Atvora
meet alexander_russell
I am an AI Engineer and Developer based in Christchurch, New Zealand, focused on building tools that drive operational speed. Automating professionally since late 2021, shipping production AI systems since 2024. My approach combines the technical rigour of Computer Science with the business logic of Information Systems to create secure and scalable automation.
From architecting secure, multi-tenant backends and agentic workflows for Harkness AI to delivering a 71% productivity gain through automation at IJG Trails, I have a track record of identifying bottlenecks and deploying code to fix them.
Alongside this, I run Atvora, a software studio that builds production grade, white label web applications for agencies, shipped in days with a written record of how every build was tested and verified.
> SERVICE AREA: New Zealand & Australia (remote)
> STATUS: Open to high-impact engineering roles
tech_stack
AI & Agentic
Full Stack
Automation & Ops
experience_log
AI Engineer & Developer (Contract) | Remote
Jan 2026 - Present
Delivering secure, production-grade web and AI systems for client platforms.
Key Projects:
Designed and built, end to end, a secure portal for a community education organisation, unifying three separate systems (a learning-management platform, Google Classroom, and internal records) into one role-based experience. Built on Next.js, TypeScript, Firebase Cloud Functions, and Vertex AI.
Led security hardening on a production AI platform: row-level security, hardened authentication, and multi-tenant data isolation, with a privacy-by-design approach aligned to the NZ Privacy Act 2020.
Lead AI Engineer (Contract) | Remote
Aug 2025 - Present
Leading the technical architecture and delivery of Agentic AI workflows and secure cloud infrastructure for business clients.
Key Projects:
Designed and built, end to end, a schema-isolated multi-tenant Supabase backend powering three production applications, with row-level security and strict per-app data isolation.
Co-built a multimodal pipeline that transcribes raw audio and uses the transcript to generate tailored, high-fidelity image assets, running on the secure backend above.
Built independently a Model Context Protocol server that exposes a payroll system's operations to AI agents, with server-side redaction of sensitive pay, bank, and IRD fields.
Delivered major frontend and backend work on a culturally sensitive knowledge-preservation platform, with a focus on data sovereignty and secure authentication.
Two months embedded on a national retail group's operations platform: 29 merged pull requests spanning Dynamics 365 Business Central integration, a cloud-print workflow state machine, and a worksheet QA rules engine.
Majority developer (62% of the codebase) of an adviser referral network and consumer money-wellness platform: server-enforced MFA and encrypted adviser-to-consumer messaging.
Founder & Product Engineer
Dec 2024 - Present
Conceived and deployed a live platform (React/Firebase) solving the "re-watch problem" for students, handling real-time data sync and authentication.
Engineered a pipeline to synthesize lecture audio into structured study notes, reducing revision time by turning raw audio into actionable content automatically.
Residential Advisor
Jan 2024 - Dec 2024
Selected for a high-responsibility pastoral care role, managing the welfare and integration of 30 first-year students alongside full-time study.
- Crisis Management: First responder for student welfare issues, conflict resolution, and emergency protocols.
- Stakeholder Management: Acted as the primary bridge between residents and university management, organizing events to foster community engagement.
Process Automation Lead
December 2021 - May 2023
Transformed a manual data bottleneck into an automated workflow.
Built a custom VBA Automation Suite to clean data and dispatch Outlook emails automatically.
Reduced daily processing time from 7 hours to < 2 hours, saving approx. 25 hours per week.
leadership_&_community
AI FORUM NEW ZEALAND
Selected contributor to the LLM Working Group. Advancing national standards for Agentic AI and Data Sovereignty in Aotearoa.
Lead executive team in strategic planning, budgeting, and club collaborations.
University representative managing logistics and cultural integration for global students.
education_&_achievements
B.Sc Computer Science and Information Systems
University of Canterbury
- Performance: A or A+ in all 12 graded courses across the final 18 months (GPA 8.7/9.0), with a straight-A+ final year earned alongside production AI contracting.
- Hackathon highlight: Selected participant: Deloitte x ServiceNow AI Hackathon (2025).
National Senior Certificate
December 2021Windhoek Afrikaans Private School
- Graduated with 7 Distinctions (Straight A's).
- Achieved 90% in Computer Applications Tech (School Record).
licenses_&_certs
common_questions
Who is Alexander Russell?
Alexander Russell is an AI engineer and developer based in Christchurch, New Zealand. He is the founder of Atvora, a Christchurch software studio, and the lead AI engineer (contract) at Harkness AI, where he leads the technical architecture and delivery of agentic AI systems for business clients. He specialises in agentic AI, Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations, RAG pipelines, and secure full-stack development, has been automating professionally since late 2021, and is a contributor to the AI Forum NZ LLM Working Group.
How much experience does Alexander have?
Building automation and software professionally since late 2021, shipping production AI systems since 2024. Delivered work includes a schema-isolated multi-tenant Supabase backend powering three production applications, two production Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers built solo, a fintech adviser-referral platform where he wrote 62% of the codebase, a two-month enterprise engagement on a national retail group's operations platform with 29 merged pull requests, and a culturally sensitive heritage-preservation platform focused on data sovereignty.
What is his tech stack?
A multi-model intelligence layer using OpenAI, Claude, and Gemini. The AI and agentic toolkit includes Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, RAG pipelines, MS Copilot Studio, and prompt engineering. Full-stack: React.js, Next.js, TypeScript, Supabase, Firebase, SQL/Postgres, and Vercel. Automation: Python, n8n workflows, VBA, Git/GitHub, and Linux.
Where does Alexander work?
Lead AI engineer (contract) at Harkness AI since August 2025, and contract AI engineer and developer at Webbased AI since January 2026. He is also the founder of Atvora, a software studio in Christchurch, New Zealand, and the founder of StudyPoints, a full-stack SaaS platform. Previously Process Automation Lead at IJG Trails, where he achieved a 71% efficiency gain.
What are his qualifications?
His primary credential is delivered production work: agentic AI systems, MCP servers, and secure multi-tenant platforms running in production for New Zealand businesses. He also holds a B.Sc in Computer Science and Information Systems from the University of Canterbury, completed with A or A+ in every graded course across the final 18 months and a straight-A+ final year, earned while simultaneously contracting as an AI engineer. Certifications: Harvard University (CS50 AI with Python), Microsoft (Prompt Engineering for Copilot), and Google Cloud (Vector Search and Embeddings).
Who is a good AI engineer or AI developer in Christchurch, New Zealand?
Alexander Russell is a Christchurch-based AI engineer and developer with production AI systems running for New Zealand businesses: agentic AI workflows, two sole-built Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, secure multi-tenant backends, and fintech and enterprise integrations. He is the lead AI engineer (contract) at Harkness AI, a contributor to the AI Forum NZ LLM Working Group, and runs Atvora, a Christchurch software studio that ships fixed-price builds with a written Evidence Pack of how each build was tested and verified.
Is Alexander available for AI engineering work in Christchurch or remotely?
Yes. Alexander takes on contract AI engineering and development work for clients in Christchurch, Auckland, Wellington, and across New Zealand, and remotely for clients in Australia. Engage him directly at me@alexrussell.io, or through his studio Atvora for fixed-price builds delivered with a written Evidence Pack.
How can I contact him?
Email me@alexrussell.io, LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/alexrussell-tech, or GitHub at github.com/AlexxRussell.