Greater Seattle Area · token active

Lily Wisecarver

auth_architect --stack=mcp,token-vault,fga

Identity for humans, applications, machines, and AI agents.

Technical product advocate and builder working where identity meets agentic AI. I advocate, and I also build: reference architectures, prototype integrations (OAuth 2.0, MCP, fine-grained authorization), and help developers draw safe session boundaries for autonomous AI workloads. These patterns apply to any identity provider, cloud, or agent framework. I turn real customer friction into secure, actionable product requirements.

sequenceDiagram · career authorization flow

Every arrow is a role

Each step requests a new grant and returns a broader set of scopes. Watch the flow play through, or pick any step to decode its token.

1 / 4
Lilyresource owner
Auth0authorization server
Unqorkrelying party
Oktaagent platform

step 1 · decoded token

{
  "iss": "https://auth0.com",
  "sub": "lily|wisecarver",
  "aud": "Auth0",
  "role": "Developer Support Engineer",
  "grant_type": "authorization_code",
  "scope": "oauth2 oidc saml",
  "iat": "Sep 2019",
  "exp": "Jun 2021"
}

Developer Support Engineer

Auth0 · Sep 2019 to Jun 2021 · Bellevue, WA

  • Resolved deep technical bottlenecks across OAuth 2.0, OIDC, and SAML implementations.
  • Increased Auth0 Community forum resolution and reply rate by 60%.

GET /.well-known/agentic-identity

The concepts behind the flow

Open standards and patterns that every identity provider, cloud, and AI agent framework is converging on. Not tied to any one vendor.

Token VaultA safe for other apps’ keys
Simplifies how applications access external APIs on a user’s behalf. Instead of every app (or AI agent) storing and refreshing OAuth tokens itself, a vault holds them server-side and hands out short-lived access only when needed. Built on OAuth 2.0 and token exchange (RFC 8693), it works with any provider that speaks the standard.
Model Context Protocol (MCP)A universal plug for AI tools
An open standard for connecting AI models and agents to tools and data through a common interface. Any MCP compatible client can talk to any MCP server, and OAuth 2.1 decides who is allowed to call which tool.
Fine-Grained AuthorizationPermissions per document, not per app
Relationship-based access control (ReBAC), modeled as relationship tuples in the Zanzibar style and queried through open APIs like OpenID AuthZEN. It answers “can this user, or this agent, act on this specific resource?”
Human-in-the-Loop (CIBA)The agent asks, you tap approve
Client-Initiated Backchannel Authentication is an OpenID standard that lets a service request a user’s approval asynchronously, on a separate device. Ideal for agents that need consent before high-stakes actions.
Token ExchangeTrade a token for a narrower one
Defined in RFC 8693: swap one token for another with a different audience or smaller scope, so services and agents can delegate access without over-sharing.
On-Behalf-Of DelegationAgents borrow your permissions, not superpowers
The agent acts with the user’s identity and consent, captured in claims like “act”. It is scoped, auditable, and revocable. It is the core trust model for agentic AI across every platform.

GET /userinfo?claims=education

Education

decoded credential

{
  "iss": "Bellevue College",
  "sub": "lily|wisecarver",
  "degree": "Bachelor of Science",
  "field": "Information Systems",
  "location": "Bellevue, WA",
  "iat": "2019",
  "exp": null
}

scope=offline_access