Juan Manuel Contreras, Ph.D.

AI product leader and researcher.
I help organizations build AI that works in high-stakes, real-world environments—from enterprise safety evaluation to billion-dollar regulatory decisions.

Juan Manuel Contreras

About

I co-founded and serve as CEO of Aymara, an AI safety evaluation company that grew to serve Fortune 50 enterprise customers and leading AI labs—without any funding. Before that, I led legal applied science at Uber, where my team's work was cited in court decisions and influenced billion-dollar regulatory outcomes.

I have a PhD in cognitive neuroscience from Harvard and an AB from Princeton.

Born in New York City and raised in Bolivia and the U.S., I run marathons, practice yoga, and am starting a band with AI musicians.

Experience

Aymara

Co-Founder & CEO

2023–Present

Uber

Data Science Manager → Applied Science Manager I → Applied Science Manager II

2019–2023

Even

Head of Data Science

2018–2019

Capital One

Principal Data Scientist

2016–2018

White House Social & Behavioral Sciences Team

Associate Fellow

2015–2016

Democratic National Committee

Senior Data Scientist

2014–2015

The Walt Disney Company

Decision Science Consultant

2013–2014

Writing

Research, essays, and creative work on AI, cognition, and culture.

See all writing →

Speaking

Podcast interviews and conference talks on AI safety, research, and technology.

See all speaking →

Contact

Email me at jm.contreras.phd [at] gmail [dot] com or submit a message through my contact form.