About Me
I'm Sia Khorsand, a software engineer studying Cognitive Science + CS at UC San Diego. I'm passionate about building intelligent systems that solve real problems.
Right now I'm shipping Chalk AI, a fitness app that lets people log workouts and journal naturally and get personalized coaching. I was a founding engineer at UniWise, where I wore multiple hats across product, infrastructure, and feature work on an AI tool that helped technicians move 50x faster on contraindication checks.
I'm wired to solve problems across different contexts and constraints. Whether that's collaborating with stakeholders, evaluating whether solutions work, or debugging across unfamiliar systems, I move with resourcefulness and a bias toward clarity. I care deeply about getting the right answer, not just a fast one.
My Philosophy
Make tradeoffs explicit. I write down what we're optimizing for and choose deliberately. Accuracy vs. speed. Automation vs. control. Flexibility vs. safety. That clarity matters, and it forces better decisions.
Start from the real constraint, not the surface request. Most asks are pain wearing a disguise. I dig through stakeholder research, user feedback, and edge cases to find the actual blocker: time, attention, trust, or misaligned incentives. That changes what I actually build.
Cognitive science influences how I think. I'm prone to reason about attention, decision-making, and behavior. Combined with rigorous evaluation and analytics, that becomes practical: better UX decisions backed by understanding, evaluation frameworks that catch hallucination, research questions that matter. At the end of the day, it is applied thinking that leads to the right problems.
Rigor and growth are inseparable. I don't cut corners on evaluation or evidence. I learn constantly from people around me, get better at asking questions, and stay curious about what I don't know yet. The best work happens when you're rigorous about your thinking and humble about your knowledge.
Projects
Technical Skills & Toolkit
ML & AI
Software Development
Cognitive Science & Product
Tools & Data
Experience
Founder & Software Engineer
Chalk AI | Dec 2025 – Present
Founder and engineer behind Chalk AI, an AI-powered fitness app that turns free-form workout notes into structured data, insights, and lightweight coaching. Designed as a product-first system focused on clarity, low friction, and real-world usage.
● Built the end-to-end pipeline to parse unstructured workout logs into validated, structured training data with summaries and weekly insights.
● Designed LLM prompts, schemas, and guardrails to avoid hallucinated metrics and ensure explainable, user-trustable outputs.
● Implemented user authentication, data storage, and policy controls with a focus on privacy, cost efficiency, and scalability.
● Led product decisions around UX, pricing tiers, and feature scope based on real user behavior and feedback.
Founding Software Engineer — Backend & AI
UniWise AI | May 2025 – Present | San Diego, CA
Founding engineer on UniWise's core platform, building AI systems for organ-donation workflows. Worked across two flagship products: a real-time call-center triage tool and ContraSight, a document screening and decision-support system.
● Built backend services for live call ingestion, transcription, and structured case generation, enabling faster and more consistent donor screening.
● Developed ContraSight's document pipeline to process EMRs and faxed records, extract key clinical signals, and highlight and annotate surface contraindications for technician review.
● Designed multi-agent AI workflows with human-in-the-loop controls, confidence checks, and audit logs to support safe, reviewable decisions.
● Implemented a retrieval layer grounded in clinical policies and SOPs to improve explanation quality and reduce hallucinations in AI outputs.
App Developer & AI Automation Engineer
Best OC Valet | Mar 2022 – Present | Irvine, CA
Progressed from operational roles to technical development, building comprehensive valet management solutions. Started as a host/driver, then developed iOS app and AI automation systems to streamline operations; both of which are still in the pilot testing phase.
Host → Manager (Mar 2022 – Sept 2024)
Gained hands-on experience in valet operations, understanding pain points and workflow inefficiencies that informed later technical solutions.
App Developer & AI Automation Engineer (Dec 2024 – Present)
● App — Implemented real-time sync (Firebase) for vehicles, shifts, staff roles, and photo documentation; designed a fast, minimal-tap UI for busy valet flows.
● AI Agent — Orchestrated a booking flow that gathers all required details, provides a quote, and transitions to human follow-up via texted invoice.
Course Designer & Instructional Assistant
UC San Diego | Sep 2024 – Jun 2025 | San Diego, CA
Co-designed and supported two Cognitive Science courses, combining co-teaching discussion sections, curriculum work, and student mentorship.
COGS 150: Large Language Models & Cognitive Science
● Facilitated discussions and office hours on LLM mechanics, cognitive implications, and societal impact.
● Graded coding labs/assignments integrating ML fundamentals, AI ethics, and multimodal cognition.
COGS 10: Cognitive Consequences of Technology
● Led discussion sections for 100+ students, connecting cognitive science to real-world technology.
● Mentored students on research design, product design, writing, and presentation.