Relevant Experience

  • Work Experience

  • Software Engineer II

    Cisco (Aug 2024 - Present) | San Jose, CA
    ML pipelines / RAGs @ supply chain

    Owned and led the link analysis automation project end-to-end, cutting a manual two-day data processing pipeline down to a few hours, with results surfaced across heatmaps, pinmaps, a RAG chatbot, and more, all built from scratch and deployed as an internal dashboard at link-analysis.cisco.com.


    Built and deployed debug-genie.cisco.com, a Snowflake + Streamlit platform that became the single source of truth for AI repair accuracy across global manufacturing partners (Flex, Foxconn, Fabrinet), tracking defect location prediction, component match, and technician feedback across tens of thousands of production units. Replaced weeks of ad-hoc SQL exports and cross-partner reconciliation meetings. Drove measurable manufacturing outcomes: fewer scrapped boards, fewer repair iterations, and reduced dependency on high-skill debug technicians, saving millions annually.


    Built optimal RAG systems with attribute filtering from scratch for device log diagnosis.


    Developed a multivariate anomaly detection process analyzing thermal telemetry across tens of thousands of production network devices to diagnose future corrosion beforehand purely from data.

  • Software Engineer

    Logarithm Solutions (Aug 2023 - Sept 2024) | Remote
    nlp analysis for small businesses

    Designed and built cloud-native log analytics and monitoring platform using Python, AWS (Lambda, S3, DynamoDB), and distributed data pipelines for real-time anomaly detection across enterprise systems.


    Architected end-to-end data ingestion pipelines processing structured and unstructured logs, integrating LLM-powered insights for root-cause analysis and automated triage workflows.


    Led backend development for scalable API layer (FastAPI/GraphQL) supporting analytics dashboards and AI-driven alerting across multiple customer deployments.


    Implemented infrastructure-as-code using Terraform and CI/CD pipelines to enable reproducible cloud deployments and reduce environment setup time by 70%.

  • Data Science Intern

    FICO (April 2024 - Aug 2024) | San Diego, CA
    fraud detection @ ai analytics team

    Benchmarked six anomaly detection models (including CADE, Isolation Forest, and autoencoders) on fraud transaction data from major banks across the US, UK, Canada, India, and Brazil.


    Engineered rolling temporal features that improved AUC and precision during distribution shift periods. Presented findings directly to the Chief Analytics Officer.

  • Software Engineer Intern

    Southwest Airlines (2023) | Dallas, TX
    infra tooling @ network automation team

    Built full-stack tooling with React and Node.js to automate GTM workflows in Ansible Tower


    Contributed to an intern-led discounting system projected to save $24M per year by replacing third-party vendor fees for gift cards with an in-house solution & presented directly to the CIO.

  • Software Engineer Intern

    CarsXE (2022-2023) | Highland, MD
    license plate CV & full-stack

    Led development of a license plate recognition pipeline using YOLOv4, TensorFlow, and OCR. Built and published a pip package for the company's API alongside full-stack work in Vue, Nuxt, and Next.js.


  • Education

  • Master of Science

    UC San Diego

    Machine Learning and Data Science M.S.

    Show Relevant Coursework
    • CSE272 - Advanced Image Synthesis
    • ECE225A - Prob & Stats for Data Science
    • ECE253 - Fundamentals of Digital Image Processing
    • ECE285B - Deep Generative Models
    • MATH285 - Stochastic Processes
    • ECE269 - Linear Algebra and Application
    • ECE276A - Sensing & Estimation Robotics
    • CSE258R - Recommender Systems & Web Mining
    • DSC209R - Data Visualization
    • ECE228 - ML for Physical Applications
    • ECE285A - Intro to Visual Learning
    • CSE253R - Machine Learning and Audio
    • DSC255R - Machine Learning and Data Science
    • DSC258R - Natural Language Processing
  • Bachelor of Science

    UC San Diego

    Electrical Engineering B.S.

    Show Relevant Coursework
    • ECE175A - Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning
    • ECE176 - Intro Deep Learning & Apps
    • ECE172A - Introduction to Intelligent Systems
    • ECE174 - Linear & Nonlinear Optimization
    • ECE143 - Programming for Data Analysis
    • ECE109 - Engineering Probability & Statistics
    • ECE101 - Linear Systems
    • ECE171A,B - Linear Control System Theory I & II
    • ECE148 - Intro to Autonomous Vehicles
    • ECE16 - Rapid Hardware & Software Design
    • ECE17 - Object-Oriented Programming
    • ECE25 - Digital Design
    • ECE30 - Computer Organization
    • ECE35 - Analog Circuit Design
    • ECE45 - Circuits and Systems
    • ECE65 - Components & Circuits Lab
    • ECE100 - Linear Electronic Systems
    • ECE140A,B - Full-Stack Product Engineering I & II
    • MGT103 - Product Marketing & Management
    • MGT172 - Business Project Management
    • MGT127R - Innovation and Technology Strategy
    • CSE190 - Audio and AI
    • CSE194 - Race, Gender & Computing
  • Research Experience

Awards & Achievements

Award Finalist

Manufacturing Leadership Council

Jun 2025

Our project at Cisco, Agentic Virtual FA, was a finalist for the Manufacturing Leadership Award

Trade Secret Award

Cisco

Jun 2025

Awarded to my team for the Virtual FA project (Agentic Virtual Failure Analysis)

Hackathon Winner

University of Cambridge

Jun 2025

Won (solo win) the vLex challenge at Hack the Law @ Cambridge

Hackathon Winner

vLex

Jun 2025

Won (solo win) the vLex challenge at Hack the Law @ Cambridge

2nd Place Hackathon Winner

UCLA

Apr 2025

Won award (DAIN Track) in LA Hacks out of 172 teams (750 participants)

2nd Place Hackathon Winner

DAIN

Apr 2025

Won award (DAIN Track) in LA Hacks out of 172 teams (750 participants)

Hackathon Winner

Stanford Law School

Apr 2025

Won DWT challenge in Stanford Law School x LLM Hackathon (selected out of 48 teams)

Hackathon Winner

Davis Wright Tremaine

Apr 2025

Won DWT challenge in Stanford Law School x LLM Hackathon (selected out of 48 teams)

1st Place of Advanced Track

HARD Hack | IEEE UC San Diego

Feb 2025

Won first place in the Advanced Category for developing a smart trash sorter

Hackathon Winner

LPL Financial

Jan 2025

Winner of "Most Viable Solution" category in competition with over 40 teams

Scholarship for Electrical Engineering (4x)

ACE Mentor San Diego

May 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024

Merit-based scholarship

2nd Place Hackathon Winner

HARD Hack | IEEE UC San Diego

Apr 2023

2nd place in UCSD hardware hackathon (selected out of 23 teams)

Hackathon Winner

LateNightHacks

May 2022

Won Domain.com prize for LateNightHacks 2022

Hackathon Winner

Domain.com

May 2022

Won Domain.com prize for LateNightHacks 2022

Hackathon Winner

SD Hacks

Apr 2022

Winner of UCSD hackathon's Civic Engagement category (selected out of 30 teams)

Student of Distinction

UCSD Extended Studies

Jul 2020

Article written about me in the UCSD Extended Studies Newsletter

Recommendations

J.P. Chen

Manager

Data Analytics & Quality Leader | SW, HW, Cloud & Production Quality Excellence

May 27, 2026 - Managed Yusuf directly at Cisco

I had the pleasure of managing Yusuf at Cisco and can confidently say he is an exceptional software engineer with tremendous potential. Yusuf stands out for his strong technical capability and natural curiosity for new technologies, especially in AI/ML. Even early in his career, he demonstrated an impressive ability to quickly learn, adapt, and take on challenging problems. His work on ML pipelines and RAG-based solutions in the supply chain space showed both depth and practical impact. Beyond his technical skills, Yusuf is an absolute pleasure to work with. He brings a positive attitude every day and contributes to a highly collaborative team environment. He is proactive in helping others, often stepping in to support teammates, troubleshoot issues, and accelerate overall progress. What truly distinguishes him is his passion for technology. Outside of work, he actively participates in hackathons and competitions, frequently earning top awards, clear proof of both his dedication and talent. I highly recommend him for any software engineering or AI/ML-focused role.

Ayham Dewan

Coworker

Software Engineer @ Southwest Airlines | MSCS @ Georgia Tech

March 15, 2026 - Worked with Yusuf on the same team

I've had the pleasure of working with Yusuf at Southwest Airlines. Throughout our time together, he consistently showed tremendous ownership and drove the vision and development of a critical feature while staying aligned with team objectives and timelines. He showcased strong technical skills and excelled in all stages of the project: design, development, and testing. Yusuf is a natural leader who seeks to help his teammates whenever possible. His self-starter mindset makes him resourceful and quick to execute. Even on ambiguous, ill-defined problems, he performed thorough analysis and proposed practical, well-scoped solutions. Beyond his professional strengths, Yusuf brought kindness, thoughtfulness, humor, and a bright personality that made collaboration genuinely enjoyable. His technical depth and positive team presence are a rare combination.

Girish Krishnan

University Colleague

Software Engineer @ SpaceX | EE + Math-CS + Physics @ UCSD

March 3, 2026 - Worked with Yusuf on projects and hackathons

I met Yusuf during a mentorship program at UCSD, where he was an outstanding mentor who gave practical advice on coursework, research, and internships. We later took courses together and teamed up in major course projects and hackathons, including a 2nd place finish at HARD Hack 2023 and 1st place at HARD Hack 2025. Throughout these projects, Yusuf was highly professional in how he wrote and organized software, especially under intense time constraints. His programming, AI/ML, and data science skills are top-tier. He is also an excellent presenter who makes complex projects understandable for any audience. I am confident these strengths will carry forward to any role he pursues.