Eric graduated from MIT with a degree in Engineering (robotics) and in Eurasian Studies. After graduating, he commissioned as an Officer in the US Army, training first in maneuver warfare before moving to the Cyber branch. He worked as a software engineer in the Cyber National Mission Force, the U.S. military’s joint cyber force charged with Defending the Nation in cyberspace through full-spectrum operations. There, Eric led an agile engineering team, stewarded the creation of a senior infrastructure engineering work role, and served as aide to the Commander. Eric Koch is now a software engineer at Scale AI, specializing in generative AI and large language models for the Department of Defense. Eric is dedicated to ensuring the United States maintains a competitive edge over its adversaries. He loves solving problems, contributing to cohesive teams, and learning constantly. While he strives to simplify complex technology, he's passionate about languages, culture, and history. As a Boren scholar, he completed graduate-level Mandarin-language coursework at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. He has additionally conducted independent research on the implications of the sixth Dalai Lama's biography on the Qing dynasty's control over frontier provinces.