# Cosmin Cojocar

> I build AI-native desktop software. Software engineer, nearly 20 years in. Today I build desktop products with Rust, Tauri, React and applied AI, from architecture to signed installer.

- Role: Software Engineer, AI/ML, Rust
- Location: Cluj-Napoca, Romania (Remote)
- Education: MSc in Artificial Intelligence, Babeș-Bolyai University (2008)
- Current stack: Rust, Tauri, React, TypeScript, Applied AI

## Now

### AwaCut (https://awacut.com)

Offline AI background removal for product photos, in bulk. The model ships inside the installer, so photos never leave the computer.

- About 1.2 s per 12 MP photo on Apple silicon
- macOS, Windows and Linux, signed installers
- Rust, Tauri, React, on-device AI model

## Proof

- **ML-powered relevance**: 62% to 81% search success rate. Designed an ML-powered content modelling and relevance feedback system that raised search success from 62% to 81% and cut manual tagging by 60%.
- **Faster, safer delivery**: 8 to 5 weeks to ship a feature. Cut feature delivery from 8 to 5 weeks with automated testing, CI/CD health monitoring and automated quality gates.
- **One command center**: 3 to 1 places to look. Consolidated fragmented ERP, CRM, ticketing and operational data into one command center: 60% less manual data chasing, real-time anomaly detection and automated executive briefings.

## About

I have spent nearly 20 years building software products and systems for startups, product companies and enterprise clients, across frontend and full-stack development, software architecture, AI/ML, developer tooling, CI/CD and automation.

Right now I build AI-native desktop products with Rust, Tauri, React and TypeScript: software where the model runs on the user's machine, works offline and feels as fast as the operating system around it.

My MSc in Artificial Intelligence dates from 2008, long before the current wave. My work today brings that background together with modern AI, software engineering and product development.

I like hard technical problems, simplifying complex systems, and building software that people actually use.

## Experience

- Aug 2022 to Present: Software Engineer, AI/ML, Rust, [AYA](https://aya.software) (Contract)
- Feb 2025 to Jul 2025: Software Engineer, React and Next.js, [Diageo](https://www.diageo.com) (Contract)
- Oct 2021 to Jun 2022: Software Engineer, React and Next.js, [DEPT®](https://www.deptagency.com) (Contract)
- May 2018 to Mar 2020: Software Engineer, React, Avenu (Contract)
- Mar 2016 to Mar 2018: Software Engineer, Angular, [Blackbaud](https://www.blackbaud.com) (Contract)

Earlier roles on enterprise web platforms are listed on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/cosmin-cojocar).

## Creative Thinker

- [A goal is a dream with a plan](https://cosmin.dev/creative-thinker/a-goal-is-a-dream-with-a-plan/): A dream becomes a goal the moment it has a first step, a date and a way to tell whether you are on track.
- [Your goal is your compass](https://cosmin.dev/creative-thinker/your-goal-is-your-compass/): A clear goal is less a destination than a tool for deciding, every day, what to say no to.
- [You should do vision casting](https://cosmin.dev/creative-thinker/you-should-do-vision-casting/): People do not follow plans, they follow pictures. Describe the future vividly enough that others can see themselves in it.
- [Ask better questions to get better answers](https://cosmin.dev/creative-thinker/ask-better-questions/): The quality of an answer is capped by the quality of the question. This is truer than ever when you are asking an AI.
- [Goal, plan, dream](https://cosmin.dev/creative-thinker/goal-plan-dream/): A dream sets the direction, a plan connects it to today, and the goal is the proof that you got there.
- [The grass is greener where you water it](https://cosmin.dev/creative-thinker/the-grass-is-greener-where-you-water-it/): The other side always looks better from a distance. Results come from tending the side you are standing on.
- [Your questions are transactional](https://cosmin.dev/creative-thinker/your-questions-are-transactional/): Every question is a trade. Ask in a way that makes the answer worth giving, and both sides get more back.
- [No one is holding you back](https://cosmin.dev/creative-thinker/no-one-is-holding-you-back/): Most of the walls we feel are permissions we never asked for. The fastest unlock is usually your own.
- [Direction matters more than velocity](https://cosmin.dev/creative-thinker/direction-matters-more-than-velocity/): Speed in the wrong direction only gets you lost faster. Check the heading before you push the throttle.
- [Don't guess, measure what matters](https://cosmin.dev/creative-thinker/dont-guess-measure-what-matters/): Opinions are cheap and confident. A number you can check is neither, and it ends most arguments before they start.
- [Ask why until the root answers](https://cosmin.dev/creative-thinker/ask-why-until-the-root-answers/): The first answer to "why did it break?" is usually a symptom. Keep asking until the answer is a cause you can actually fix.
- [Ship for the outcome, not the output](https://cosmin.dev/creative-thinker/ship-for-the-outcome-not-the-output/): Features, commits and releases are output. What changes for the user is the outcome, and it is the only part anyone pays for.

## Contact

- WhatsApp: https://wa.me/40721147297
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cosmin-cojocar
- GitHub: https://github.com/cosmin-cojocar
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosmin.dev