Jay Alammar Portfolio
Creator of "The Illustrated Transformer" and "The Illustrated BERT" — visual explainers of core LLM architecture that became widely used references for understanding how transformer models actually work; also built a paid course, "How Transformer LLMs Work."
What makes it work
A breakdown of the choices that make this portfolio stand out.
One consistent format applied to hard technical concepts
Custom diagrams paired with plain-language explanation is the same format across every major post, applied to genuinely difficult internals (attention, embeddings) rather than surface-level topics.
A body of work built entirely on a static site
The blog runs on GitHub Pages with no CMS overhead — proof that technical depth and visual polish matter more than platform sophistication for building a reference resource.
Transparent transition of the format into a paid product
Turning the same illustrated-explainer approach into a structured paid course is a direct, visible line from free reputation-building content to a monetized product, without changing the underlying craft.
What AI Engineers can take from this
Specific, actionable tips to apply to your own portfolio — no generic advice.
Develop one distinctive explanation format (a diagram style, a metaphor, a structure) and apply it consistently to your hardest technical topics.
Don't wait for platform sophistication — a static site with genuinely good content outperforms a fancier site with generic content.
When free content builds a real reputation, turn the same format into a paid, structured product instead of starting a different approach from scratch.
More AI Engineer portfolios
Ready to build your portfolio?
Follow the AI Engineer roadmap — skills, projects, and timeline to get hired.