Open to opportunities

Jonathan Manker

@jonathanmanker

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Data scientist and computational linguist specializing in NLP and LLMs.

United States

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What I'm looking for

I am seeking a role that fosters innovation and collaboration, allowing me to leverage my skills in NLP and machine learning while contributing to impactful projects.

I am a data scientist and computational linguist with over three years of experience at Amazon Alexa, where I leverage large language models (LLMs) and linguistic analysis to enhance customer experience and improve model evaluation. My expertise lies in building and scaling data pipelines for natural language processing (NLP) and LLM workflows using PySpark and AWS. I have designed and deployed tools in Python and PySpark to analyze performance metrics, ensuring that our voice assistant meets high standards of accuracy and user satisfaction.

Before my tenure at Amazon, I spent five years in academia, where I applied statistical modeling and machine learning techniques to language data. I have a proven track record of developing innovative solutions to complex challenges, such as optimizing generative AI model behavior through in-context learning. My academic background, including a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of California, Berkeley, has equipped me with a strong foundation in both theoretical and applied linguistics, enabling me to contribute effectively to interdisciplinary teams.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Data Scientist

Current

Amazon Alexa

Jan 2022 - Present (3 years 5 months)

Built and optimized large-scale data analysis tools and pipelines for Amazon Alexa, focusing on LLM inference, prompt optimization, and new feature engineering. Engineered Python and PySpark-based data pipelines, DETECT and CALIBRATE, to compare online traffic with offline test sets, automating test set generation and performance calibration. Developed a statistical modeling tool, Test Set Size Ca

Python Pyspark AWS LLMs)Prompt Engineering Data Pipelines Statistical Modeling NLP Generative AI FST Grammars

Lecturer & Researcher in Linguistics

Rice University and Yale University

Jan 2017 - Dec 2022 (5 years 11 months)

Conducted research and taught courses in phonetics, natural language processing, and language modeling, developing tools and experiments for analyzing speech and text data. Developed NLP tools, including spam classifiers and POS taggers, implementing algorithms from scratch using Python, and built a custom seq2seq model for TTS pronunciation prediction. Applied statistical methods like PCA, MDS, a

NLP Python Machine Learning Statistical Analysis Phonetics Keras SpaCy R Data Analysis

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

University of California, Berkeley

Ph.D. in linguistics, Linguistics

Completed a Ph.D. in linguistics, focusing on advanced research and academic contributions. Engaged in rigorous study and dissertation work.

University of Alaska, Fairbanks

M.A. in linguistics, language documentation and description, Linguistics

Earned a Master of Arts in linguistics with a focus on language documentation and description. Gained practical skills in preserving and analyzing linguistic data.

University of Kentucky

B.A. in linguistics, classics, Linguistics, Classics

Completed a Bachelor of Arts in linguistics with a concentration in classics. Acquired foundational knowledge in linguistic theory and classical studies.

University of California, Berkeley

M.A. in linguistics, Linguistics

Obtained a Master of Arts in linguistics, specializing in language documentation and description. Developed expertise in linguistic analysis and research methodologies.