Martin Louis - Senior Engineering Leader | AI/ML & Platform Innovation

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Visionary technology leader with 19+ years of experience driving software engineering, product innovation, and team excellence. Expert in Java/J2EE, AI-NLP, generative AI, and modern web technologies, with a track record of pioneering solutions at PayPal, CSC, and Covansys. Known for hands-on technical leadership, scalable architecture design, and impactful research in AI, NFTs, and e-commerce. Passionate about mentoring high-performing teams and delivering customer-centric platforms that transform business outcomes.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

PayPal, Austin, TX
Senior Engineering Manager
March 2022 – Present

Leadership Vision: Spearhead a 20-member engineering team to deliver cutting-edge AI-driven solutions, including Agentic - Service Action Genie and a Predictive AI Proactive Customer Success Platform, redefining how PayPal anticipates customer needs.
Hands-On Innovation: Architected a Product Knowledge Graph from the ground up, integrating NLP and generative AI to create a self-evolving system that reduced content retrieval time by 50%. Personally coded critical algorithms in Java and Node.js to ensure scalability.
Impact: Drove a 30% increase in customer satisfaction scores by enabling proactive issue resolution, saving $10.5M annually in support costs. Positioned PayPal as an industry leader in AI-powered service delivery, influencing company-wide adoption of knowledge governance frameworks.

XRAY Commerce, United States
Limited Partner
August 2023 – December 2023

Leadership Vision: Provided strategic guidance as a Limited Partner, driving XRAY Commerce’s mission to revolutionize e-commerce through AI-powered product listing optimization, eliminating reliance on traditional advertising.
Hands-On Innovation: Leveraged expertise in generative AI and NLP to refine XRAY’s tailored recommendation engine, enhancing Etsy listings and boosting conversion rates by dynamically optimizing product descriptions and visuals. Developed a proof-of-concept for cross-platform e-commerce integration, reducing operational complexity for merchants.
Impact: Achieved a 25% uplift in conversion rates for early adopters, driving $500K in additional revenue for partnered e-commerce businesses. Positioned XRAY as a disruptive force in the e-commerce space, securing follow-on investments and expanding market reach.

Engineering Manager
April 2018 – March 2022

Leadership Vision: Directed a cross-functional team to transform Enterprise Content Management into an AI-first ecosystem, launching a Content Recommendation Service that personalized user experiences at scale.
Hands-On Innovation: Designed and coded a recommendation engine using Java and Spring, embedding real-time analytics to adapt content dynamically. Pioneered a “content confidence score” metric, improving recommendation accuracy by 25%.
Impact: Enhanced content delivery efficiency by 40%, reducing user search time and boosting engagement across 10M+ monthly active users. Secured executive buy-in for a $3M expansion of AI initiatives based on this success.

Member Technical Staff (MTS 1 – Software Engineer)
April 2014 – March 2018

Leadership Vision: Championed customer self-service innovation for web and mobile, mentoring junior engineers while defining technical roadmaps for a seamless knowledgebase experience for service agents.
Hands-On Innovation: Engineered a Lucene-powered search layer integrated with Oracle Knowledge/Search, introducing fuzzy matching to handle ambiguous queries—a first for PayPal’s self-service tools. Wrote deployment scripts in Shell to automate rollouts.
Impact: Slashed average resolution time by 35%, empowering 5M+ users annually to resolve issues independently. Recognized with multiple SPOT Awards for technical ingenuity and team upliftment.

Senior Engineer
December 2012 – March 2014

Leadership Vision: Led the evolution of PayPal’s Search Platform, fostering a culture of experimentation that birthed NLP-driven intent detection capabilities.
Hands-On Innovation: Built a custom intent-detection model in Java, blending Lucene and early NLP techniques to predict user needs with 85% accuracy. Optimized Google Search Appliance configs to cut latency by 20%.
Impact: Elevated search relevance by 30%, driving a 15% uptick in user retention. Laid the technical foundation for future AI enhancements, earning team-wide recognition for foresight.

PayPal, Chennai, India
Software Engineer 3
October 2011 – December 2012

Leadership Vision: Acted as Lead Engineer for Global Operations – SelfService, rallying a small team to modernize legacy systems into a cohesive SPARTA framework ecosystem.
Hands-On Innovation: Devised a Java/JSP-based SPARTA application suite with Oracle PL/SQL integrations, automating 80% of deployment tasks via Maven and Turbo Roller. Introduced Adobe Site Catalyst instrumentation for real-time usage insights.
Impact: Boosted team efficiency by 40%, cutting release cycles from weeks to days. Improved content findability for 20M+ users, earning a SPOT Award for technical excellence and operational ingenuity.

CSC India Pvt. Ltd., India
Associate Manager
January 2011 – October 2011

Leadership Vision: Guided a diverse team through complex Java, J2EE, and .NET projects, bridging technical and business goals during high-stakes RFP negotiations.
Hands-On Innovation: Prototyped a hybrid Java-.NET middleware to unify disparate systems, reducing integration overhead by 25%. Mentored developers in Agile practices, accelerating delivery timelines.
Impact: Secured a $1M client contract by aligning technical solutions with business use cases, enhancing CSC’s reputation as a versatile technology partner.

Senior Software Engineer / Tech Lead
January 2008 – June 2011

Leadership Vision: Orchestrated the re-platforming of Chevron’s J2EE planning tool to .NET C#, building a new C# team while preserving operational continuity. Led development of J2EE SPRING/Hibernate-based applications for Chevron’s economic planning and production forecasting, and Flex-Java solutions for UNOCAL’s natural gas drilling and reserve estimation.
Hands-On Innovation: Crafted a custom migration toolkit in Java and C# to automate 70% of the Chevron codebase transition, while designing Flex-based dashboards for real-time planning insights. For UNOCAL, engineered a real-time drilling visualization tool using Flex and Java, integrating Hibernate for predictive reserve estimation with 95% accuracy.
Impact: Delivered Chevron’s project 3 months ahead of schedule, saving $500K in development costs. Enhanced UNOCAL’s operational efficiency by 25%, reducing reserve estimation errors and boosting mining productivity by 15%. Earned a Chairman’s Technical Excellence Award nomination for leadership and innovation.

Covansys India Pvt. Ltd., India
Associate Projects / Senior Software Engineer
January 2006 – June 2008

Leadership Vision: Drove full-stack development for clients like Amway Japan, mentoring a 4-person team to exceed RFP expectations with a standout e-commerce solution.
Hands-On Innovation: Built a Flex-powered shopping cart with a “virtual showcase” feature in Core Java, integrating JSP and Oracle DB for a 3D-like shopping experience—unprecedented in 2006 e-commerce.
Impact: Grew Amway’s online revenue by $1.2M in six months, earning PRIDE and CORE awards for technical creativity and client satisfaction.

Associate Trainee
December 2005 – January 2006

Leadership Vision: Took initiative in a high-pressure POC for Citibank, collaborating with senior engineers to prove legacy-modern integration feasibility.
Hands-On Innovation: Developed a JSP/Struts frontend with a COBOL-to-JSON bridge, enabling seamless stock trading functionality in a simulated environment.
Impact: Demonstrated 99.9% transaction accuracy, paving the way for a $2M project greenlight and establishing early credibility as a technical innovator.

EDUCATION

The University of Texas at Austin
Post-Graduate Program in Cloud Computing, Cloud Computing
June 2022 – Present

Master of Computer Applications (MCA)
Dr. Mahalingam College, India – 2005

B.Sc. Computer Science
Sree Narayanaguru College, India – 2002

CERTIFICATIONS

AI Agentic Design Patterns with AutoGen – DeepLearning.AI, Issued November 2024
Certified Product Manager (CPM) – Product School California, Issued January 2022
Collaborative Leadership – LinkedIn, Issued August 2021
Contentful Certified Professional – Contentful, Issued July 2020
Information Architecture Fundamentals – Udemy, Issued November 2017
Elasticsearch and Kibana Training – Elastic, Issued August 2015
Oracle Knowledge Management – Oracle, Issued October 2013
IBM Certified Associate Developer – IBM
IBM Certified Database Associate – IBM
Six Sigma Green Belt – Covansys
Sun Certified Java Programmer – Sun

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Languages/Frameworks: Java, J2EE, Spring, Hibernate, Node.js, JavaScript, C#, Adobe Flex, JSP, PL-SQL, ATG, .NET
AI & Emerging Tech: NLP, Generative AI, Agentic Systems, Crypto/DeFi, Product Knowledge Graphs
Tools/Platforms: Google Search Appliance, WebLogic, Oracle Knowledge/Search, Lucene, Maven, Turbo Roller, JBoss, Oracle DB, SPARTA, Fusion, Elastic Search, Kibana, AutoGen
Methodologies: Agile Product Development, Technology Leadership, Product Strategy, Forecasting/Prediction

SELECTED PROJECTS

T. Rowe Price Employee Retirement and Insurance Portal (Sep 2009)
Role: Full-Stack Engineer | Client: T. Rowe Price USA | Tech: Adobe Flex 3.0, Java, JBoss 5

Solution: Transformed an outdated Microsoft ASP-based portal into a modern, interactive platform using Adobe Flex 3.0 for a dynamic UI and Java/JBoss for robust backend services. Introduced a modular design enabling real-time retirement plan simulations and insurance policy customization.
Creative Innovation: Integrated a gamified savings calculator with animated visualizations, encouraging employees to explore retirement scenarios, a first-of-its-kind feature in financial portals at the time.
Business Impact: Improved user engagement by 40% through enhanced usability and portability, reducing support queries by 25%. Streamlined onboarding for 10,000+ employees, saving $200K annually in administrative costs.

Chrysler Carton Management System (Apr 2008)
Role: Full-Stack Engineer | Client: Chrysler USA | Tech: Adobe Flex 2, Hibernate, Cairngorm, BlazeDS

Solution: Designed a next-generation carton tracking system to replace a legacy logistics tool, leveraging Adobe Flex 2 for an intuitive front-end and Hibernate for optimized data management. Implemented real-time inventory updates using BlazeDS for seamless server-client communication.
Creative Innovation: Developed a predictive carton routing algorithm that suggested optimal warehouse paths based on historical shipment data, reducing manual decision-making. Added a drag-and-drop interface for warehouse staff to reconfigure carton priorities on the fly.
Business Impact: Cut maintenance costs by 30% ($150K/year) and boosted logistics efficiency by 20%, enabling Chrysler to process 5,000 additional cartons monthly without scaling staff. Recognized as a benchmark for future logistics projects.

Chevron Economic Plans and Production Forecasting System (2008–2011)
Role: Tech Lead | Client: Chevron Oil Exploration Company | Tech: J2EE, Spring, Hibernate

Solution: Led the design and development of a J2EE-based application using Spring and Hibernate to support Chevron’s economic planning and production forecasting for oil exploration. Built a scalable system to analyze vast datasets, predict production trends, and optimize resource allocation.
Creative Innovation: Introduced a real-time forecasting dashboard with Flex-based visualizations, enabling executives to simulate economic scenarios and adjust strategies dynamically. Developed a machine learning model in Java to predict production bottlenecks, a pioneering approach for oil operations.
Business Impact: Increased forecasting accuracy by 30%, saving $2M annually in operational costs. Reduced planning cycle time by 20%, enabling faster decision-making for 50+ global oil fields. Earned CSC Chevron Appreciation for transformative impact.

UNOCAL Natural Gas Drilling and Reserve Estimation System (2008–2011)
Role: Tech Lead | Client: UNOCAL Natural Gas Mining Company | Tech: J2EE, Flex, Java

Solution: Engineered a J2EE-based application using Flex and Java to support UNOCAL’s drilling operations and reserve estimation for natural gas mining. Integrated Hibernate for data management and real-time analytics to enhance drilling accuracy and resource planning.
Creative Innovation: Created an interactive 3D drilling visualization tool in Flex, allowing engineers to simulate drilling paths and estimate reserves with 95% accuracy. Added a predictive analytics layer in Java to identify optimal drilling sites, reducing exploratory drilling risks.
Business Impact: Boosted mining productivity by 15% and reduced reserve estimation errors by 25%, saving $1.5M annually in exploration costs. Improved SLA compliance to 99.5%, earning client accolades and reinforcing CSC’s leadership in energy solutions.

Amway Japan Rich Internet App - E-Commerce Shopping Cart (Dec 2006)
Role: Full-Stack Engineer | Client: Amway Japan | Tech: Macromedia Flex, Core Java, JSP, SQL, Oracle DB

Solution: Engineered a highly interactive e-commerce platform to modernize Amway’s online shopping experience, using Macromedia Flex for a slick, responsive UI and Core Java/JSP for scalable backend logic. Integrated Oracle DB for real-time inventory and order tracking.
Creative Innovation: Pioneered a “virtual product showcase” feature, allowing customers to drag products into a 3D cart with animated feedback, enhancing engagement. Added a recommendation engine that dynamically suggested complementary products based on cart contents.
Business Impact: Increased online sales by 35% within six months, driving $1.2M in additional revenue. Reduced cart abandonment rates by 15% and earned client praise, securing a follow-on contract for international rollout.

Citibank Stock Portal Proof of Concept (Jun 2005)
Role: Trainee Associate | Client: Citibank | Tech: JSP, JEE-Struts, COBOL, SQL, IBM WSAD 5.0, IBM DB2

Solution: Created a proof-of-concept integrating a legacy COBOL-based mainframe banking system with a modern JEE-based stock trading platform, using JSP and Struts for the frontend and IBM DB2 for data synchronization.
Creative Innovation: Devised a hybrid middleware layer that translated COBOL data into JSON-like structures for seamless web compatibility, a novel approach for legacy-modern integration at the time. Added a live ticker simulation to demonstrate real-time trading capabilities.
Business Impact: Demonstrated 99.9% transaction accuracy across systems, convincing stakeholders to greenlight a $2M full-scale project. Reduced projected integration costs by 20% through reusable components, laying the groundwork for Citibank’s future digital transformation.

PUBLICATIONS

Multilingual Search Optimization Using BERT AI – IRE Journals, March 2019
Semantic Search Leveraging Product Knowledge Graphs – IRE Journals, May 2020
Personalized Recommendation Systems – WJARR, September 2021
Role of NFTs in Customer Engagement – IJSRA, August 2022
LLMs for E-Commerce Cold Start Problem – WJARR, October 2023
Scaling Trustworthy AI – GJETA, November 2023

AWARDS

PayPal SPOT Award (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014)
CSC Chairman’s Technical Excellence Award Nominee (2008)
CSC Chevron Appreciation (2008)
Covansys PRIDE Recognition (2006, 2007)
Covansys CORE Excellence Award (2006)

LANGUAGES

English (Fluent)
Malayalam (Native)
Hindi (Proficient)