Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Timeline
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Andrew Underwood

New York,NY

Summary

Air Force veteran with 8+ years of experience leading data science and product development in fast-paced, mission-critical environments. Proven track record in building ML and LLM-powered systems, driving 0-to-1 product development, and guiding cross-functional teams from prototype to production. Skilled in big data, Agile execution, and turning complex challenges into scalable, high-impact solutions.

Overview

12
12
years of professional experience

Work History

Data Science Manager

Kargo
01.2025 - Current
  • Lead a team of four Data Scientists building custom ML algorithms, LLM-powered systems, and AI-driven products to solve Kargo’s AdTech challenges. Balance IC and management duties while driving end-to-end development, cross-functional collaboration, and production-grade implementation.
  • Built a video description and recommendation system using Whisper and GPT-4o to generate rich metadata from third-party videos and improve playlist relevance. Combined contextual signals and performance data to deliver real-time personalized video recommendations per URL.
  • Developing an AI agent MVP that processes client inputs (PDFs, text, CSVs) and uses Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to recommend existing audience segments or create new contextual segments via internal APIs.
  • Led development of AdSpresso, an LLM-powered semantic targeting platform that vectorized customer content and used cosine similarity to surface contextually relevant URLs. Outperformed keyword-based targeting, driving $1M+ in incremental ad spend from a limited release and earning a Snowflake Connect 2025 speaking invitation.

Lead Data Scientist

Kargo
01.2021 - 01.2025
  • Led a team of two Data Scientists to build 0-to-1 ML and data products, owning both product and engineering execution. Delivered MVPs with custom ML solutions across content understanding, targeting, and campaign performance.
  • Spearheaded Cohort Intelligence 2.0, enhancing contextual targeting with new classification models, an upgraded IBM model, and a validation layer. Drove a 145% increase in impressions and a 14% CTR lift for A2C cohorts while maintaining syndicated cohort performance.
  • Engineered Self-Optimizing Cohorts (SOC), a dynamic audience segmentation system that automatically updates based on campaign performance using contextual graphs and bid-level data, delivering a 7% average lift in CTR and 5% lift in VCR.

Data Scientist Fellow

Metis
06.2020 - 09.2020
  • Completed an ACCET accredited 12-week full-time data science certification program
  • Crafted and presented five data science projects covering statistical models, data visualization, and machine learning techniques (see Projects)

Researcher

Russell Reynolds Associates
09.2018 - 05.2020
  • Member of the global research and search teams responsible for identifying business development opportunities and performing executive searches for clients in the Industrial and Technology sectors
  • Drove efforts throughout the value chain of the search process to quickly identify and recruit candidates for C-suite, general management, and operational roles for both privately-held and publicly-traded firms

Lead Data Analyst

Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC)
09.2016 - 09.2018
  • Member of a joint service and multinational unit responsible for assessing the operational effectiveness of the F-35 to conduct air-to-surface and air-to-air missions in a network-centric environment
  • Led cross-functional teams of operators, data analysts, and engineers in the execution of a $1.2MM, three-week Electronic Protection (EP) test event; published a report evaluating and identifying unknown trends in the F-35's EP logic against 23 simulated electronic attack techniques
  • Primary author of a F-35 air-to-surface test report; identified a 22% increase in data analysis efficiency (SQL), resulting in a decrease of 15 man-hours for future data analysis and reporting efforts
  • Led a team of seven engineers and data analysts in coordinating and analyzing a three-day operationally representative air-to-surface warfare test consisting of three countries, 11 military units, 28 aircraft, and 22 live weapons; solved 27 test point deficiencies and validated the F-35's air-to-surface test design

Special Projects Team Lead

Air Combat Command, 25th Air Force
09.2013 - 09.2016
  • Managed a seven-member intelligence team to produce space and cyberspace intelligence products to support classified projects sponsored by the Secretary of the Air Force
  • Drove the production and timely delivery of 61 intelligence products in support of 36 space and cyberspace programs for Air Combat Command, Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), and National Security Agency (NSA)
  • Led a team of cross-functional experts to develop 42 capability requirements necessary for future Department of Defense (DoD) assets; these requirements shaped future space and cyberspace competences and were utilized as guidance for other agencies outside of the DoD
  • Identified and mitigated three potential cyberspace attack avenues and authored a space proximity intelligence report, all of which were vital to the survivability of an AFSPC $1B program
  • Ranked #1 of eight 2nd/1st Lieutenants in the 25th Air Force by Major General Bradford Shwedo, 25th Air Force Commander

Education

Bachelor of Science - Aerospace Engineering

Auburn University
05.2013

Bachelor of Science - Mathematics

Samford University
05.2010

Timeline

Data Science Manager

Kargo
01.2025 - Current

Lead Data Scientist

Kargo
01.2021 - 01.2025

Data Scientist Fellow

Metis
06.2020 - 09.2020

Researcher

Russell Reynolds Associates
09.2018 - 05.2020

Lead Data Analyst

Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC)
09.2016 - 09.2018

Special Projects Team Lead

Air Combat Command, 25th Air Force
09.2013 - 09.2016

Bachelor of Science - Aerospace Engineering

Auburn University

Bachelor of Science - Mathematics

Samford University

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