Open to opportunities

Olivia Gawel

@oliviagawel

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Applied AI researcher and engineer building large-scale NLP and multimodal systems.

United States

Message

What I'm looking for

I seek roles where I can lead reproducible ML/NLP research-to-production efforts, mentor teams, and improve model factuality and evaluation while working in collaborative, research-driven environments that value rigorous experimentation.

I am an applied AI researcher and engineer focused on large-scale NLP and multimodal systems, combining transformer modeling, probabilistic inference, and end-to-end data pipelines to move research into reliable deployments.

I have led large human and LLM experiments, built reproducible pipelines that automate collection through modeling, and implemented Bayesian and noisy-channel inference models that improve predictive accuracy and interpretability.

I drive model evaluation and quality initiatives—developing token-level diagnostic tooling, hierarchical GLMMs, and benchmarking frameworks—to identify failure modes, improve factuality and grounding, and deliver production-ready model improvements.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Graduate Researcher

Current

University of California, Merced

Jul 2024 - Present (1 year 7 months)

Led large-scale human and LLM experiments (600+ participants; 8 foundation models) and built reproducible end-to-end data pipelines that enabled rapid iteration and produced behavioral benchmarks for model evaluation.

Data Pipelines Python Token Level Diagnostics

Senior Program Manager

GlobalLogic

May 2023 - Jul 2024 (1 year 2 months)

Led end-to-end AI program delivery for Google (May 2023–Jul 2024), directing model quality initiatives that improved factuality and accuracy from 8% baseline to over 92% and managed 300+ distributed contributors across workstreams.

Program Management Model Quality Stakeholder Management Team Leadership

Research Technician

Harvard Medical School

Dec 2022 - Jul 2024 (1 year 7 months)

Supported a multimodal intracranial EEG study by integrating neural recordings with linguistic events, executing preprocessing and curation pipelines to improve data integrity and reproducibility for brain–language analyses.

ECoG FMRI Preprocessing Time Series Alignment Matlab Neuroimaging (SPM CONN)Data Curation Experimental Design

Data Analyst & Project Manager

FIDMAG Hospital

Sep 2019 - Dec 2022 (3 years 3 months)

Directed data operations across multi-hospital neuroscience studies, designed reproducible preprocessing workflows, and analyzed behavioral and neuroimaging data to quantify speech and working memory deficits in clinical populations.

Data Operations Neuroimaging Analysis Project Management Cross Site Coordination Experimental Task Development Statistical Analysis

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

University of California, Merced

Doctor of Philosophy, Cognitive and Information Sciences

2024 -

Activities and societies: Advisor: Dr. Rachel Ryskin; Graduate Researcher (Data Analysis & Cognitive Modeling); Teaching assistant for COGS courses.

PhD student in Cognitive and Information Sciences with MS awarded en route to the PhD; research focuses on language comprehension, memory, and modeling with large-scale experiments and probabilistic inference.

Pompeu Fabra University

Master of Science, Neuroscience

2020 - 2022

Grade: 9.09/10

Activities and societies: Advisors: Dr. Paola Fuentes-Claramonte; Dr. Joanna Rosselló Ximenes; thesis published in institutional repository.

Master of Science in Neuroscience with a thesis developing an fMRI paradigm for speech production and strong academic performance (GPA reported as 9.09/10).

University of Barcelona

Master of Science, Cognitive Science

2019 - 2021

Grade: 9.2/10

Activities and societies: Advisor: Dr. Paola Fuentes-Claramonte; thesis deposited in the university digital repository.

Master of Science in Cognitive Science completed in parallel with an MS in Neuroscience; thesis on functional brain correlates of auditory verbal hallucinations.