James Wade

AI Developer Tools · Enterprise R&D

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3,000ScientistsAI strategy lead
84Shiny Apps50 R + 34 Python
35Packages25 R + 10 Python
posit::confspeaker

About

I build AI-powered developer tools on Posit's stack and ship them at enterprise scale — 35 packages, 84 Shiny apps, and direct collaboration with Posit engineers. At Dow, I lead AI strategy for a 3,000-person R&D organization while navigating the same disruption reshaping how all software gets built. I've been building for what comes next.

Open Source

Creator

Bridges Shiny apps and AI agents via the Model Context Protocol. Auto-detects inputs, tracks the reactive graph, and routes tools — so any Shiny app becomes an MCP server.

Creator

Agentic AI workflows for R. Multi-agent delegation, tool policies, pre/post hooks, structured output, and streaming with a terminal CLI.

Creator

Tidymodels-native package for measurement science — brings psychometric and analytical measurement models into the tidymodels framework with a consistent, composable API.

Creator

Size exclusion chromatography tools built on tidymodels. Calibration, molecular weight distribution analysis, and integration with the measure ecosystem.

Creator

R port of Stanford NLP's DSPy framework — declarative, self-improving language programs. Prompt optimization, module composition, and cost tracking. Officially listed by Stanford.

gptstudio800+ stars
Creator & Maintainer

Early-mover RStudio IDE addin integrating LLMs into the coding workflow. Multi-provider support, published to CRAN. Paved the way for Posit's native AI tooling.

Also contributed to: ellmer, py-shiny, shinychat, tidyr, dplyr, parsnip, embed, rsample, Stanford DSPy, Axolotl, Mistral.AI

Skills

Posit Ecosystem

Shiny (R & Python)RStudio IDE ExtensionsbslibshinychatQuartoConnectWorkbenchPackage Manager

AI & LLMs

Agentic SystemsMCP ProtocolRAGDSPy / Prompt OptimizationMulti-Provider APIsClaude Agent SDKVector DatabasesFine-Tuning

Software Engineering

RPythonTypeScriptPackage Development (CRAN)Git/GitHubCI/CDDockerDuckDB/Arrow

Data Science & Enterprise

TidyverseTidymodelsMLOpsStatistical ModelingPlatform Administration

Experience

Research Scientist

Dow · Midland, MI
2022 – Present
  • Lead AI strategy for Dow's 3,000-person R&D organization and directly advise the CTSO on AI and digitalization priorities.
  • Contributed to Posit open source projects including ellmer, py-shiny, shinychat, and core tidyverse packages.
  • Architected an AI-powered emissions monitoring platform serving 27 manufacturing sites across 6 countries, with an LLM pipeline that auto-converts Excel workbooks into production Python code.
  • Co-developed an LLM-powered Patent Analysis tool highlighted to Dow's Board of Directors and Microsoft's leadership team.
  • Scaled generative AI from proof-of-concept to enterprise-wide deployment, expanding secure access to frontier and open models across the organization.
  • Built and deployed 84 Shiny applications (50 R, 34 Python) to Posit Connect — including ML model APIs, live data pipelines, and 19 AI-powered production apps.
  • Authored 35 packages (25 R, 10 Python), establishing package development patterns and CI/CD workflows adopted organization-wide.
  • Created shinymcp, deputy, dsprrr, and gptstudio — open source AI developer tools spanning MCP protocol, agentic workflows, prompt optimization, and IDE integration.
  • Managed Posit enterprise products (Workbench, Connect, Package Manager) for 400 users: secured funding, defined support model, led roadmap discussions with Posit leadership.
  • 3× posit::conf speaker (2023–2025), R/Pharma presenter, and international R user group speaker on LLM integration and AI tooling.

Associate Research Scientist

Dow · Midland, MI
2020 – 2022
  • Founded and led the data science strategy team for Analytical Science, defining best practices for R, Python, and AI enablement across a 400-person organization.
  • Designed and delivered the Citizen Data Science curriculum and led Posit Academy mentorship, achieving >90% training completion and mentoring 25+ professionals across multiple organizations.
  • Key contributor to Dow's enterprise AI Strategy, defining the organizational operating model and leading the Scale & Standards sub-team.
  • Led an AI-enabled plastic recycling project, building ML models that maintained product performance with increased recycled content — recognized with two internal awards.

Senior Chemist

Dow · Midland, MI
2018 – 2020
  • Pioneered a deep learning approach to modeling product performance in manufacturing, resulting in a patent submission and $2.3MM+ in realized value.
  • Built a Shiny-based Duty Drawback tool enabling $2.5MM one-time and $1.2MM annual savings for the supply chain organization.

Postdoctoral Fellow

University of Michigan · Ann Arbor, MI
2017
  • Biosensor and microfluidic research, supporting lab transition from UIUC to the University of Michigan.

Graduate Research Fellow

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign · Urbana, IL
2012 – 2017
  • Developed biosensors and microfluidic tools for precision medicine, including multiplex diagnostic panels on silicon photonic microring resonator arrays.
  • Integrated microring resonators with separation technologies for applications in industrial polymer analysis.
  • Mentored 4 undergraduate and 3 graduate students; contributed to successful NSF and NIH proposals.

Undergraduate Research Fellow

Furman University · Greenville, SC
2008 – 2012
  • Published 2 research papers, delivered 14 presentations, and mentored 5 undergraduate students.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign · Urbana, IL
2012 – 2017

Thesis: Expanding the Toolbox for Precision Medicine with Silicon Photonic Microring Resonators and Microfluidic Technologies

Bachelor of Science in Chemistry

Furman University · Greenville, SC
2008 – 2012

Thesis: Characterization of Cr(III) and Ru(II) Complexes with ESI-MS and the Investigation of Potential Bond Formation between Cr(III) and DNA using UPLC-ESI-MS

Awards & Recognition

2021

Technical Achievement Award (Project Lead)

Dow

Recognition for research breakthroughs in AI-enabled polymer recycling with demonstrated high-value business impact

2021

Manufacturing Innovation Award (Project Lead)

Dow

Recognition for significant value delivery through data science applications in manufacturing and supply chain

2019

Data Science Innovation Challenge Winner (1 of 3 selected — Project Lead)

Dow

Company-wide competition to fund projects with transformative potential in applied data science

2016

ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry Graduate Fellowship

University of Illinois

American Chemical Society recognition of top graduate students in Analytical Chemistry

2012 – 2015

NSF Graduate Research Fellow

University of Illinois

National Science Foundation grant funding three years of graduate research

Publications

10 peer-reviewed publications listed below, plus 40 internal publications, 29 internal technical reports, and 8 internal filings for intellectual property disclosure.

  1. The Citizen Data Science program at DowAndrews K, Arturo S, Benedict M, Braun B, Clark B, Cook S, Curtis-Fisk J, D'Ottaviano F, Licquia T, Margl P, Moore J, Naler L, Singh P, Schmidt A, Sokolov A, Talbert J, Wade JH. Digital Discovery, 2025.
  2. A linear mass concentration detector for solvent gradient polymer separationsMordan EH, Wade JH, Pearce E, Meunier DM, Bailey RC. Analyst, 2020.
  3. Recent advances in separation-based techniques for synthetic polymer characterizationMeunier DM, Wade JH, Janco M, Cong R, Gao W, Li Y, Mekap D, Wang G. Analytical Chemistry, 2020.
  4. Silicon Photonic Microring Resonator Arrays for Mass Concentration Detection of Polymers in Isocratic SeparationsMordan EH, Wade JH, Wiersma ZSB, Pearce E, Pangburn TO, deGroot AW, Meunier DM, Bailey RC. Analytical Chemistry, 2018.
  5. Microfluidic platform for efficient Nanodisc assembly, membrane protein incorporation, and purificationWade JH, Jones JD, Lenov IL, Riordan CM, Sligar SG, Bailey RC. Lab on a Chip, 2017.
  6. Applications of optical microcavity resonators in analytical chemistryWade JH, Bailey RC. Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry, 2016.
  7. Rapid, multiplexed phosphoprotein profiling using silicon photonic sensor arraysWade JH, Alsop AT, Vertin NR, Yang H, Johnson MD, Bailey RC. ACS Central Science, 2015.
  8. Refractive index-based detection of gradient elution liquid chromatography using chip-integrated microring resonator arraysWade JH, Bailey RC. Analytical Chemistry, 2014.
  9. A unified mechanism for abiotic adenine and purine synthesis in formamideHudson JS, Eberle JF, Vachhani RH, Rogers LC, Wade JH, Krishnamurthy R, Springsteen G. Angewandte Chemie, 2012.
  10. Synthesis of cis and trans Bis-alkynyl Complexes of Cr(III) and Rh(III) Supported by a Tetradentate Macrocyclic Amine: A Spectroscopic Investigation of the M(III)–Alkynyl InteractionSun C, Turlington CR, Thomas WW, Wade JH, Stout WM, Grisenti DL, Forrest WP, VanDerveer DG, Wagenknecht PS. Inorganic Chemistry, 2011.

Presentations (Selected)

Selected from 30+ external presentations, mostly given at scientific and technology conferences.

2025

Disposable Shiny Apps

James Wade — posit::conf(2025)
2024

Posit Academy in the Age of Generative AI — Lessons from the Frontlines

James Wade — posit::conf(2024)
2024

Integrating AI Assistants into Shiny Apps

James Wade — R/Pharma 2024
2024

Building a Chatbot with OpenAI, Shiny & R

James Wade — Tunis R User Group & R Ladies Rome
2023

Large Language Models in RStudio

James Wade — posit::conf(2023)
2022

Empowering Citizen Data Scientists with RStudio Academy

James Wade — RStudio Meetup
2021

Accelerating Innovation with AI in R&D

James Wade, Matt Malloure — Dow's BEST Symposium
2021

Industrial Perspective of AI, ML, and Data Science

James Wade, Leo Chiang — Guest Lecture, University of California at Berkeley