Preston Schlagheck

Preston Schlagheck

I build AI systems that ship to production and pay for themselves.

Background

Co-founder & lead engineer at DPJ Media, where I built Diffuse. Co-founder & AI strategy consultant at CogNodes. Joining Direct Journeyline Holdings as an AI Strategy & Automations Intern. Finance & Business Analytics at the Darla Moore School of Business, USC, class of 2028.

Availability
Summer 2027
Focus
AI Engineering · Defense-Tech · Consulting
02 - Experience[ 07 ]

Where I’ve Worked

01

AI Strategy & Automations Intern

CurrentMay 2026 - Aug 2026
Direct Journeyline Holdings, LLC·Knoxville, TN

Building LLM agent architectures and automation pipelines for KPI reporting, construction budget management, and executive workflow tooling across a multi-company holding portfolio. Running competitive market analysis and authoring executive presentations for portfolio leadership.

02

Co-Founder & Lead Engineer

CurrentDec 2025 - Present
DPJ Media, LLC (Diffuse.AI)·Remote · PA

Built and deployed Diffuse, a proprietary AI content platform converting audio, documents, and public records into publication-ready articles with automated CMS publishing in under five minutes. Architected multi-tenant infrastructure with organization workspaces, member roles, and plan gating. 25,000+ monthly readers; profitable within four months.

03

Co-Founder & AI Strategy Consultant

CurrentOct 2025 - Present
CogNodes, LLC·Freehold, NJ

Run end-to-end consulting engagements for paying clients across SaaS, e-commerce, and professional services - discovery, quantitative analysis, product roadmaps, and go-to-market. Ship custom AI automation systems, API integrations, and production full-stack products.

04

Generative & Agentic AI Integrations Intern

Sep 2025 - Apr 2026
US HealthConnect, Inc.·Fort Washington, PA

Designed and deployed LLM agent workflows using n8n and OpenAI APIs, automating document drafting and operational tasks across finance, compliance, and operations - cutting turnaround time 35% and drafting time 20%, adopted across technical and non-technical teams.

05

Web Developer

Jul 2025 - May 2026
Direct Journeyline Holdings, LLC·Knoxville, TN

Redesigned site architecture across multiple portfolio companies, cutting average click-path length 50% and implementing analytics tracking to capture user-behavior data for marketing and budget decisions.

06

President

CurrentNov 2025 - Present
Sigma Phi Epsilon, SC Alpha Chapter·Columbia, SC

Lead executive board operations and IFC compliance programming for USC's largest chapter - #1 GPA ranking out of 23 IFC fraternities - overseeing operating budget, recruitment pipeline, and risk compliance across 230+ active members.

07

Alpha Fund Manager

Mar 2025 - Dec 2025
Alpha Kappa Psi, Beta Upsilon Chapter·Columbia, SC

Managed a $23,000 student investment portfolio (+12% over 3 months, +18% over 12 months) through financial modeling, sector research, and analyst team leadership. Ran weekly investment-committee meetings with 12 analysts evaluating equity pitches via DCF defense.

04 - Education & Certifications[ 02 ]

Education & Certifications

01

B.S. Business Administration

Expected May 2028
Darla Moore School of Business - University of South Carolina·Education
02

UBS M&A Finance Accelerator

2025
AmplifyME·Certification