CV

• To download the pdf format of my resume, click here

Education

• Iowa State University
  • Ph.D., Computer Science, GPA: 3.67/4.0 (Jan 2021 - Present)
• Addis Ababa Science and Technology University
  • BSc, Software Engineering, GPA: 3.75/4.0 (September 2014 - June 2018)
    • Graduated Magna cum laude
    • Founded Innovation Club

Research exprience

• Laboratory for Software Engineering, Iowa State University
  • Researched and implemented software engineering (SE) methodologies to enhance auto-code completion tools, relatively improving state-of-the-art tools.
  • Investigated language models and SE techniques to clean protein function misannotations in large databases.
  • Analyzed top-tier conference papers to create insightful presentations that effectively communicated ideas.
  • Collaborated with post-docs and lab members to write and publish top-tier conference papers, contributing to advancing scientific knowledge in software engineering and deep learning.
  • Supervisor: Dr. Hridesh Rajan

Research Area

• I’m mostly work at the intersection of software engineering and large langauge models.

Skills

• Programming Languages: Python, Java, C++, PHP, JavaScript, CSS, HTML
• DL/ML Library: TensorFlow/Keras, Pytorch, Pytorch-lightning, HuggingFace Libraries, Pandas, Numpy
• Frameworks, OS: Spring boot, GitHub, Linux, Windows, MacOS
• Database Technology: MySQL, SQLite, MSSQL, Firebase

Additional experience

• Feb 2021 - Present: Graduate Teaching Assistant
  • Taught 80+ students the principles of programming language, program debugging, and developing test cases.
  • Headed the Principles of Programming course, working closely with a team of 3 teaching assistants to facilitate a collaborative and inclusive learning environment.
  • Designed and delivered highly effective lectures and exercises during recitation periods.
  • Conducted weekly office hours, providing personalized support and feedback to students, leading to notable improvements in grades and overall academic performance.
• Aug 2019 to Nov 2019: Software Engineer
  • Med-Innovation, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  • Collaborated with a team of 2 members to design and implement a customer relationship management (CRM) system using Spring Boot and Vaadin.
  • Successfully launched the CRM project within a strict timeline, demonstrating exceptional project management and teamwork skills.
  • Implemented CRM resulted in a 10% increase in the company’s customer retention rate within 2 months, providing measurable business value.
• June 2017 to Aug 2017: Software Engineer Intern
  • Kifiya Financial Technology, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  • Identified and proposed improvements to the user experience (UX) for 2 projects, resulting in enhanced site navigation and improved customer satisfaction.
  • Successfully completed the project on time, delivering high-quality work and effectively communicating proposed ideas to senior executives.

Services and Award

• Awarded a Google Cloud Research Credits program ($10000) June 2023
• Selected for the Google Cloud Research Innovators Program March 2023
• Contributor at Towards AI December 2022
• Received Travel grant from BlackInAI group to attend NeurIPS’22 November 2022
• Student Volunteer at SPLASH’21 Conference (Chicago, IL) November 2021

Leadership

• Founder at JawisAdvisory. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  • I founded JawisAdvisory to guide students interested in pursuing graduate study. Mostly, the guidance is tailored for underrepresented groups, as I’m more familiar with the process and also a way of giving back to my community.
• Co-Founder at SmartMasa. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  • Led our team to pitch a precision farming project to large incubation centers and investors in Ethiopia, resulting in more than $10K in funding and support for the initiative.
  • Demonstrated exceptional leadership, business, and technological skills while working on the web and mobile-based precision farming project aimed at improving the lives of smallholders.