Nellie Cordova

About me

Portrait of Nellie

Clear problems. Clean data. Real impact.

Hi—I'm Nellie.

Curious, practical, outcome-oriented.

I'm completing an M.S. in CS (ML) and transitioning from software engineering to applied ML. I'm comfortable starting small, testing ideas, and iterating with feedback.

Recently I've built projects that blend vision and NLP (e.g., Plate2Recipe with ViT + GPT-2/LSTM) and explored memory networks for QA and user-centered prototypes. Earlier, I contributed to a microservices payments platform in a regulated environment, reinforcing CI quality gates, monitoring, and release evidence.

Excited to apply ML and SWE to real-world problems. Let's connect if you're building products with impact.

Specialization ML-oriented SWE
Experience Level Mid-level (SWE)
Early career (ML)
Education M.S. CS (ML), Georgia Tech — in progress
Languages English, Spanish

Resume

Profile

Professional Summary


Driven software engineer transitioning to ML, combining hands-on DL/NLP/RL with production-grade experience in microservices payments. Strong in experiment design, hyperparameter tuning, and metrics-driven iteration. Delivers features end-to-end.


Information


  • Florida, USA
  • cordova.nellie@gmail.com
  • +1 (908) 764-7332
  • linkedin.com/in/ncordovank
  • github.com/cordovank


Technical Skills


  • ML / NLP — Python · PyTorch · scikit-learn · NumPy · pandas · Transformers (ViT, GPT-2) · CNNs · RNN/LSTM · seq2seq · tokenization/embeddings · attention/memory · fine-tuning & transfer · classification · language modeling
  • Data & Eval — Experiment design · HPO · cross-validation · metrics (F1, perplexity, RMSE) · visualization/reporting (Matplotlib)
  • MLOps / Backend — Docker · CI/CD · REST/gRPC · Kafka · Jenkins/Maven · testing (JUnit, Cucumber) · API/perf testing (Postman, SOAP UI, JMeter) · logging/monitoring (Geneos)
  • Languages & Tools — Python · Java · SQL · Git · Jupyter · IntelliJ · JIRA · Bitbucket · Confluence · Anaconda
  • Other — English & Spanish (bilingual)

Professional Experience

Software Engineer

JPMorgan Chase & Co. | Tampa, FL

2019 - 2021

Real-Time Payments Platform

  • Contributed end-to-end across the SDLC for Java-based payments microservices and drove production readiness.
  • Authored comprehensive operational runbooks—architecture, dependencies/configs, failure modes, diagnostic checklists, decision trees, and step-by-step remediation—to enable fast triage, recovery, and self-serve on-call; provided light support on monitoring/alerting dashboards with platform/SRE.
  • Built and maintained test automation (JUnit, Cucumber); enforced CI quality gates (tests, static analysis, coverage) to keep merges green, and executed functional/perf testing (Postman, SOAP UI, JMeter).
  • Managed regulated releases: compiled release evidence (test/coverage reports, change tickets, approvals) to secure production sign-off; presented services to global production management.
  • Led/participated in agile rituals (sprint planning, backlog refinement); authored technical docs; coordinated across time zones.
2019 - 2020

Salesforce Platform

  • Delivered Salesforce data collection and reporting features for a social-impact organization.
  • Gathered requirements from stakeholders, translated them into technical changes, implemented the updates, and documented the work.
  • Enhanced a custom Visualforce UI for clarity and consistency, and automated survey creation with declarative Flows to reduce manual setup and standardize templates.

ML Research Assistant

CS Dept. @ William Paterson University | Wayne, NJ

2018 - 2019
  • Applied exploratory data analysis and knowledge discovery to augment prior hypothesis-driven work on teen tanning behaviors.
  • Implemented and evaluated predictive models (KNN, Logistic Regression, clustering) in Python/R.
  • Presented insights to faculty and students.

Education

M.S. in Computer Science (Machine Learning)

Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA

2022 - Present

Relevant Coursework: Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Reinforcement Learning, Natural Language Processing, Network Science

B.A. in Mathematics | Minor: Computer Science

William Paterson University | Wayne, NJ

2016 - 2019

Relevant Coursework: Database Management Systems, Data Warehouse & Data Mining, Cloud Computing, Applied Regression Analysis


Magna Cum Laude • Pi Mu Epsilon (National Mathematics Honor Society)

Certifications

AWS Certified AI Practitioner

2025

Group 2 Social / Behavioral Research Investigators and Key Personnel

CITI Program

2024

Projects

  • All Projects
  • DL
  • NLP
  • User-centered
Plate2Recipe

Plate2Recipe – Food Image to Recipe Generation


PyTorch ViT GPT-2 LSTM
Memory-augmented QA System

Memory-augmented QA System


PyTorch NumPy Tokenization attention/memory networks
Notification System Redesign

Notification System Redesign


UX Research Prototyping Usability Testing

Let's Connect!

I reply to thoughtful notes and real opportunities.

Open to ML/SWE roles, collabs — short intros welcome.

Rather email? cordova.nellie@gmail.com

Use the form — a few sentences and links are perfect.

No mailing lists. I'll use your info only to respond.

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