Harsh Patel
Hoffman Estates,IL
Summary
Diligent AI professional with a strong foundation in machine learning and software engineering, skilled in developing innovative algorithms to address complex challenges and create scalable software solutions. Expertise in Python, TensorFlow, and data analysis optimizes algorithms for superior performance. Recognized for fostering collaborative teamwork and adaptability, consistently delivering impactful results in fast-paced environments. A commitment to continuous learning and effective problem-solving drives contributions that lead to significant advancements in technology.
Overview
7
7
years of professional experience
Work History
Graduate Research Assistant (AI)
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL
08.2025 - Current
- Architected a PyTorch FSDP and custom CUDA kernels pipeline to scale a 1.2B-parameter Transformer on 4x A100 GPUs, eliminating memory bottlenecks and out-of-memory errors across 300B tokens.
- Optimized training throughput by 40% and achieved a 45% peak Model Flops Utilization (MFU) by integrating Flash Attention 2 and BF16 mixed precision to reduce iteration cycles from weeks to days.
- Developed a custom C++ inference runtime from scratch for low-latency LLM serving; currently designing KV-Caching architecture to achieve
- Deployed a REST API pipeline for trained model serving with real-time latency tracking. API operational with initial health monitoring; and centralized request logging infrastructure.
- Advisor: Prof. Papademas
Graduate Research Assistant (AI & Applied Machine Learning)
Active Computational Thinking (ACT) Research Center, Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL
05.2022 - 08.2024
- Quantified the causal impact of communication on viral spread (Rt) by designing and implementing an NLP inference pipeline that processed 1TB+ of unstructured text to map emotional response to COVID-19 policies.
- Developed a hybrid model combining PyTorch NLP feature extraction with Hierarchical Mixed-Effects Models, successfully isolating latent variables in high-noise datasets to yield significant policy insights.
- Built temporal Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) with PyTorch Geometric to fuse sentiment embeddings with graph structures, expanding baseline model accuracy regarding public policy impacts.
- Achieved a 12% increase in classification accuracy over baseline CNNs and reduced LSTM hyperparameter tuning cycles by 35% by integrating automated Early Stopping workflows via Weights & Biases.
- Authored the research paper 'Emotional Response to Policies and Communication Style during COVID-19 and Causal Relationship to Reproduction Rates Rt' under peer review for ICWSM '25.
- Advisor: Prof. Kapoor
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Computer Science Dept., Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL
01.2023 - 05.2024
- Improved average student performance by 15–25% across two core CS courses (CS535 Design & Analysis of Algorithms for 2 semesters, CS330 Discrete Structures for 1 semester) by leading instructional sessions and designing targeted assessments for 300+ students.
Java Developer (Software Engineer)
Transformco/Sears/Kmart (via Solving IT, Full-Time)
Chicago, IL
07.2019 - 12.2020
- Architected 8+ backend microservices using Java and Spring Boot, collaborating with cross-functional DevOps teams to stream enterprise feature deployment to 100k+ users.
- Identified performance bottlenecks and refactored SQL queries to reduce P95 API latency by 30%, working with cross-functional teams (Product, QA, DevOps) to optimize system performance at scale.
- Accelerated release cycles by 40% by developing automated Jenkins CI/CD pipelines that integrated real-time progress reporting for stakeholders. Mitigated critical infrastructure bottlenecks using AWS CloudWatch, reducing monthly system downtime by over 65% to guarantee reliable platform delivery.
Education
Master of Science - Information Tech & Mgmt. [Entrepreneurship & AI]
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL08-2026
Ph.D. - Computer Science [AI, Pre-Candidacy Coursework & Research]
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL08-2024
Master of Science - Computational Decision Science & Operations Research [Applied Math & AI]
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL12-2022
Master of Science - Computer Science [Theoretical]
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL12-2017
Bachelor of Engineering - Information Technology
Birla Vishvakarma Mahavidyalaya Engineering College
Anand, India07-2015
Skills
rogramming Languages Python, C, Java, Kotlin, SQL, R, Bash, C#
Backend & Distributed Systems RESTful APIs, Microservices, Spring Boot, Hibernate, Nodejs, RabbitMQ, Kafka, Docker, Kubernetes
Scalable ML & AI Infrastructure PyTorch (FSDP, DeepSpeed), Multi-GPU Training, Distributed Training, Flash Attention 2, CUDA Kernels, Custom Inference Runtimes (KV-Caching, Speculative Decoding), TensorRT, ONNX
Generative AI & LLM Systems Foundation Models (LLaMA, Mixtral, BERT), RAG Architectures, LangChain, LlamaIndex, LangGraph, MCP, PEFT (LoRA, QLoRA), Hugging Face
Cloud, MLOps & DevOps AWS (EC2, S3, CloudWatch), GCP, CI/CD (Jenkins, GitHub Actions), Airflow, Metaflow, Weights & Biases, Docker, Kubernetes
Data Systems & Storage FAISS, Pinecone, Vector Databases, Snowflake, BigQuery, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, DynamoDB, MySQL, Oracle
Machine Learning & Statistical Methods Graph Neural Networks (GNNs), RLHF, Time Series Forecasting, Bayesian Inference (MCMC), Gaussian Processes, A/B Testing, Optimization Algorithms
Computer Science Fundamentals Data Structures & Algorithms, Advanced Operating Systems, System Design
Research & Communication Academic Research, Research Design, Research Methodologies, Literature Reviews, Technical Paper Writing, Publication Preparation, MATLAB
Languages
English
Full Professional
Gujarati
Native or Bilingual
Hindi
Native or Bilingual
Punjabi
Professional Working
Sindhi
Professional Working
Timeline
Graduate Research Assistant (AI)
Illinois Institute of Technology
08.2025 - Current
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Computer Science Dept., Illinois Institute of Technology
01.2023 - 05.2024
Graduate Research Assistant (AI & Applied Machine Learning)
Active Computational Thinking (ACT) Research Center, Illinois Institute of Technology
05.2022 - 08.2024
Java Developer (Software Engineer)
Transformco/Sears/Kmart (via Solving IT, Full-Time)
07.2019 - 12.2020
Bachelor of Engineering - Information Technology
Birla Vishvakarma Mahavidyalaya Engineering College
Master of Science - Computer Science [Theoretical]
Illinois Institute of Technology
Master of Science - Computational Decision Science & Operations Research [Applied Math & AI]
Illinois Institute of Technology
Ph.D. - Computer Science [AI, Pre-Candidacy Coursework & Research]
Illinois Institute of Technology
Master of Science - Information Tech & Mgmt. [Entrepreneurship & AI]
Illinois Institute of Technology
RELEVANT ACADEMIC RESEARCH/PROJECTS
- Problems in AI, Deep Learning, Graph Theory, and Optimization from research articles under Dr. Kapoor (2023).
- Top-k results from User defined query under Dr. Jawahar Panchal (2022).
- Architected an end-to-end Computer Vision pipeline using PyTorch/OpenCV for Satellite Imagery Retrieval, utilizing semi-supervised learning to increase relationship mapping accuracy by 10% under Dr. Xin Chen (2021).