James Levell
AI Lead & Computer Scientist | NLP, RAG & Applied AI | AI Ethics & Policy
Career Summary
AI engineer, computer scientist, teacher, Ethics student & scout.
I build and ship applied AI systems: NLP pipelines, RAG architectures, and Azure OpenAI integrations, backed by a decade of production software delivery across Switzerland and the Netherlands. As AI Lead (Fachlead) at BDO Switzerland, I drive enterprise-wide AI adoption and co-authored the company's AI Policy; I also advise The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies on infrastructure and software engineering, and have taught computer science and cloud/DevOps courses to apprentices since 2019.
What sets my work apart is a question I take seriously: how do we make machine learning systems safer, fairer, and more socially accountable? With an MSc in Computer Science and ongoing studies in Ethics at the University of Lucerne, I sit at the intersection of engineering and responsible AI, a perspective that led directly to co-authoring BDO's AI Policy. Outside the office I help shape IT strategy for Switzerland's largest youth organisation (~50,000 members) and play drums in a live band.
Work Experience
Interests & Volunteering
Scout — IT Commission Member
Shaping IT for Switzerland's largest youth organization (~50 000 members).
- Co-authoring and driving the national IT strategy
- Operating shared platforms, tools and communication channels
- Drafting the organization's AI usage guidelines
Scout — Regional Leader
Led a scout region of seven sections with 500 scouts and 150 leaders.
- Planned and ran educational camps as certified J+S expert
- Managed the regional budget and coordinated section leaders
- Organized large-scale events across sections
Scout — Section Leader
Grew from young-scout leader to section head (10 leaders, 60 scouts).
- Organized weekly activities and camps for children aged 6–11
- Managed the section budget and mentored new leaders
Drummer
Drummer, songwriter and cover arranger in a live band.
- Booking and performing live concerts
- Handling finances and maintaining the band's website