Optimizely
Staff Software Engineer - AI SearchJan 2026 - Present
- Developing search solutions by leveraging embeddings and other techniques to enhance content discoverability and relevance.
alper nebi kanlı
Staff AI Engineer / Data Scientist
Senior Data Scientist with expertise in machine learning, natural language processing, information retrieval, and data engineering. Extensive experience in developing advanced algorithms and solutions across various industries.
London, United Kingdomcontact@alpernebikanli.comwww.alpernebikanli.comwww.linkedin.com/in/alpernkanli
Experience
Searchlight Cyber
AI EngineerJul 2025 - Nov 2025
- Developed agentic AI solutions for cybersecurity and threat intelligence.
Hepsiburada
Senior Data ScientistJun 2024 - Jul 2025
- Contributing to the enhancement of search algorithms by applying advanced NLP techniques, including leveraging LLMs and embeddings to improve user search experiences.
- Developed and trained ranking models.
- Developed an ontology extraction pipeline using LLMs.
- Improved MLOps pipelines, experiment tracking processes and evaluation frameworks.
- Achieved remarkable increases in CR and CTR, performed detailed analyses on AB results.
Turkcell
Senior Data ScientistApr 2023 – Jun 2024
- Developed near-real-time ML services for edge devices like Nvidia Jetson and Qualcomm.
- Created high-performance computer vision services, including a NIST-evaluated face recognition service.
- Built an image search service by combining computer vision techniques with NLP models.
Senior Search/NLP EngineerDec 2019 – Apr 2023
- Developed ranking algorithms, trained ranking models, implemented APIs, utilized LLMs and embeddings to enhance search relevance and handle high volumes of requests.
- Developed Elasticsearch plugins.
- Built a question answering system using knowledge graphs and NLP models.
- Solved unique NLP and information retrieval challenges with innovative solutions.
- Created ETL pipelines for search data, optimizing data workflows to support algorithm development.
- Mentored team members, contributed to architectural decisions, and served as Scrum Master.
Azerion
Senior Data ScientistJul 2018 – Nov 2019
- Developed machine learning solutions for forecasting and classification, utilizing LSTMs, RNNs, and ensemble methods like XGBoost.
- Designed and implemented data engineering solutions for large-scale data processing.
Cybersoft
Data ScientistDec 2017 – Jul 2018
- Implemented data preprocessing and machine learning algorithms for distributed environment.
- Developed automated machine learning model selection and hyperparameter optimization services.
- Supervised and mentored three intern groups, co-authoring conference papers with them.
UniteBT
RPA DeveloperJun 2017 – Nov 2017
- Delivered RPA solutions to optimize business processes for various clients in a fast-paced environment.
Bilkon Ltd
Machine Learning EngineerAug 2016 – May 2017
- Developed components of a video management system, including machine learning pipelines.
Education
Middle East Technical University2018
Udacity2020
Skills & Technologies
Languages: Python, Java, C++, C#, Typescript, Javascript, MATLAB, SQL, Cypher
Machine Learning & AI: TensorFlow, PyTorch, Catboost, XGBoost, Learning to Rank, Scikit-Learn, Numpy, Pandas, LangChain, LangGraph, Langfuse, Sagemaker, BentoML, Feast
Data Engineering & Databases: Hadoop, Spark, Flink, Kafka, Hive, BigQuery, Elasticsearch, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Cassandra, Redis, Neo4j, ChromaDB, Pinecone
Backend Development & Cloud: Spring Boot, Django, FastAPI, Flask, Node.js, Azure, GCP, AWS
MLOps & DevOps: Docker, Kubernetes, Openshift, Terraform, Airflow, MLFlow, GitLab CI/CD
Papers & Patents
- Implementation of Data Preprocessing Techniques on Distributed Big Data Platforms, 2019 4th International Conference on Computer Science and Engineering (UBMK)
- Data Mining Library for Big Data Processing Platforms: A Case Study - Sparkling Water Platform, 2018 3rd International Conference on Computer Science and Engineering (UBMK)
- Implementation of Association Rule Mining Algorithms on Distributed Data Processing Platforms, 2019 4th International Conference on Computer Science and Engineering (UBMK)
- The Impact of RFF and Ensemble Modeling Approach in an E-commerce Product Ranking, 2025 33rd Signal Processing and Communications Applications Conference (SIU)
Interests
- Dancing (Lindy Hop)
- Sailing
- Cinema and Theatre
- Reading (Fiction, History, Philosophy, Linguistics)
- Sports