About Us
Meet the team combining senior software engineering with PhD-level data science to solve real business problems.
Igor Khripunov
Lead Architect & Engineer
Igor is a technology architect and a team leader with over 15 years of experience building production systems across financial services, government, IoT, and SaaS — including Westpac, Atlassian, Health NZ, and Land Information NZ. At Kosa, Igor leads architecture, engineering, and delivery.
Credentials
- AWS Solutions Architect (Associate) Certified
- MSc Applied Mathematics & Computer Science
- 15+ years professional experience
Valerie Chopovda
AI & Data Specialist
Valerie is a modelling engineer with a PhD in Applied Mathematics and 6+ years of experience in data science, machine learning, and mathematical modelling. She has published research spanning computational human neurology, stormwater systems modelling, aerospace engineering, celestial mechanics, thermodynamics and geophysics, and previously built computational models at University of Auckland, Auckland Bioengineering Institute and Massey University. At Kosa, Valerie leads data science and ML — building, training, and validating models for our clients.
Credentials
- PhD Applied Mathematics — Massey University
- Published researcher (multiple international journals)
- Python, TensorFlow, scikit-learn
What makes us different
Most AI consultancies are either marketing agencies that learned to use ChatGPT, or enterprise firms that charge enterprise prices. We're a small, senior team that combines production engineering with real data science — based right here in Auckland.