Work with meHire an AI product engineer who ships
I'm Lara Mateo, a Tech Lead and AI Product Engineer. As of July 2026 I'm available for freelance engagements and open to the right full-time remote role (UTC-3, with US overlap). I recently co-founded Kenda and previously led a team of six on a HIPAA-compliant healthcare platform used by 200+ medical practices.
What I can do for you
AI product features, end to end
LLM features that ship: streaming UX, agents and tool use, prompt design, evals, and the unglamorous glue. React, Next.js, TypeScript, Vercel AI SDK. Proof: Pagewise and Kenda, both live.
AI cost audits & FinOps
Find out where the token spend actually goes, per agent, team, and customer, then cut the waste. This is the problem Kenda, the startup I recently co-founded, exists to solve.
AI in regulated domains
Data boundaries, PHI handling, prompt-injection defenses, and human-in-the-loop patterns, from years leading a team on a HIPAA-compliant platform used by 200+ medical practices.
Performance & accessibility
Core Web Vitals, perf budgets in CI, and interfaces that stay fast and inclusive as products grow, built at Mercado Libre scale.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Lara Mateo available for hire?
- Yes. As of July 2026, Lara is taking freelance and contract engagements, and she is open to the right full-time remote role (she works from UTC-3 with US overlap). The fastest way to start is booking an intro call at calendly.com/laramateoco/30min.
- What does Lara Mateo specialize in?
- AI product engineering: shipping LLM-powered features end to end (streaming UX, agents and tool use, prompt engineering, evals) with React, Next.js, TypeScript, and the Vercel AI SDK. She also specializes in AI cost optimization (she recently co-founded Kenda, an AI FinOps startup), AI in regulated domains from her years leading a HIPAA-compliant healthcare platform team, and web performance (Core Web Vitals).
- What kinds of engagements does she take?
- Freelance product builds (an AI feature or product shipped end to end), AI cost audits (finding where an LLM bill actually goes and cutting the waste), fractional tech-lead work for small teams, and full-time senior/lead roles.
- Where is she based, and what time zones does she cover?
- Buenos Aires, Argentina (UTC-3), working remotely with strong US time-zone overlap. She has shipped for US companies including healthcare platforms and high-traffic products.
- What proof of work can I look at?
- Pagewise (pagewise.laramateo.com), which streams AI summaries token by token; Kenda (kenda.app), the early-stage AI FinOps startup she recently co-founded; her open-source work at github.com/rinava; and case studies at laramateo.com, including catching a HIPAA compliance risk on a platform serving 200+ medical practices.
Let's talk about your project or role
A 30-minute call is the fastest way to see if we're a fit. No pitch, just an honest look at the problem.
Or email laramateoco@gmail.com