Nimitha Gopinath

AI & Data Science | Human-centered ML systems from data to deployment

I build pipelines, train and evaluate models, and ship them into products people can actually use.

Nimitha Gopinath

About Me

I build end-to-end machine learning systems that connect people with the right knowledge. My focus is practical ML that fits real workflows, from data pipelines and modeling to evaluation and deployment into usable applications.

My work spans classical ML, deep learning, and LLM-based applications. I prioritize reliable performance, interpretability, and clean, reproducible workflows. I work primarily in Python using PyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit-learn, and SQL/PostgreSQL, and I've built retrieval-augmented generation pipelines for decision support and user-facing experiences.

I'm currently developing a socially intelligent system to reduce organizational knowledge silos by lowering the friction of cross-team collaboration. The goal is not just better retrieval, but better coordination: making expertise easier to discover and outreach easier to act on.

I care about building AI that people can trust and use, which means systems that are interpretable where possible, responsibly applied, and evaluated with real users and real constraints.

Recent Updates

Stay up to date with my latest projects, research, and professional experiences.

Started Research Assistant role at SFU Beedie School of Business

Working on socially intelligent AI system that combines expertise matching with ideas from interaction ritual theory

Research
2025

Founded "AI Mentor Hub"

Built and deployed AI-powered career guidance platform using Flask and large language models to deliver personalized course and study recommendations

Professional Experience
2025

Professional Experience

Industry Experience

Machine Learning Intern

Prodigy InfoTech
Jan 2024 – Jul 2024 · Remote

Delivered CNN, SVM, and K-Means projects for gesture recognition, image classification, and customer segmentation.

  • Built CNN for hand gesture recognition on 15K+ images; achieved 88% test accuracy.
  • Built binary image classification pipeline (cats vs. dogs) with SVM and feature extraction.
  • Conducted customer segmentation with K-Means; selected k via Elbow/Silhouette and visualized with Matplotlib/Seaborn.
Python Scikit-learn TensorFlow Keras OpenCV Matplotlib

Research Experience

Research Assistant

Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University
May 2025 – Dec 2025 · Burnaby, BC

Co-designed a socially intelligent AI system for cross-silo collaboration as part of the AI for Organizations Grand Challenge (Stanford & Google DeepMind).

  • Combined expertise matching with interaction ritual theory to reduce social cost of cross-team outreach.
  • Designed a four-condition field experiment testing AI-mediated introductions and bonding on helping behavior and collaboration patterns.
  • Conducted leader interviews to identify barriers (trust gaps, invisible expertise) and translated insights into system requirements.
AI Research Organizational Behavior Experimental Design Social Computing Field Studies

Graduate Student Research Assistant

FAISAL Lab, Simon Fraser University
Nov 2022 – May 2023 · Greater Vancouver, BC

Developed CNN-based method for multi-phase abdominal CT scan classification; 90.60% mean F1 on 217K+ slices.

  • Implemented slice-wise phase prediction with majority voting on 20 random slices per scan; 93.54% F1 on test set.
  • Collaborated with team on troubleshooting and research support.
CNN Medical Imaging Deep Learning Research Python

Teaching Experience

Teaching Assistant

Simon Fraser University
Jan 2022 – Jan 2024 · Burnaby, BC

Led labs and supported instruction across six undergraduate engineering courses, including ENSC 425 (200+ students).

  • Led laboratory sessions for Electronic System Design (ENSC 425); design methodology, troubleshooting, technical communication.
  • Supported instruction and assessment for ENSC 350, 180, 425, 204, 416, 426.
Teaching Engineering Education Technical Communication Circuit Design

Assistant Professor – Electrical & Electronics Engineering

Rajadhani Institute of Science and Technology
Jul 2019 – Nov 2021 · Kerala, India

Instructed ML, Python, and core EEE courses; supervised 10+ capstone projects; Acting HoD; organized three technical conferences (300+ participants).

  • Taught Machine Learning, Python Programming, Network Theory, Digital Signal Processing.
  • Supervised 10+ undergraduate capstone projects in automation, IoT, and software engineering.
  • Acting Head of Department (2 months); organized three technical conferences with 300+ participants.
Machine Learning Python Teaching Research Supervision Leadership

Teaching Assistant

APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University
Jan 2016 – Jan 2018 · Kerala, India

Mentored engineering project teams and supported courses in Python, ML, Digital Image Processing, and core EEE labs.

  • Mentored student teams on defining problems, building solutions, and presenting outcomes.
  • Supported Python Programming, Machine Learning (intro), Digital Image Processing, Professional Ethics, EEE labs.
Teaching Python Machine Learning Digital Image Processing

Other Experience

Service Desk Analyst

Simon Fraser University
Sep 2023 – Aug 2025 · Burnaby, BC

Front-line technical support for faculty, staff, and students; MFA, remote access, OS deployments; ticketing via TeamDynamix and Confluence.

  • Provided support via phone, email, and in-person; MFA setup, remote server access, OS deployments.
  • Logged and tracked requests in TeamDynamix and Confluence; used Microsoft Office for analysis and collaboration.
Technical Support TeamDynamix Confluence Microsoft Office

Thesis & Research

Thesis
Thesis: Electro-surgical unit

M.Tech Thesis: New Converter Topology for Electrosurgical Units

2016 – 2018

Designed and prototyped a power-electronics and control system for electrosurgical generators to regulate output safely under changing tissue impedance. Built MATLAB/Simulink model and a 34 kHz hardware prototype. Implemented constant current, constant power, and constant voltage control modes. Tested performance across varying load impedances; included Arduino-based skin resistance measurement with conductive textile electrodes.

View Thesis →

Projects

Here are some of my recent projects that showcase my skills in data analysis, machine learning, and software development.

Featured Projects

AI Mentor Hub

2025 – Present

LLM-powered learning and career guidance web app with retrieval-based recommendations. Built with Flask, RAG, ChromaDB, and Sentence Transformers.

View Code

Computer Vision & Deep Learning

Machine Learning & Data Science

Skills

Research & Empirical Methods

Field Experiments Qualitative Interviews Survey Design Behavioral Analysis Mixed-Methods Research

Machine Learning & AI

Classical ML Deep Learning (CNNs) Model Evaluation Error Analysis NLP Semantic Search RAG

Programming & Data

Python Pandas NumPy scikit-learn SQL Bash Data Wrangling Statistical Analysis

Tools, Development & Deployment

PyTorch TensorFlow Hugging Face Transformers NLTK Flask Git GitHub Docker Jupyter Google Colab VS Code

Databases & Retrieval

MySQL SQLite Supabase (Postgres) ChromaDB

Visualization & BI

Matplotlib Seaborn Tableau IBM Cognos Dashboarding Storytelling

Cloud & Project Management

IBM Cloud Agile Scrum Trello

Platforms

Windows Linux macOS

Education

January 2024

Master of Engineering in Engineering Science

Simon Fraser University Burnaby, British Columbia
June 2018

Master of Engineering in Power Electronics

APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University India
June 2016

Bachelor of Technology in Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Calicut University India

Publications

Leadership & Recognition

Awards

  • First Prize, Paper Presentation — NSITE 2K16 National Technical Symposium (2016)
  • First Place, Technical Seminar — KSEB District-Level, IEEE Kerala Chapter (2016)
  • Top-Ranked Student, Master’s Program (CGPA 9.0/10) (2018)
  • Academic Excellence Awards (2016–2018)

Invited Talks

  • Nested Learning — Vancouver AI Community, Vancouver (2025)
  • AI Mentor Hub: AI-Enabled Mentoring Platform — Show & Tell (2025)

Membership

  • IEEE Student Member (2024–Present)

Professional Certifications

Junior Data Analyst Program NPower Canada · Burnaby, BC
January 2026
IBM Data Analyst Professional Certificate Coursera
January 2026
Microsoft Azure AI900 Professional Certificate Microsoft
November 2025
Tableau Essential Training LinkedIn Learning
April 2025
MySQL Essential Training LinkedIn Learning
April 2025

Contact Me

Feel free to reach out if you're looking for a collaborator, have a question, or just want to connect.