skylar payne
About me
I'm Skylar.
Founder, Wicked Data LLC
I spent ten years building AI at Google, LinkedIn, and startups. Now I work with engineering teams through Wicked Data, focusing on AI evaluation and implementation.
This site is where I write about the work: reviewing model outputs, investigating failures, and deciding which changes are worth making.
What I do
I work in your codebase and with your data. We review examples of what your AI gets wrong, build evaluations around those failures, and test changes against them.
At Frigade, we achieved 40% better responses and 75% faster user-perceived latency. At Sidecar, 35% better response quality. Read about the Frigade work →
Why I focus on evaluation
A bad response tells you something went wrong. It doesn't tell you whether to change the prompt, retrieval, model, or product. Reviewing examples and testing a hypothesis helps narrow that down.
I write about evaluation and agents, including the tools and engineering decisions involved.
How I work
I offer advisory work, embedded collaboration with your engineers, and implementation projects. Hands-on engagements include documentation and a handoff so your team can maintain the work.
Work with me
Book a 30-minute call to discuss your AI system and where you need help.
Schedule a free consultation