KELVIN PANASHE MUNAKANDAFA
Phoenix,AZ
Summary
Data Science Engineer and AI Team Lead with four years of experience in cyber-physical systems, embedded systems, and machine learning. Successfully led teams in creating high-quality datasets for computer vision and augmented reality projects. Expertise in project management and delivering impactful solutions while fostering collaboration. Proven ability to analyze large data sets and identify trends to enhance operational efficiency and drive business success.
Overview
6
6
years of professional experience
Work History
Innovation Analyst
ASU Helios Decision Center
Tempe, Arizona
01.2025 - Current
- Preprocessed and cleaned datasets for Arizona Workforce projects, ensuring data accuracy and consistency for analytical and reporting purposes.
- Authored Impact Stories reports highlight the contributions of K-12 educators to Arizona’s education system, providing qualitative insights for stakeholders.
- Developed and optimized algorithms to maintain and enhance existing systems, particularly within the Decision Center’s visualization tools, improving data-driven decision-making
Co-founder and Systems Engineer
Fligh Technologies
Harare, Zimbabwe
03.2020 - Current
- Pitched the start-up’s idea to investors and stakeholders, demonstrating market viability and securing funding, leading to three victories.
- Developed and executed strategic plans for product development, market entry and growth.
- Analyzed flight data and drew insights to develop a beyond-visual line-of-sight telemetry system.
- Designed and manufactured a battery management system integrated with the UAV telemetry.
Graduate Student Intern
Enercon Power
Jakarta, Indonesia
09.2025 - 12.2025
- Led financial and operational diagnostics by reconciling revenue inconsistencies, analyzing P&L gaps, and building a three-scenario (2025–2030) financial forecast to inform Enercon’s digital transformation strategy.
- Engineered cloud-scaling cost model for GAED utilizing AWS architecture principles
- Collaborated on five-year transformation roadmap prioritizing financial transparency, digital systems integration (ERP, CRM, GAED), capability development, and KPI frameworks for operational performance.
General Manager
Talent Africa
Harare, Zimbabwe
06.2023 - 11.2023
- Created efficient and scalable operational processes to ensure smooth data annotation workflows.
- Established robust quality assurance processes to ensure an output of accurate and reliable datasets from a team of more than 20 people.
Machine Learning Team Lead
Talent Africa
Harare, Zimbabwe
03.2023 - 05.2023
- Designed training programs for different annotation tasks, provided guidance and feedback, and tracking of individual performance.
- Built over 100 high-quality datasets with 5000 images.
Education
Master of Global Management - Data Science
Arizona State University-Thunderbird School of Global Management
Phoenix, AZ05.2026
Bachelor of Technology (Honors) Degree - Electronic Engineering
Harare Institute of Technology
Harare, Zimbabwe08.2021
Skills
- Data mining and analysis
- Data preprocessing and manipulation
- Feature engineering
- Supervised learning
- Cloud computing solutions
- IaaS and PaaS services
- Cloud storage and networking
- Python, C, C#, PHP, JavaScript, VHDL, Verilog, MATLAB, SQL, R, Assembly
- TensorFlow, Scikit-learn, Pandas
- LiDAR fusion techniques
- 2D and 3D LiDAR fusion
- Computer vision applications
- Natural language processing (NLP)
- FPGA, Raspberry Pi, ARM-Series, PIC-Series
- Python IT automation, Tableau, revenue management systems (ARMS), Jira, MS Excel, Power BI
- Verbal and written communication
- Stakeholder engagement
- Financial forecasting
- Data analysis
- Quality assurance
- Project management
- Algorithm development
- Report preparation
- Analytical thinking
- Finance
- Business intelligence
Projects And Research Experience
- Global Challenge Lab – Enercon Power Indonesia, 12/26
- SDR Based RF Detection and Jamming System for Drones, 07/24
- Telematics System with Accident Detection in Usage-Based Vehicle Insurance, 07/21
Technical Skills And Certifications
- RCR - Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Researcher Responsible Conduct of Research, 04/25
- RCR - Undergraduate Responsible Conduct of Research, 04/25
- IRB - Social and Behavioural Research (Group2), 01/25
- Giving Voice to Values Africa by Ashesi University, 05/24
- Google IT Automation with Python by Google on Coursera, 03/24
- Google Project Management by Google on Coursera, 10/23
- Google Data Analytics by Google on Coursera, 10/23
Honors And Awards
- Thunderbird Alumni Scholarship, Awarded for academic performance and leadership potential in the MGM program, Aug 2024
- Winner of Game Changers Zimbabwe Entrepreneurship Challenge, Fligh Technologies, Mar 2023
- Awarded the Insti-tronics Prize for the Best Graduating Student in Automated Revenue Management Systems, Harare Institute of Technology, Aug 2021
- Awarded the Most Innovative Idea at the #Hacking for SDGs post Covid19 and beyond, POTRAZ & Ministry of ICT, Jan 2020
Membership & Volunteer Experience
- IEEE Member
- Black in AI Community Member
- Thunderbird Das Tor News IT Specialist
Hobbies
- Designing simple solutions to complex problems
- Music Production
- Gaming
- Reading about Tech
Languages
- Shona (Fluent)
- English (Fluent)
Leadership And Activities
- Electronics Team Lead, Intrinsic Team: Research and Development, Prototyping, 09/23
- Hostel 3 Secretary, Addressing fellow hostel residents, student representation to accommodation board, 08/21
Timeline
Graduate Student Intern
Enercon Power
09.2025 - 12.2025
Innovation Analyst
ASU Helios Decision Center
01.2025 - Current
General Manager
Talent Africa
06.2023 - 11.2023
Machine Learning Team Lead
Talent Africa
03.2023 - 05.2023
Co-founder and Systems Engineer
Fligh Technologies
03.2020 - Current
Master of Global Management - Data Science
Arizona State University-Thunderbird School of Global Management
Bachelor of Technology (Honors) Degree - Electronic Engineering
Harare Institute of Technology