Hello, I'm

Jamel L. Lawson

Cyber Operations Officer • Full-Stack Engineer • Ph.D. Researcher

10+ years spanning offensive & defensive cyber operations, AI-assisted software development, applied machine learning research, and web application engineering.

Available for remote consulting on Upwork

Professional Summary

I'm a doctoral researcher, cyber operations officer, and full-stack engineer with over a decade of experience spanning offensive and defensive cyberspace operations, AI-assisted software development, applied machine learning research, and web application engineering.

Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Information Systems at UMBC and a Master's certificate in the CISO program at the National Defense University's College of Information and Cyberspace. My research focuses on how large language models affect software quality and developer cognition.

I'm available for remote consulting in cybersecurity, AI/ML integration, software engineering, and academic research support.

Certifications

CISSP CEH Security+ Network+ A+ Linux+ CCENT

Skills & Expertise

🛡

Offensive & Defensive Cyber Ops

Full-spectrum cyberspace operations, penetration testing, red teaming, and incident response

🤖

AI-Assisted Development

LLM-powered applications, prompt engineering, multi-agent architectures, model fine-tuning

📈

Machine Learning Research

CodeBERT, XGBoost, DCGAN, GPT-2 fine-tuning, HuggingFace Transformers, LangChain

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Full-Stack Web Engineering

Python, Java, PHP, JavaScript, HTML5/CSS3, Spring, Hibernate, Bootstrap, REST APIs

🔍

Digital Forensics & IR

ProDiscover, FTK Imager, Snort, Metasploit, Wireshark, network security review

📚

Academic Research & Writing

IEEE/ACM paper preparation, LaTeX typesetting, systematic mapping studies, literature reviews

Technical Proficiencies

Languages

Python, Java, PHP, JavaScript (jQuery/AJAX/JSON), HTML5/CSS3, SQL, XML, Objective-C

Frameworks & Libraries

Spring, Hibernate, Bootstrap, Sass/Compass, LangChain, HuggingFace Transformers

AI / ML

GPT-4, Claude, Gemini, CodeBERT, XGBoost, DCGAN, GPT-2 Fine-tuning, Prompt Engineering

Security Tools

Snort, ProDiscover, FTK Imager, Metasploit, Wireshark

Databases

MySQL, MS SQL Server, Oracle 11g

DevOps & Tooling

GitHub, Gerrit, Jira, Linux CLI, Drupal, Adobe Photoshop, LaTeX

Work Experience

Cyber Operations Officer

2018 – Present

United States Army / U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) — Fort Meade, MD

Coordinate and conduct integrated offensive and defensive cyberspace operations (OCO/DCO) targeting adversary capabilities within the cyberspace domain. Operate across the full cyberspace operations spectrum as part of the Army's maneuver branch designed to engage threats directly in the cyber domain.

Completed Electronic Warfare Qualification Course and Cyber Captains Career Course, Cyber Center of Excellence, Fort Gordon (2022).

Application Developer (Research Internship)

2017

Army Research Laboratory — Adelphi, MD / Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD

Built a Java command-line application using OOP principles to process researcher Excel data and output custom aggregations. Used Git for version control.

Drupal Developer

2016 – 2017

Kuku Community in North America — Remote

Designed and built a responsive Drupal web application from wireframe to deployment using HTML, CSS, jQuery, Bootstrap, PHP, and MySQL.

Application Developer

2016

Midwest Insurance — Remote

Resolved Jira tickets for PHP and Java applications; stack included HTML/CSS/JavaScript, ActionScript, MySQL, and Oracle 11g. Used Git and Gerrit for versioning and code review.

Java Developer

2015

eIntern — Reston, VA

Full-stack JEE development using MVC pattern. Built a course manager application (JSP/CSS/jQuery/Hibernate) and a material management tracker (Spring framework).

Web Developer

2014 – 2015

NRH Works LLC — Champaign, IL

Built responsive websites and email templates from Photoshop files using HTML5/CSS. Delivered projects for Johns Hopkins University and Origin Bank.

Computer Lab Tutor

2013

University of Iowa — Iowa City, IA

Supported students in Java, Python, and HTML. Assisted with debugging, logic improvement, and coding best practices.

Education

In Progress

Doctor of Philosophy, Information Systems

University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)

Expected 2028–2029

  • Advisor: Dr. Sreedevi Sampath
  • Dissertation focus: Developer cognition, AI-assisted coding, and the effect of prompt vagueness on software quality ("vibe coding" phenomenon)
  • Developed the Vibe Spectrum framework — a five-level prompt formality scale anchored by HumanEval benchmarks
  • Conducting quantitative pilot study comparing ChatGPT, Claude Code, and Replit AI across code complexity and quality metrics
  • Built a DCGAN image generation model as part of ML coursework and applied research
In Progress

Master's Certificate, CISO Program

National Defense University, College of Information and Cyberspace

Expected 2027

  • Guest lecturer on multi-agent AI architectures for strategic planning
  • Presented the WARGATE framework (a LangChain-based multi-agent system) as a live demonstration
  • Coursework: cyberspace policy, cyber strategy, illicit cyber operations, organizational cyber leadership

Master's Certificate, Digital Forensics

University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)

2021

Master of Science, Computer Technology

Eastern Illinois University

2018

Bachelor of Science, Informatics

University of Iowa

2013

Research in Progress

In Preparation

"Vibe Coding and Software Quality Assurance: A Systematic Mapping Study"

Lawson, J.L.

Target venue: IEEE ISSRE

In Preparation

Effort Estimation Study Using CodeBERT + XGBoost

Lawson, J.L. & Nagabhirava, M.

Target venues: MSR, PROMISE, ESEM

In Preparation

"WARGATE: A Multi-Agent AI Architecture for Joint Staff Strategic Planning"

Lawson, J.L.

Target venue: Joint Force Quarterly

Remote Consulting Services

Available on Upwork for remote engagements across the following domains:

🛡

Cybersecurity Consulting

  • Penetration testing
  • Network security review
  • Digital forensics
  • Incident response planning
🤖

AI / ML Integration

  • LLM-powered application development
  • Prompt engineering
  • Multi-agent system design (LangChain)
  • Model fine-tuning
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Full-Stack Web Development

  • Python / Java / PHP backends
  • Responsive frontends
  • CMS (Drupal)
  • REST APIs
📚

Academic & Technical Writing

  • IEEE/ACM paper preparation
  • LaTeX typesetting
  • Literature reviews
  • Systematic mapping studies
🏙

DoD / Federal Tech Consulting

  • Cyberspace operations policy
  • AI strategy
  • Doctrine analysis

Let's Work Together

I'm available for remote consulting engagements. Whether you need cybersecurity expertise, AI/ML integration, full-stack development, or academic research support — let's connect.