$200 / month
2 calls per month (34min/call)
Unlimited Q&A via chat
Expect responses in 24 hours or less
Hands-on support
Hi, I’m Shekhar.
I am a Senior Machine Learning Engineer with 10+ years of experience designing and deploying large-scale NLP, Search, and Generative AI systems in production. My work spans end-to-end ownership of Query Understanding, Representation Learning, Retrieval, and LLM/SLM evaluation pipelines that serve millions of requests daily at sub-200 ms latency.
Across companies like DoorDash, UnitedHealth Group, and Highmark, I have led initiatives that improved retrieval recall from ~79% to 95%, reduced claim and case resolution times by up to 85%, and built robust LLM evaluation systems (“LLM Judges”) that assess models across 15+ qualitative, compliance, and safety dimensions. I specialize in fine-tuning embedding models, SLMs, and LLMs (LoRA, PEFT, DDP), architecting hybrid search systems (BM25 + vectors), and operationalizing agentic workflows for data annotation, evaluation, and RAG.
Who I mentor and how I help:
I work best with engineers and researchers who want to move beyond theory and build real, production-grade ML systems. Typical mentees include:
• ML Engineers aiming to break into Search, Retrieval, or Relevance teams
• Engineers transitioning into Generative AI, RAG, or Agentic AI roles
My mentoring style is highly applied and system-oriented. Together, we can:
• Design and fine-tune embedding models and small language models for real-world retrieval and routing tasks
• Build end-to-end RAG systems with proper evaluation, monitoring, and cost controls
• Develop LLM evaluation frameworks (LLM-as-Judge, error taxonomies, offline + online metrics)
• Strengthen ML system design thinking, from data pipelines to inference optimization and deployment
You can expect concrete guidance, architecture reviews, hands-on debugging, and honest feedback grounded in production experience.
If you are serious about building scalable NLP and Generative AI systems and want mentorship that emphasizes depth, rigor, and real-world impact I’d be happy to work with you. Book a session, share your goals, and we’ll create a focused plan to help you grow faster and with confidence.
Notify me when Shekhar has new spots
We will send you a quick email if Shekhar has new open spots for mentorship, and only in that case!
Book a free intro call with Shekhar
Connect with Shekhar in a quick call (usually under 30 minutes)
What's included in the trial?
Every trial is a little different–here's what Shekhar says about their trial:
We'll meet for a quick call (usually under 30 minutes) where we:
- Break the ice and introduce ourselves
- Discuss your goals and how I can support you
- Coordinate logistics like time zones, meeting frequency, and communication methods
