can plan, call tools, recover from errors, and keep people in control where judgment matters.
- · Multi-agent systems
- · Agent orchestration
- · Autonomous workflows
- · Tool integration
- · Planning and execution loops
- · Human-in-the-loop systems
LLM Engineering
Model integrations built around structured behavior, measurable quality, and the operational constraints of real products.
- · OpenAI integration
- · Anthropic integration
- · Local LLM deployment
- · Prompt engineering
- · Context engineering
- · Structured outputs
- · Model evaluation and optimization
Retrieval & Knowledge Systems
Knowledge layers that turn scattered documents, code, policies, and domain context into usable decision support.
- · Retrieval-Augmented Generation
- · Vector databases
- · Semantic search
- · Knowledge graphs
- · Document ingestion pipelines
- · Enterprise knowledge systems
AI Infrastructure
Deployment paths for AI APIs, inference flows, automation pipelines, observability, and budget-aware operations.
- · AI APIs
- · Workflow automation
- · Model routing
- · Inference pipelines
- · Observability and monitoring
- · Cost optimization
Applied AI Solutions
Practical AI systems for founders, CTOs, innovation teams, and enterprise operators who need outcomes, not demos.
- · Research agents
- · Knowledge assistants
- · Security analysis agents
- · Operational automation
- · Decision support systems
- · Enterprise AI copilots
Featured projects
A few examples of what I build.
PQC Layer 1 blockchain and related infrastructure.
RustLayer 1PQCDistributed systemsConsensusCryptography
Security product built on top of advanced infrastructure.
SecurityPQCEnterpriseInfrastructureKey management
Post-quantum secure VPN and networking project.
NetworkingVPNPQCTunnelsSecure transport
Research
Active technical problems I am working through.
Problem
Lattice-based primitives like ML-DSA-65 lack natural algebraic aggregation, causing severe blockchain state bloat. Combining individual validator signatures causes execution networks to face exponential packet fragmentation, memory exhaustion at the edge, and punishing gas overhead.
Solution
I am engineering a multi-round, post-quantum threshold signing protocol. The critical engineering challenge is safely coordinating distributed polynomial commitment phases across asynchronous networks without introducing timing vulnerabilities, key-biasing vectors, or malicious session poisoning. I am building a modular, type-safe Rust adapter framework to isolate this cryptographic state machine from the live consensus engine.
ML-DSAThreshold signaturesRustConsensusPost-quantum cryptography
Problem
Post-quantum signature schemes still force hard tradeoffs between standardization, signature size, implementation fragility, and newer assumptions. The open question is whether recursive, phase-separated key generation can support compact seed-derived private keys, phase-specific signing domains, and future batch or aggregate verification without creating exploitable cross-scale correlations.
Solution
I am developing RPS-SIG as an attackable research framework rather than a production scheme. The repository formalizes a recursive state tree derived from one root seed, phase-local public projections, Merkle commitments, and global public-key binding. It separates a conservative hash-based construction path from experimental finite-geometric variants so the security games, proof obligations, misuse tests, and implementation criteria can be reviewed before any stronger cryptographic claims are made.
RPS-SIGDigital signaturesHash-based signaturesMerkle commitmentsPost-quantum cryptography
What I’m looking for
I’m especially interested in high-leverage technical collaborations, infrastructure work, security work, and teams that value execution.
Roles that fit
- Founding Engineer
- Technical Co-founder
- Principal / Staff Engineer
- Head of Platform / Infrastructure
- Security Architect
- Infrastructure Architect
- Fractional CTO
- Technical Advisor
What fits
Strong fits usually involve security, infrastructure, technical depth, or unusually useful systems with real-world application.
Project types
- Post-Quantum Migration
- L1 / Consensus Design
- Secure Networking / VPN
- Cryptographic Protocols
- Distributed Systems
- Key Management / HSM
- Critical Infrastructure
- Performance-Critical Systems
Project submission
Have something interesting to build?
If you’re working on a project and think it may be a fit, send a short description and any supporting documents. I’ll review it for alignment with my interests.
Contact
Reach out directly via the links below.
© 2026 Rick Glenn · Exocognosis