Tristan Holup: Full-Stack Software Engineer, Applied AI, Machine Learning, TypeScript, Python, React, Next.js, LLMs, AI Products, Fintech, New York
Full-Stack Engineer. Applied AI Builder.
I build products end-to-end: from infrastructure and APIs to interfaces and AI-powered features. Previously founded an AI-native fintech platform.
Jump to experience
About
Welcome to my personal site! I designed, developed, and deployed this site from scratch to showcase my work. I'm a full-stack software engineer with a focus on applied AI. I love turning complex problems into clean, usable products. Here is my story.
I grew up in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, and graduated Cum Laude from Vanderbilt in three years with degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics. My career has moved between startups and larger firms, but the throughline has always been the same: I like building things, and I like understanding what makes them work.
At Artisan Partners, I worked with the EMsights Capital Group to build data pipelines, internal tools, and AI-powered analytics for FX and emerging markets research. The role gave me early exposure to shipping production software in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment. This role taught me how to collaborate closely with domain experts to build things that actually get used.
After college, I co-founded NewsWave Markets, an AI-native platform for retail investors. I built the product end-to-end: a Next.js web app, a React Native mobile app, a Python ML backend, and a B2B API that reached 500+ users through broker partnerships. It was a crash course in everything—system design, product thinking, user research, and knowing when to pivot.
Today I'm focused on roles where I can build full-stack products with meaningful AI integration. I care about craft. That means clean architecture, thoughtful interfaces, and systems that scale. Beyond the code, I bring genuine curiosity, strong written communication, and a bias toward shipping.
Outside of work, I spend most of my time playing chess, reading at coffee shops (see my book club below), cooking for friends, and staying active through functional fitness and golf. I'm a big folk and country music fan. My sister Zandi (see Zandi Holup on Instagram/TikTok/Spotify) is a musician, so it runs in the family. I also keep a personal investment portfolio that I've been managing since I was 11, which is probably the closest thing I have to a lifelong hobby.
Experience
NewsWave Markets(AlphaPulse AI)›››
Co-Founder, Enginering Lead
New York, NY
Jan 2024 - Dec 2025
Studied retail investor workflows and identified opportunity for an AI-native platform. Launched a product to help retail investors navigate fundamental analysis, scaling to 500+ users while validating product-market fit. Built a proprietary LLM process that converted 10,000+ daily data points into actionable signals. Concluded operations following strategic review to pursue opportunities in finance.
Vanderbilt University›››
Teaching Assistant
Nashville, TN
Aug 2021 - May 2023
Supported Data Science, Data Structures, and Software Design undergraduate courses over two years. Led weekly office hours and graded work for 100+ students per semester. Mentored students on programming concepts, patterns, and best practices.
Artisan Partners(Winter)›››
Software Engineering Intern
Milwaukee, WI
Dec 2022 - Jan 2023
Returned to Artisan for a second internship focused on building internal tools for the investment team. Designed and developed an AI-powered news aggregation platform, saving analysts 30–60 minutes daily. Invited to work on-site at corporate headquarters to complete the high-priority project.
Artisan Partners(Summer)›››
Software Engineering Intern
Boston, MA
May 2022 - Aug 2022
Worked with the EMsights Capital group, a global macro team focused on FX and emerging markets. Built an FX analytics tool still used daily by portfolio managers in their investment process. Engineered a Python pipeline to restructure and process 25GB of FX quotes per day, reducing daily runtime from over 10 hours to under 15 minutes by optimizing complex SQL queries.
Falcon Management›››
Data Science Intern
Wyckoff, NJ
Jun 2021 - Aug 2021
Joined a small investment team to research retail trading trends and meme stock activity. Constructed a dataset of 1,000,000+ social media posts with sentiment analysis to quantify retail investor behavior. Trained an LSTM model to generate systematic trading signals from sentiment patterns and delivered the model to the portfolio manager for integration into the research workflow.
Pleasantdale Chateau›››
Banquet Server
West Orange, NJ
Jun 2021 - Aug 2021
Awesome job; 10/10. Got to work with my friends.
Set multiple "World Records" (most plates cleared in one run, most chairs wheeled into the ballroom, most glasses dropped in one summer, etc.).
Education
Vanderbilt University›››
Bachelor of ScienceMathematics and Computer Science
Nashville, TN
Aug 2020 - May 2023
Graduated Cum Laude in three years with a 3.89 GPA. Worked part-time as a Teaching Assistant while completing coursework in Micro/Macroeconomics, Econometrics, and Probability & Statistics. Active member of the Vanderbilt Investment Club on the Consumer/Retail team, where I successfully pitched LUV, ULTA, and RH.
I love Nashville and still go back frequently to visit my sister, who's a musician, and to see friends from Vanderbilt. It's a fantastic school where academics are made fun — and it has the best community and alumni network.
Montclair Kimberley Academy›››
High School Diploma
Montclair, NJ
2016 - 2020
I added my high school here because I love MKA. It genuinely shaped me as a person and a thinker and gave me some of my best friends for life.
Graduated as member of Cum Laude Society. Founded the FIRST Robotics team and was a national finalist for the Dean's List Award. Won the Computer Science Award. Played varsity basketball.
Writing
I post all of my articles as Google Docs. I write about topics I'm interested in: business, markets, deals, sports, technology, etc.
All views are my own. A reference is not an endorsement. Please ask for permission to reuse or distribute.
If you have any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions, feel free to get in touch below.
I don't run a newsletter. I post updates on X (i.e. when I upload a new article). Please follow if you want to stay in the loop.
Follow me on X›››Articles coming soon
Contact
Feel free to reach out. I love meeting new people and hearing new ideas.