Jerome Hardaway.

Jerome Hardaway, Founder and Executive Director of Vets Who Code

I build production AI systems and teach veterans to ship them.

Since 2014 I have led the software, the curriculum and the engineering behind Vets Who Code, a nonprofit that has trained more than 300 veterans for careers in tech.

See the work Recruiter fast lane

Open to data and AI roles: Senior AI Engineer, Senior Data Engineer or AI Engineering Leader.

Atlanta, Georgia, working remotely. Reach me on LinkedIn or GitHub.

Jerome Hardaway

300+ veterans trained since 2014. 97% placed in jobs. $20M+ in alumni earnings. $0 tuition.

Source: internal cohort data, reported by Diginomica, December 2025.

Proof of work

All artifacts

Six things I built or run at Vets Who Code. Each one has a deep dive with the architecture, the tradeoffs, the tests and what I would change.

  • 5.1 to 1.2points of AI grading spread, across three eval rounds

    Hashflag Skills

    Cut AI résumé-grading spread from 5.1 points to 1.2 with a three-round eval.

    Makes an AI-generated score stable enough to give a job seeker advice from it.

    • LLM evaluation
    • Claude Code
    • Python
    • TypeScript
    • CI on every push
    • eval run October 2026
    • 98–100% grader agreement

    Deep diveRepoEval

  • 388 of 389commits on a production AI backend are mine

    J0DI3 AI backend

    Built a production AI teaching backend alone, with 670+ tests.

    Gives every veteran in the program coaching on demand without giving away the answer.

    • Python
    • FastAPI
    • RAG
    • PostgreSQL
    • pgvector
    • Terraform
    • 70% coverage floor in CI
    • runs on Cloud Run
    • token budget per learner

    Deep diveCode walkthrough on request

  • $0in API keys to run a 7-skill, 7-agent job search kit

    AI-Era Job Kit

    Shipped a 7-skill, 7-agent job search kit that runs on $0 of API keys.

    Lets any job seeker score their résumé against live labor data and rerun every number for free.

    • AI agents
    • Claude Code
    • Python
    • Public data APIs
    • 62 tests passing
    • v1.1.0 released November 2026
    • no dependencies

    Deep diveRepoWorkshop

  • 4,455military job codes translated into tech careers

    MOS Translator

    Turned 4,455 military job codes into tech career guides with zero model cost per view.

    Answers the first question every transitioning veteran asks: what does my job code qualify me for?

    • Data pipelines
    • LLM pipelines
    • Gemini API
    • TypeScript
    • Structured output
    • schema-validated output
    • shipped May 2026
    • static pages

    Deep diveLive demoSource

  • 31 MBserver bundle, down from a deploy that failed at 250 MB

    vetswhocode.io platform

    Took a failing deploy from over 250 MB to a 31 MB server bundle and kept 215 routes shipping.

    Runs the front door of a nonprofit that has trained more than 300 veterans.

    • Next.js
    • TypeScript
    • React
    • CI/CD
    • Playwright
    • about 635 unit tests
    • deployed on Vercel
    • accessibility scan in CI

    Deep diveLive siteRepo

  • 770+GitHub stars on a training program run in public

    Open-source program

    Run a training program in public whose repositories have 770+ stars and 130+ forks.

    Every graduate leaves with a public contribution history an employer can read.

    • Open source
    • Technical leadership
    • Mentoring
    • 26 community pull requests approved
    • 52 forks of Prework
    • $0 tuition

    Deep diveGitHub organizationCatalog

What people say

Of all of these programs, only three have made a significant contribution to my transition, and of these three organizations, only one has truly changed my life for the better.

Osvaldo Vargas, US Army veteran, Senior Software Engineering Manager, Accenture Federal Services

Vets Who Code modernized our web infrastructure when we needed it most. They implemented safe CI/CD pipelines, migrated our hosting, and mentored our team on sustainable engineering practices.

Jessica Williams, Director of Digital Marketing, Youth Villages

Without a doubt, I would hire from Vets Who Code again. The experience has been overwhelmingly positive, and I believe in veterans’ immense value to our team and our healthcare mission.

Darnell Settles III, Director of Web and Digital Strategy, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare

Press, talks and more testimonials

What’s new

Full changelog