Rodrigo Silva Ferreira
developer tooling · open source · python · ai-native development · product strategy · devrel · devex
Most recently I worked on Positron, Posit's data science IDE for Python and R — shipping production features, developer tooling, and the automated testing that keeps releases trustworthy.
$ whoami I build open source tools, study how developers adopt AI, and translate technical innovation into products developers trust and love to use. $ rsf --interests --ai-native-dev --scientific-computing --python --jupyter --developer-experience $ grep motto ~/.profile motto="Helping developers build, adopt, and trust AI." $
AI-generated responses may be incomplete or inaccurate. Answers are grounded only in Rodrigo's published portfolio content. Please verify important information using the linked sources or contact Rodrigo directly.
- conference appearances
- 20+
- research publications
- 8
- citations
- 300+
- countries presented in
- 5+
From talks and travels
Scientific rigor, product instinct
I studied chemistry, applied mathematics, and Arabic before a master's in analytical chemistry. Research taught me to question assumptions, design good experiments, and communicate evidence clearly — habits that led me into developer tooling, open source, and AI.
At Posit, I worked on the quality and developer experience of Positron, a data science IDE for Python and R — shipping production code, improving notebook workflows, and representing the product through talks and technical writing, while contributing to Project Jupyter and the broader Python ecosystem.
Now I'm focused on how AI is reshaping software development: helping developers build trustworthy, reproducible workflows that scale from experimentation to production. What motivates me most is finding friction and turning it into better products.
Where I've worked
QA Engineer / SDET
Posit PBC — Positron Data Science IDE
Shipped production features that remove daily friction for data scientists, translated practitioner pain points into fixes alongside Product and Engineering, and built hands-on command of the Python packaging ecosystem — conda, pip, uv, pixi — while prototyping AI-assisted developer tooling.
Software Quality Engineer
Minitab — Minitab Connect & Solution Center
Validated API-driven data-integration pipelines and analytics dashboards end to end, and partnered with Engineering and Product to keep connectors, contracts, and releases trustworthy for data practitioners.
Associate Production Scientist
MilliporeSigma — HPLC Chiral Bondings Lab
Investigated manufacturing deviations through structured QC/QA data analysis under GMP and data-integrity requirements, bringing Lean Six Sigma discipline to laboratory operations.
Graduate Research Assistant
University of Pittsburgh — Star Research Group
Researched electrochemical sensing for biomarker detection and opioid-overdose prevention, building Python workflows for signal processing and reproducible, validated analysis.
Graduate Teaching Assistant
University of Pittsburgh — Department of Chemistry
Taught General Chemistry laboratory courses, integrating computational tools and simulations into hands-on science education.
Post-Graduate Summer Research Assistant
NYU Abu Dhabi — Naumov Group / Smart Materials Lab
Continued smart-materials research after graduation under Prof. Panče Naumov.
Research Assistant — Linguistics
NYU Abu Dhabi, with Prof. Gregory Guy (NYU)
Coded null subjects in Portuguese interview transcripts, preparing datasets for cross-linguistic modeling of pronoun usage.
Research Assistant — Polymer Nanofibers
Tel Aviv University
Synthesized polymer nanofibers and confirmed products via NMR across multi-step organic synthesis routes.
Research Assistant — DNA Nanotechnology
New York University
Built 3D DNA tensegrity triangles and grew DNA crystals in the lab of Prof. Ned Seeman, the field's inventor.
Peer Tutor
NYU Abu Dhabi — Writing Center
Ran 1:1 tutoring sessions on every kind of writing, from academic essays to poetry.
Research Assistant — Smart Materials
NYU Abu Dhabi — Naumov Group / Smart Materials Lab
Researched thermo- and mechanosalient molecular crystals — work that led to publications in Nature Communications and Angewandte Chemie — and built an automated asphaltene-inhibitor testing system with robotics and Python.
Scientific Initiation Program Junior Fellow
CNPq — Federal University of Bahia
A year of mathematical training in algebra, geometry, and combinatorics that started it all.
Education
M.Sc. Analytical Chemistry
University of Pittsburgh — electrochemical sensing for opioid-overdose prevention.
B.Sc. Chemistry — Minors in Applied Mathematics & Arabic
NYU Abu Dhabi — materials science research on smart, adaptive molecular crystals.
Around this site
Talks →
20+ appearances — PyCon US, SciPy, posit::conf, PyData, and more.
Projects →
Environment tooling, notebook ecosystem observatories, and more.
Publications →
Nature Communications, Angewandte Chemie — 300+ citations.
Recordings →
Selected talk recordings in one YouTube playlist.