Nayef Ahmed

ENGINEER  |  RESEARCHER  |  DEVELOPER

About

HELLO WORLD

Hey, I'm Nayef! I'm extremely passionate about software development, artificial intelligence, and autonomous vehicles and love to work on projects where these fields intersect. I'm also a personable team player with an aptitude for technology, an intuition for solving challenging problems, and a strong track record in people leadership.

I'm currently seeking new grad roles starting April 2021. Feel free to reach out if you know of any cool opportunities or are looking to collaborate!

Experience

PREVIOUS WORK

SOFTWARE ENGINEER INTERN

FACEBOOK AI RESEARCH
C++, Python, Pytorch, TorchScript  |  New York, NY (Remote)  |  May - Sep 2020
  • Worked with the AI Platform team to design and implement high-performance NLP building blocks (Tokenizer, Vector, Vocab) for PyTorch
  • Profiled CPU performance of NLP preprocessors on several datasets using Flame Graphs and applying concurrency to decrease load times by over 60x
  • Supported upcoming Pytorch releases to facilitate NLP research and demonstrate the feasibility of new features for internal adoption
  • Won several awards for creating a “quickchat” feature in Workplace VC at the Global Summer Hackathon, receiving overwhelming interest to ship to production

SOFTWARE ENGINEER INTERN - AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES

LYFT LEVEL 5
C++, Python, TensorFlow, OpenCV  |  Palo Alto, CA  |  Jan - Apr 2020
  • Trained new classifier with the Perception team capable of detecting traffic light bulb shapes with 90%+ accuracy on an extremely unbalanced dataset
  • Designed a regression test suite which can provide a binary decision for engineers when deciding whether to release a new model to the vehicle
  • Created a test creation GUI that gives engineers finer control when selecting relevant obstacles from an image which cannot be regressed on in the future

SOFTWARE ENGINEER INTERN

FACEBOOK AI RESEARCH
C++, Python, OpenCV, PyTorch  |  Menlo Park, CA  |  May - Aug 2019
  • Worked within the Applied Research Computer Vision team to create a face detection and tracking pipeline running on all Facebook videos in real-time
  • Benchmarked precision and recall of various detection models (Mask R-CNN, DFSD, Viola-Jones) and tracking algorithms on a 600k SOA video dataset
  • Closely collaborated with leading researchers (Ross Girschick and Yufei Wang) to anonymize faces in the video dataset using detection and tracking results

SOFTWARE ENGINEER INTERN

MICROSOFT CORPORATION
C#, Redis, Azure  |  Redmond, WA  |  Aug - Dec 2018
  • Worked within Azure DevOps team to create an Ownership Enforcer (OE) service that enforces PR code reviews for compliance and security assurance
  • Improved performance of OE service by designing multi-layered Redis Cache pipelines from the ground up thus reducing VSTS API calls by 70%
  • Redesigned existing cache systems to optimize lookup time by ensuring scalability across multiple shards to support future expansion of OE service

PATH PLANNING ENGINEER

WATONOMOUS DESIGN TEAM (SELF-DRIVING CAR)
OpenCV, ROS, Rviz, LiDAR, Radar  |  Waterloo, ON  |  Sep 2017 - Aug 2018
  • Worked within Sensor Fusion subteam to transform a Chevrolet Bolt EV into a level 4 autonomous vehicle for the SAE AutoDrive Challenge
  • Implemented path visualization algorithms using ROS and Rviz to display the path of the car generated using a trajectory rollout approach
  • Developed core algorithms for cost map generation using a 2-layered occupancy grid system for dynamic replanning

SOFTWARE ENGINEER INTERN

MICROSOFT CORPORATION
C#, C++, C++/CX, XAML, Unity, HoloLens  |  Vancouver, BC  |  Jan - Apr 2018
  • Worked on Mixed Reality Viewer team to create a default Windows and HoloLens app for viewing 3D content with over 3 million monthly users
  • Integrated 3D asset conversion and optimization pipeline to support all 3D file formats and ensured it adhered to the MVVM design pattern
  • Collaborated with UI/UX designers and data analysts to implement a content promotion system that promotes key app features to new users

FULL-STACK DEVELOPER

UNICELL BODY COMPANY
Java, MySQL, Laravel, Vue.js, React Native  |  Toronto, ON  |  May - Aug 2016
  • Expanded company’s business-facing website using LAMP stack, Laravel, and Vue.js used by over 1000 employees
  • Automated core data processing using Selenium and Java, resulting in 60% increased efficiency in chassis inventory management
  • Iterated on internal quoting tools using Chart.js to improve ease of use and allow for better visualization of company performance

Projects

PERSONAL ENDEAVORS

FLAPPY GOOSE

RTOS GAME IN AN EMBEDDED ENVIRONMENT
C, Keil RTX RTOS, LPC1768 Microcontroller
  • Recreated the Flappy Bird game using Keil MCB1700 board in a real-time OS
  • Used task synchronization and interrupts to update LCD graphics, player score, game physics, and handle peripheral I/O simultaneously

STUDY SPACE

PENNAPPS (GOOGLE PRIZE WINNER)
Android Things, Java, Firebase, NXP Microcontroller
  • Created IoT device along with companion app to display the number of people in specific locations on campus
  • Determined the occupancy of areas using ‘Android Nearby’ to discover number of wireless devices within range

SMART GLOVE

IEEE HARDWARE HACKATHON  |  3RD PLACE WINNER
Arduino, C, Gyro/Accselerometer
  • Designed glove to wirelessly control IoT devices using simple gestures
  • Implemented gesture recognition by combining data from capacitive force sensors and 3-axis gyroscope/accelerometers
  • Controlled devices such as lights and speakers by sending commands through TCP local WiFi socket using two Arduino Nanos

DOG WHEELCHAIR LIFT

ROBOTICS PROJECT
C++, RobotC, AutoCAD
  • Constructed wheelchair lift to allow handicapped dogs to scale obstacles with heights up to 20cm
  • Implemented automatic deployment/stoppage of lift sequences by detecting obstacles using gyroscope and ultrasonic sensors

Education

FORMAL SCHOOLING

UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO

B.A.SC. IN HONOURS MECHATRONICS ENGINEERING, CO-OP
OPTION IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Waterloo, CANADA  |  Sep 2016 - Apr 2021

CHARLES III UNIVERSITY OF MADRID

INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE SEMESTER
Madrid, SPAIN  |  Sep - Dec 2019