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Spencer Cottrell

Economics · Data · AI · Technology

Spencer Cottrell

Economics B.S. student at San José State University interested in solving business problems through data, technology, software, and artificial intelligence.

Seeking internship opportunities

View ProjectsContactResume
Degree
B.S. Economics
University
San José State University
Location
San Francisco Bay Area

01 / Selected Work

Projects

Selected technical and analytical projects demonstrating problem-solving, implementation, and applied learning.

Causal inference · Python · SQL · FinOps

CostProof

Measures whether cloud cost optimisations actually saved money, by treating each fix as a treatment and estimating its effect against a control group.

  • 80% → 13%false positives on fixes that did nothing
  • 23% → 91%confidence-interval coverage
  • 117interventions scored against known truth

View case study →Code on GitHub

Python · LangGraph · Trade policy

Tariff Exposure Agent

Classifies an import against the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule and calculates duties, fees, effective tariff rate and landed cost, with a source citation for each output.

  • ~4,000pages of tariff schedule covered
  • 44unit tests on the financial math
  • 3pricing and sourcing scenarios modeled

View case study →

Software · Research · Experimentation

Additional Projects

Additional GitHub repositories and technical work will appear here.

View GitHub →

02 / Background

Experience

  1. Sakana AI · May – Jun 2026

    Technical Beta Tester, Sakana Fugu

    • Tested Fugu through terminal and OpenAI-compatible API workflows on coding, research, and multi-step analysis; compared outputs for quality, consistency, reproducibility, and recovery when tasks failed.
    • Built structured test cases around task decomposition, tool use, and model coordination to identify where longer agentic workflows worked, stalled, or produced unreliable results.
    • Wrote structured feedback on edge cases, usability gaps, and recurring failure patterns, translating technical test results into actionable product requirements for the Sakana AI team.

  2. Nintendo of America · San Francisco · 2025

    Brand Ambassador

    • Worked in a flagship launch environment serving 5,000+ customers per day; exceeded daily KPI targets by matching customer needs to product features, resolving purchase objections, and supporting high-volume sales.
    • Partnered with marketing and retail operations teams on regional activations and analyzed recurring customer feedback to improve product positioning, promotional priorities, and sales strategy.

  3. Best Buy · San Francisco Bay Area · 2024 – 2025

    Warehouse & Logistics Associate

    • Managed inventory across 500+ SKUs within a high-volume supply chain and logistics operation, coordinating receiving, staging, and sales-floor availability during peak demand.
    • Standardized receiving and staging workflows to reduce processing errors and improve inventory flow between warehouse and sales-floor teams.

03 / Capabilities

Skills & Technologies

Finance & Analytics

  • FP&A
  • Financial modeling
  • Unit economics
  • Forecasting
  • Variance analysis
  • Scenario & sensitivity analysis

Programming & Data

  • Python (pandas, NumPy)
  • SQL
  • R
  • Excel (PivotTables, XLOOKUP, Power Query)
  • Git & GitHub
  • Next.js

AI & Machine Learning

  • Machine learning
  • LLM applications
  • Retrieval-augmented generation
  • Agentic systems (LangGraph)
  • TensorFlow
  • IBM watsonx.ai

Business

  • KPI analysis
  • Process improvement
  • Requirements gathering
  • Stakeholder communication
  • Cross-functional collaboration
  • Presentation development

04 / Education

Education

B.S. Economics · Expected December 2027

San José State University

Relevant coursework: Financial Economics, Econometrics, Statistics, Industrial Organization, Macroeconomic Analysis, Microeconomic Analysis.

Activities: Spartan Analytics Club · AI/ML Club.

05 / Professional Development

Certifications & Training

  • IBMProfessional RAG CertificationRetrieval-augmented generation
  • DeepLearning.AI · Andrew NgMachine Learning SpecializationMachine learning
  • AnthropicBuilding with the Claude APILLM applications
  • AnthropicMCP Advanced TopicsAgent tooling
  • AnthropicClaude 101Foundations

06 / About

About Spencer

Personal professional biography will be added here.

This section can explain my background, interests, how I approach problems, and the kind of teams and opportunities I am interested in.

07 / Resume

Resume

One page, PDF. Updated September 2026.

First page of Spencer Cottrell\u2019s resume

What’s on it

Education
B.S. Economics · Expected December 2027, San José State University
Projects
CostProof and the Tariff Exposure Agent, with results
Experience
Sakana AI, Nintendo of America, Best Buy
Skills
FP&A and financial modeling, Python, SQL, R, Excel, LangGraph
Open resumeDownload PDF

Need a Word version or a copy tailored to a role? Email me.

08 / Contact

Let’s connect.

I’m interested in internship opportunities where I can contribute, continue developing my skills, and learn from experienced teams.

San Francisco Bay Area