Author Biography
Jeff Katz is a Machine Learning Engineer with a deep background in applied AI, data engineering, and technical education. At AppFolio, he designs and builds AI agents that guide prospects through the sales lifecycle using LangChain, LangGraph, and OpenAI models. His work combines natural language processing, reinforcement learning, and production engineering to bring intelligent automation into real business workflows. He also contributes to AppFolio’s multi-agent systems in Python and Java using PyTorch and large language models.
Jeff is an active open source contributor at the intersection of agentic AI and developer tooling. At All Hands AI, he enhanced OpenDevin’s autonomous coding agent by implementing multilingual linting and integration with the Tree-sitter library—improving the system’s performance and accuracy on SWEBench benchmarks. He also refactored LangChain integrations for Perplexity AI and Neo4J, optimizing embedding pipelines with Hugging Face models.
Before focusing on ML engineering, Jeff founded Jigsaw Labs, where he built and taught full-stack, data science, and MLOps curricula. His students have gone on to roles at companies like Amazon, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Microsoft. Previously, as Lead Instructor and Curriculum Writer at Flatiron School, he launched the data science program from scratch, growing it into one of the most recognized bootcamps in the field.
Earlier in his career, Jeff developed child welfare software at Case Commons, helping build one of the first web-based social service tools, and worked in corporate law before transitioning into tech.
Today, Jeff combines his technical depth and teaching expertise to advance practical, open, and responsible AI systems—empowering both engineers and learners to build the next generation of intelligent software.