August 29, 2023 — Presentation by Nalin Mathur

My Journey in Machine Learning: Research, Offline and Online System

People often wonder about what working as a machine learning (ML) engineer is like, yet few recognize that the question itself warrants a nuanced response. It largely depends on the type of ML industry or application one is involved in. The methodologies employed when utilizing ML in research differ from those used in the industry. Within the industry, one has to decide whether to build an online or an offline system on the basis of the use case and certain trade-offs. Distinct methodologies in these verticals require diverse mindsets. Thus, it becomes essential to differentiate between them.

During this talk, Nalin will shed light on his ML journey - from conducting research and writing papers in university, to entering the industry, and learning about and working in offline and online systems. When he first embarked on his journey, he was unaware of these intricate details. He will dive deeper on the nuanced differences of this expanding field, to help inform individuals interested in transitioning into the ML space.

Speaker

Originating from Delhi, India, Nalin is a machine learning/backend engineer. During his childhood, he spent numerous nights observing PhD students working on computers in a lab, which fueled his love for technology and its transformative impact on the world. Despite lacking a traditional computer science background, Nalin gained experience in machine learning and computer science through research projects and internships during his undergraduate years. His primary motivation stemmed from his passion for calculus, arithmetic and logic. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, immersing himself in books on a broad spectrum of topics including history, politics, business and technology, with a dash of fiction for good measure. He also enjoys exercising, and embarking on music and food expeditions.

Moderator

Ani is a technical recruiter at Yelp. She has been on the team for nine years, and is always focused on bringing the most talented and teamwork-oriented folks to the Engineering organization at Yelp. Day-to-day, she loves sharing jokes with her team and getting to know other Yelpers, especially through the Yelp Parents employee resource group. Most of her free time goes to raising her kids (ages 2, 4, and 6) and exploring the many playgrounds, parks and beaches around San Francisco.

About Yelping From Home:

Yelp’s mission is to connect people with great local businesses, and two of the teams working behind the scenes to make that happen are our five star engineering and product teams.

Playing an active role in our community is a value that we have strongly prioritized over the years. Typically we would invite you to come to Yelp’s HQ to network, grab a slice of ‘za, and learn about the technology and culture behind Yelp. With stay-at-home orders across the globe, Yelp (like many of you) has had no choice but to adapt to these changes. We understand that this is a strange and challenging time for many, so we’d like to invite you to join us as we navigate this new normal for the tech community together.

To stay connected, create space for folks to collaborate and share some of the things Yelp has been working on, we are launching our very own virtual tech talk series. This series of talks will feature Yelp employees from engineering and product share their stories about career development, technical skills and workplace challenges in a well-distributed environment.

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