Edinburgh, UK | Relocating to Barcelona

Clayton Forde

Technical Implementation & AI Product Specialist

I turn messy operational requirements into deployable software, combining approximately 20 years of hospitality leadership with hands-on experience building AI, web, and workflow products.

I understand operators and customers, translate real workflows into technical requirements, communicate clearly with engineers, and take ownership through configuration, delivery, validation, documentation, and training.

Implementation method

How I implement products

My operational background helps me uncover what users actually need. My technical experience lets me define the work clearly with developers and stay accountable through implementation, adoption, and iteration.

  1. 01Discover the real workflow
  2. 02Map requirements and constraints
  3. 03Configure or build the solution
  4. 04Validate with users
  5. 05Document and train
  6. 06Iterate from operational feedback

Selected projects

Implementation evidence in working products

Three projects showing operational discovery, workflow implementation, technical ownership, testing, and documentation across different environments.

GiM venue command view showing service timing, stock burn states, and venue operations cards
Product ownership Active project / public site

GiM / GiMOps

Hospitality operations intelligence shaped around legacy venue infrastructure.

Operational discovery
Mapped recurring venue problems across old hardware, weak Wi-Fi, spreadsheets, staff memory, and close-down workflows.
Implementation approach
Translated those constraints into a read-only, low-friction product direction with clear privacy boundaries and useful tools before reporting.
What I built
Public multi-page site, product and trust documentation, Cloudflare Worker contact flow, and internal Python/FastAPI/SQLite signal prototypes.
Evidence
Live gimindex.com site, validated contact API, plus an internal SVP edge encoder, test report, and edge-to-cloud demo stack.

Semantic Vision Protocol

SVP is protocol and prototype work for moving GiM beyond isolated edge deployments. In the prototype, local processing supported privacy but had to work within limited hardware and RAM; coordinating multiple venues required a practical path into cloud infrastructure.

Instead of transferring raw video with its privacy, bandwidth, and storage costs, SVP converts locally processed observations into small, anonymised semantic records before cloud transfer. This preserves useful operational signals without transferring identifiable raw footage.

  • Shows requirements discovery, privacy-conscious architecture, edge-to-cloud implementation thinking, infrastructure constraints, and multi-site design.
  • Status: active project with public site; SVP remains protocol and prototype work, not a production deployment.
MiX staff spec board showing a cocktail build with required brand markers
Workflow design Built tool

MiX

Fast bartender-friendly spec board and training lookup tool.

Workflow need
Bar teams need venue-specific specs, prep notes, and training references quickly enough to use during live service.
Implementation approach
Designed a low-friction, no-login interface around fast search, clear recipe views, flashcards, and local venue notes.
Data handling
Built import parsing to extract and normalise messy venue menu and spec data from XLSX, CSV, PDF, DOCX, and TXT files.
Evidence
Svelte/Vite source, responsive public site, static specs data, search and import parsers, training components, and privacy-conscious product notes.
  • Shows workflow judgement, usability and training thinking, data normalisation, and design for rapid adoption under service pressure.
  • Status: built hospitality menu/spec-board tool designed around real service workflow.
Motive Engine overview showing intent evaluation, explanations, and response keys
Technical ownership Submitted for review

Motive Engine

Explainable utility-AI decision layer for Unity.

Problem
NPC and interactive-system decisions are difficult to configure and troubleshoot when intent logic is hidden inside behaviour code.
What I built
C# Unity package and JavaScript reference engine for scoring motives, ranking alternatives, explaining decisions, and returning response keys.
Validation
JSON import/export, config validation, four sample Decision Labs, JS tests, Unity edit-mode tests, Unity 6 smoke tests, and clean-import checks.
Product delivery
Defined a clear integration boundary, documented setup and behaviour, packaged the component, and prepared it for third-party distribution.
  • Shows technical ownership, explainable behaviour, integration thinking, testing discipline, validation, and documentation.
  • Status: submitted to Unity Asset Store review on 8 June 2026 and awaiting review.

Relevant professional experience

Operational leadership that strengthens implementation

Approximately 20 years in customer-facing hospitality operations gives me direct experience of ownership, communication, troubleshooting, training, and change under pressure. The value is the combination of that judgement with hands-on technical delivery.

Selected operations record

Venue management roles at Be At One, including General Manager in Norwich and co-management at Greek Street; Bar Manager at The Scran & Scallie; and operational experience across Wetherspoons, Revolucion de Cuba, All Bar One, independent hotel bars, and smaller venues.

Work has included high-volume service, openings and recoveries, staff training, service systems, customer communication, and daily venue control.

Implementation strengths

  • Stakeholder and customer communication
  • User onboarding, training, and documentation
  • Ownership and troubleshooting under pressure
  • Process improvement and change adoption
  • Translating frontline needs into technical requirements

Implementation toolkit

Practical product and technical capability

This reflects hands-on use across the featured products and operational work.

Discovery and delivery

Workflow mapping, requirements, stakeholder communication, product scoping, documentation, training.

Languages and frameworks

JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, C#, HTML, CSS, Unity, Svelte/Vite, React/Next.js, FastAPI.

Data and integrations

JSON schemas, SQLite, static data models, file import pipelines, Cloudflare Workers, email routing.

Validation and release

Node tests, Unity tests, Playwright smoke checks, content validators, release checklists, Vercel/static hosting.

AI-assisted engineering

Faster delivery with human ownership

I use AI-assisted workflows to accelerate planning, implementation, debugging, testing, review, and documentation. I remain responsible for understanding the solution, validating behaviour, and deciding what ships.

Education

Current technical study

Open University

Currently studying Computing/AI with the Open University, with strong current performance.

Contact

Technical implementation, product implementation, and technical customer-facing roles.

Relocating to Barcelona.