About
James Villarrubia is a technologist, speaker, and executive advisor focused on applied AI, civic technology, and building teams that ship.
Recruited as a White House Presidential Innovation Fellow, James spent three and a half years at NASA as Head of Digital Innovation & AI — leading MADI, one of NASA's first enterprise-scale generative AI platforms, and co-authoring NASA's Responsible AI Policy. Before that: CTO at multiple high-growth startups, VP of Engineering at a healthcare SaaS company, lecturer at UVA's Batten School, and two terms as a Presidential Management Fellow spanning the Department of Defense and Department of Justice.
He's also a builder. As CEO of Mt. Cleverest — an AI-powered educational platform he designed before low-cost LLMs existed — James competed in the IBM AI XPrize and ranked in the top four education projects globally. He holds three cryptography patents.
James earned his MBA from MIT Sloan (2025) and is co-host of NASA's Ecosystemic Futures Podcast.
What I Do Now
I speak to senior executives and government leaders on AI strategy through Envoy Executive Programs, and advise early-stage startups at the intersection of AI, security, and energy. My focus: helping organizations move from AI curiosity to AI capability — responsibly and at scale.
The thread across everything: I've shipped software in environments where failure has real consequences — federal agencies, healthcare, financial infrastructure — and I help teams bring that discipline to emerging technology.
Career Highlights
- Presidential Innovation Fellow — White House / NASA
- Built MADI, NASA's enterprise-scale generative AI platform
- Co-authored NASA's Responsible AI Policy & Emerging Technologies Guidance
- IBM AI XPrize competitor — top 4 in education globally, top 30 overall
- CTO at Werk (acquired), Checkfront, Rezdy, Regiondo, Manifest
- VP Engineering at CipherHealth — 10× scalability during COVID-19
- Lecturer in Digital Policy & Cybersecurity, UVA Batten School (4 years)
- Presidential Management Fellow — DoD (Lean Six Sigma Black Belt), DOJ, BTA
- 3 cryptography patents
- MBA, MIT Sloan, 2025
Beyond Work
When not speaking or shipping, I'm mentoring early-career developers, writing on Substack, and spending time with family.