Building production-ready AI, ML, and data systems for business impact
I build high-performance AI, ML, and data systems for business impact.
AI/ML Engineer and PhD candidate in Data Engineering at Aalborg University and the University of Athens, with experience across machine learning, data engineering, MLOps, and intelligent retrieval systems.
My work combines research depth with practical engineering, with a strong focus on latency, throughput, and system efficiency. I have delivered results such as 80x faster ML pipelines, 18x smaller vector indexes, and scalable systems for real-time processing, search, and decision support.
Programming & Core Foundations
Python C / C++ Linux SQL GitMachine Learning & AI
LLMs RAG Pipelines Deep Learning Agentic AI Tools LangChain Statistical Learning Experiment Tracking (MLflow)Data Engineering
ETL / ELT Pipelines Data Lakes Apache Spark Data Modeling dbt PostgreSQL NoSQL (Redis, MongoDB, Elasticsearch) Workflow Orchestration (Airflow) Hadoop EcosystemMLOps & Deployment
Docker FastAPI CI/CD Pipelines Model Serving (API-based) Streamlit Cloud (AWS, GCP)Certifications & Networking
CCNA CCNP Networking FundamentalsFebruary 2022 - Present
&
Athena Research and Innovation Center
- Developed advanced indexing techniques for vector-based table representation learning
- Optimized table discovery and search systems for data integration and augmentation
- Contributed to design of expressive exploratory workflows and scalability improvements
- Publications:
-
Table Search in Data Lakes: Methods, Indexing Techniques, and Research
Challenges
I. Taha, M. Lissandrini, A. Simitsis, T. B. Pedersen, Y. Ioannidis
In Data Engineering for Data Science, Springer, 2026 -
Comparative Analysis of Indexing Techniques for Table Search in Data
Lakes
I. Taha, M. Lissandrini, A. Simitsis, Y. Ioannidis
International Journal of Semantic Computing, 2025 -
A Study on Efficient Indexing for Table Search in Data Lakes
I. Taha, M. Lissandrini, A. Simitsis, Y. Ioannidis
In IEEE International Conference on Semantic Computing (ICSC), 2024
-
Table Search in Data Lakes: Methods, Indexing Techniques, and Research
Challenges
December 2016 - August 2018
- Automated verification workflows using Python, Bash, and SystemVerilog, reducing manual regression effort across simulation targets
- Validated functional correctness of design modules using industry-standard EDA toolchains
- Consistently ranked among top-performing engineers across all performance evaluations
February 2024 - May 2024
- Built a configurable scraping platform covering both static and JavaScript-rendered publisher websites
- Designed XPath and regex-based extractors that mapped affiliation metadata to publication IDs across dozens of heterogeneous sources
- Piloted transformer-based NER for automated entity recognition, successfully linking affiliation data for the majority of target publishers
March 2020 - September 2020
- Built RNN-based models to mitigate nonlinear distortion, improving Bit Error Rate (BER) across 1D and 4D signal configurations
- Reduced data preprocessing time from 4 hours to 3 minutes (80×) through full pipeline redesign
- Handled the complete data engineering lifecycle: collection, preparation, feature extraction, and model evaluation
January 2017 - November 2021
Created a learning environment and facilitated network and systems courses including Python, C++ and CCNA Routing and Switching.
16+ integrated services — RAG, agents, vector search & monitoring
End-to-end DataOps & MLOps with Airflow, MLflow & automated drift detection
Scalable metadata extraction and affiliation linking across heterogeneous scholarly publisher sources
Jan 2026 – Present
Enterprise AI · MLOps Platform
- Built a reproducible local AI platform with 16+ integrated services.
- Unified data workflows, APIs, vector search, monitoring, and experiment tracking.
- Designed for modular RAG, agent workflows, and production AI delivery.
Sep 2024 – Oct 2024
DataOps · Renewable ML
- Built a forecasting pipeline for 15 minute and 1 hour prediction.
- Automated end-to-end ML pipeline with low-latency inference and real-time model serving.
- Monitored drift, model quality, and pipeline performance across the lifecycle.
Feb 2024 – Apr 2024
Data Engineering · Open Science
- Built scraping pipelines for static and dynamic publisher websites.
- Mapped affiliation records to publications across heterogeneous sources.
- Contributed reusable tooling for knowledge graph enrichment workflows.
Mar 2020 – Sep 2020
Machine Learning · High-Performance Data Pipelines
- Applied machine learning techniques to improve optical signal quality
- Optimized data loading and preprocessing, cutting runtime by 80× from 4 hours to 3 minutes.
- Improved model evaluation efficiency across large-scale 1D and 4D signal datasets.
Mar 2019 – Jun 2019
NLP · Music Recommender
- Built a lyrics-driven music recommender across 57k+ songs.
- Scaled similarity search with MinHash LSH and parallel processing.
- Delivered Android search, playback, and live song recommendations.
Nov 2018 – Feb 2019
NLP · Big Data Analytics
- Built a multiprocessing pipeline for large-scale text processing, cutting runtime from 35 to 9.5 hours.
- Designed a scalable text classification pipeline for noisy documents.
- Achieved 96.77% accuracy with tuned SVM and TF-IDF features.
Feb 2019 – Jun 2019
Security Engineering · Cryptography
- Implemented AES workflows across ECB, CBC, and CTR modes.
- Demonstrated ciphertext modification attacks and integrity weaknesses.
- Secured messaging with GPG, RSA keys, and signatures.
Oct 2018 – Jan 2019
Game AI · Decision Search
- Built a playable Reversi engine with adaptive Minimax search.
- Designed dynamic heuristics for mobility, corners, and board control.
- Delivered intelligent play across configurable board sizes and levels.
Oct 2018 – Jan 2019
AI Search · Robotics
- Simulated pathfinding with DFS, BFS, A*, UCS, and Greedy.
- Built interactive maze setup with custom walls and replay.
- Visualized optimal paths and state updates across search strategies.
Jan 2016 – Jun 2016
Analog Electronics · RF Systems
- Built a working FM transmitter for live wireless audio.
- Tuned inductors and capacitors to stabilize transmission frequency.
- Validated clean output on nearby FM receivers.
Jan 2016 – Jun 2016
Robotics · Embedded Systems
- Built an 8 wheel robot designed for stable stair climbing.
- Integrated Bluetooth, RF, and glove-based control modes.
- Developed real-time motor control with Arduino and PWM.
Sep 2015 – Dec 2015
3D Vision · Kinect Pipeline
- Built a Kinect pipeline for 3D scanning and mesh cleanup.
- Reduced mesh size by 50% while preserving geometry quality.
- Imported interactive assets into Unity with gesture controls.
Mar 2015 – Jun 2015
Real-Time Graphics · OpenGL
- Built a real-time renderer for toon shading and shadows.
- Implemented silhouette detection and banded lighting in GLSL.
- Combined stylized rendering with dynamic planar shadow projection.
Jan 2015 – Mar 2015
Systems Optimization · HPC
- Optimized a latency-critical C/C++ system using concurrent, multithreaded execution.
- Achieved 2×–7× speedups through low-level optimization and parallel execution.
- Focused on memory locality, flat allocation, and profiling-driven tuning for high-performance workloads.
Jan 2014 – Jun 2014
Embedded Systems · Robotics
- Built a Bluetooth-controlled robotic car from scratch.
- Programmed a PIC controller for real-time motor commands.
- Developed an Android app for wireless directional control.
Jan 2014 – Jun 2014
Full-Stack Web · HealthTech
- Built a web platform for medicine search and doctor discovery.
- Designed relational data models for drugs, diseases, and users.
- Delivered responsive search, profiles, and role-based access.
Sep 2013 – Dec 2013
Database Systems · Enterprise App
- Built an enterprise system for pharmacy and inventory management.
- Designed role-based workflows across orders, stock, and employees.
- Integrated Oracle data models, Java GUI, and live reporting.
June 2022 - Present
Aalborg University, Denmark & National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
PhD research on interactive data exploration and analytics in large-scale, heterogeneous data lakes.Academic Engagement: Participated in 5 specialized research and technical schools focused on data engineering, big data, and AI.
Industry Experience: Completed data engineering internship at OpenAIRE.
October 2018 - September 2020
Institut Polytechnique de Paris, France & University of Athens, Greece
Specialized in Big Data Management, Data Mining, Data Science, Machine Learning, AI, Deep Learning, and 5G Networks.- Developed expertise in scalable architectures, predictive analytics, and neural networks
- Gained practical knowledge in distributed processing and AI-driven decision-making
- Master's thesis on machine learning for optical signal processing
- Completed hands-on projects and internship at Orange Labs
August 2014 - June 2015
Uppsala University, Sweden
One academic year exchange program covering advanced technical subjects:- High Performance Computing and Programming
- Operating Systems I and Distributed Systems
- Computer Networks I and Computer Graphics
- Collaborated with Master's and PhD students, gaining exposure to research-oriented learning
June 2011 - August 2016
An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
Comprehensive ABET-accredited degree covering algorithms, data structures, operating systems, computer architecture, networks, microprocessors, and digital systems.- Completed one-year exchange at Uppsala University
- Finalized both software and hardware graduation projects
- Gained strong foundations in computing theory and real-world application
- Three Erasmus Mundus Scholarships
- Marie Skłodowska-Curie PhD Fellowship
- Reduced-fee scholarship for VLDB Summer School 2025