Work With Ontomics
Ontomics is Justin B. Fine’s studio for emergent systems engineering and IP architecture. I’m brought in when the stakes are high, the system is real, and the current story doesn’t match what you’re actually seeing.
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Core Engagement Types
1. Deep-Tech IP & Claim Architecture
Who it’s for
Founders, labs, and R&D teams sitting on serious tech who don’t yet have a defensible IP structure.
What I do
- Turn messy R&D into a clean map of inventions, claim families, and trade-secret zones.
- Design layered provisional / utility claim strategies instead of one-shot filings.
- Align patent structure with how the system actually behaves under load.
Typical scope & pricing
1–2 week sprint for a single product line or platform. Fixed-fee or project-based, from a surgical pass to a full portfolio blueprint.
2. Emergent Systems & Compute Architecture
Who it’s for
Teams whose platforms are fragile under real-world traffic: SaaS, infra, realtime systems, high-load compute.
What I do
- Read real behavior under load and strip away comforting fictions.
- Redesign system architecture so hardware, firmware, OS, and app behave as one coherent organism.
- Identify and remove deep bottlenecks, hidden failure modes, and “mystery” latency.
Typical scope & pricing
Diagnostic review → architecture proposal → implementation advisory. Fixed-fee diagnostics; ongoing advisory by retainer where needed.
3. Biotech, Mitochondrial & Diagnostic Architecture
Who it’s for
Biotech, diagnostics, and life-science teams working on biomarkers, mitochondrial mechanisms, RNA / folding, or neuro-related platforms.
What I do
- Build mechanism-level models instead of correlation soup.
- Architect diagnostic signatures and readouts that are physically grounded.
- Help translate deep biology into devices, assays, and IP-ready platforms.
Typical scope & pricing
Project-based modeling or platform architecture, with optional IP strategy around new diagnostic signatures.
4. AI & Emergent Compute Systems
Who it’s for
Teams building serious AI products, infra, or AI-native workflows—not just prompt UIs.
What I do
- Design AI systems as framable architectures, not one-off models.
- Integrate models, memory, workflow, and safety as a single system.
- Identify patentable structures in AI system design, not just model weights.
Typical scope & pricing
Architecture sprint, system review, or ongoing CTO-level advisory. Project fees or monthly retainer depending on depth.
5. Origin-of-Life & Quantum-Bio Modeling (Special Projects)
Who it’s for
Labs, funds, and skunkworks groups working at the edge: origin-of-life simulations, RNA folding engines, quantum-bio mechanisms, DNA-inspired thermal systems.
What I do
- Build and critique unconventional models that cross physics, chemistry, and biology.
- Stress-test mechanisms for coherence, not just aesthetics.
- Help position truly weird ideas in a way that’s legible to reviewers, investors, and partners.
Typical scope & pricing
Highly customized, limited number of active projects. Structured as fixed-scope explorations or deep advisory engagements.
6. High-Stakes Due Diligence & “Falsify My System”
Who it’s for
Investors, acquirers, and technical leaders who need a brutal but constructive read on a claim, platform, or theory.
What I do
- Tear down the story to mechanism level: what’s real, what scales, what breaks.
- Map best-case, realistic, and failure scenarios.
- Deliver a written memo you can use for decisions and board discussions.
Typical scope & pricing
Short-fuse reviews (days to weeks). Fixed-fee, scaled to complexity and urgency.