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Onkar Samant
Data Science at Instacart | Ex Google
Professional Background
Onkar Samant is a highly skilled Data Science professional with over seven years of robust experience in crafting machine learning solutions tailored to meet diverse business needs. With a career that spans across prominent tech organizations, Onkar has developed a reputation for his adeptness in identifying business challenges, ideating innovative solutions, and implementing data-driven strategies that enhance operational efficiency and drive success.
His career began at Target, where he served as a Data Scientist in Pricing and Promotions, and later took on the role of Senior Data Scientist focusing on Competitive Pricing. During his tenure at Target, Onkar honed his skills in leveraging analytical insights to optimize pricing strategies that directly influence consumer behavior and revenue growth. His expertise further grew at PayPal, where he worked as a Data Scientist in Collections Strategy, analyzing complex data sets to improve decision-making processes and enhance customer experiences.
Continuing his journey, Onkar transitioned to Google, where he further sharpened his analytical skills as a Data Scientist. His role encompassed analyzing vast amounts of data to provide innovative solutions and support Google's initiatives in data management and customer engagement. After his time at Google, he took on a leadership position as Lead Data Scientist at Rokt, where he spearheaded projects that utilized machine learning to drive business outcomes, solidifying his transforming impact on organizational performance.
Most recently, Onkar brought his extensive expertise to Instacart as a Senior Data Scientist. During his time at Instacart, he focused on developing and deploying machine learning models to elevate customer experiences and streamline operations, employing his vast knowledge of statistical techniques and data extraction methodologies.
Education and Achievements
Onkar's educational foundation is as impressive as his professional background. He earned his Master's degree in Business Analytics from the esteemed Carl H. Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati. This advanced degree enriched his capabilities in data analysis and business intelligence, equipping him with the necessary tools to make informed decisions based on rigorous data evaluation.
Before obtaining his Master's, Onkar completed his Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the prestigious Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, which established a solid groundwork for his analytical and programming skills. His academic journey began at The Bishop's School in Pune, where he completed his ICSE (10th Grade) and ISC (12th Grade) with a focus in Science, fostering a strong foundation in technical and scientific principles.
Beyond formal education, Onkar has achieved significant professional milestones throughout his career, earning accolades for his contributions in developing scalable machine learning solutions and influencing data-driven decision-making in various organizations. He exemplifies a commitment to continuous learning and professional growth, always seeking to expand his expertise in data science and analytics.
Skills
Onkar is proficient in a wide array of skills central to the data science domain:
- Machine Learning and Statistical Techniques: His expertise includes working with generalized linear models, tree-based models, support vector machines (SVM), and naive Bayes classifiers. He is well-versed in implementing neural networks, including convolutional neural networks (CNN) and recurrent neural networks (RNN), alongside clustering techniques, feature engineering, natural language processing (NLP), time series forecasting, and A/B testing and experimentation methodologies.
- Data Extraction and Visualization: Onkar's proficiency extends to the use of various tools and languages for data visualization and extraction such as MySQL, Spark SQL, PySpark, Tableau, and Python libraries (matplotlib and seaborn). His ability to present complex data insights visually aids in making strategic decisions.
- Programming Languages: He leverages programming languages including Python, R, PySpark, Java, and C to build robust data processing algorithms and machine learning models.
- Frameworks and Libraries: Onkar harnesses the power of advanced frameworks and libraries such as NLTK, Gensim, Keras, TensorFlow, Pandas, Numpy, Scipy, Hive, Hadoop, and Spark to facilitate his data analysis tasks and improve the efficiency of his machine learning solutions.
Conclusion
In summary, Onkar Samant stands out as a distinguished Data Science professional with a rich background that combines advanced technical skills and a wealth of experience across multiple high-profile companies. His journey through the data science landscape has equipped him with the capabilities to solve complex business problems, and his educational background complements his professional endeavors, providing him with a strong analytical framework. With a dedication to advancing the field of data science, Onkar continues to make significant contributions, driving innovation and fostering data-driven cultures in the organizations he partners with.