I am Zheng Shi, a computer scientist and machine learning engineer working at the intersection of research and real-world systems.

Over the last decade, I have worked across enterprise and startup environments, led ML teams, and built end-to-end ML systems from scratch. In parallel, I completed a part-time PhD in Machine Learning while working full-time in industry.

I care about one thing: solving hard problems that matter. Not just publishing ideas, and not just shipping code, but closing the loop from theory to reliable systems. (And yes, occasionally arguing with a metric dashboard at 2 a.m.)

One thing I do especially well is solving messy, high-complexity problems. I start by collecting fragments: partial ideas from different people, constraints that do not neatly align, and competing goals. Then I turn them into coherent system designs, where each component has a clear role and the whole solution holds together logically. Finally, I build those designs into production reality.

What I Do

I work at the intersection of machine learning, optimization, and software engineering.

• Build ML systems that are practical, maintainable, and tied to business outcomes.
• Turn ambiguous, fragmented ideas into clear system designs and execution plans.
• Make tradeoffs explicit: accuracy vs. latency, complexity vs. reliability, speed vs. maintainability.
• Lead teams and projects through high-uncertainty problem spaces.

Background

• Ph.D. in Machine Learning, Lehigh University
• M.S. in Operations Research, Lehigh University
• B.Eco. in Finance, Nankai University
• B.A. in English, Tianjin University

Experience

• 2025 - 2026: Sabbatical (October 2025 to October 2026) — travel, research, writing, and selective consulting. Think less “gap year,” more “intentional rebuild.”
• 2024 - 2025: Staff Engineer, Machine Learning — Oden Technologies.
• 2021 - 2024: Team Lead, Machine Learning — IBM.
• 2016 - 2022: Research Assistant — Lehigh University.
• 2013 - 2021: Staff / Advisory / Senior / Tech Lead, Data Science — IBM.

Now

I am currently on sabbatical, focused on three tracks:

• Researching agentic AI systems.
• Writing about technical problem solving, engineering tradeoffs, and career transitions.
• Supporting selected consulting projects where I can help teams solve meaningful ML problems.

Work With Me

I am always open to thoughtful conversations around:

• Applied ML and AI consulting.
• Technical collaboration, writing, and speaking.

If there is a hard problem worth solving, we should probably talk.