Pooya Golchian
Forward-Deployed Engineer
AI Transformation for Fintech, Payments & BNPL
I turn AI into shipped operating capability for regulated fintech, payments, and BNPL. Not slideware. Not pilots.
As a forward-deployed engineer, I embed inside the customer's environment and own the full arc, from discovery and integration through production build and operations. I work with everyone from line analysts to CTOs. I wire into real APIs, data pipelines, SSO, SAML, OAuth, legacy systems, and compliance. Then I stay on the problem with radical ownership until the system runs reliably, measurably, and safely.
- Public repos
- 96
- npm downloads / yr
- 45.3K
- Packages
- 7
- On GitHub
- Since 2014
Proof in production
Case studies →- 99.99%
- Uptime Payments platform
- −30%
- Fraud BNPL risk reduction
- $10M+/mo
- Volume Payments processed
- 55 → 95+
- Lighthouse Performance rebuild
Signature work
All projects →dirham
34,506 downloads / yearThe UAE Dirham sign (U+20C3) as a self-hosted web font, CSS utility, and React component.
View projectriyal
1,844 downloads / yearThe Saudi Riyal symbol toolkit across React, Vue, Svelte, React Native, and the web.
View projectSpecForge
Flagship projectA spec-driven AI development lifecycle for Claude Code, with a human approval gate at every phase.
View projectuse-local-llm
181 downloads / yearReact hooks for streaming local LLMs. Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp. No server required.
View projectWriting
All posts →I put the UAE Dirham symbol on the web before the browsers caught up
How and why I shipped the dirham and riyal npm packages, and what a currency symbol has to do with shipping AI inside regulated fintech.
ReadWhen to run a local LLM instead of calling an API
A decision guide for engineers in regulated fintech. When a private LLM on your own infrastructure beats a hosted API, and the React hooks I built to make it simple.
ReadSpec-driven development keeps AI agents from shipping the wrong thing
Why I gate every phase of agentic development behind a human approval, and how SpecForge runs that loop for Claude Code.
Read