Nikhil T.

Senior Software Engineer at LinkedIn

Data InfrastructureSemantic SearchApache SparkRecommendation SystemsNatural Language ProcessingLarge-scale Backend Systems

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About

I'm Nikhil T., a Senior Software Engineer at LinkedIn currently leading the Core Recruiter Search applications team. My career has been defined by a focus on building high-impact, large-scale systems—from managing complex data infrastructure with Spark and Pinot to integrating advanced AI and semantic search into talent solutions. I am passionate about the intersection of search and AI, particularly in how we can build enterprise-grade agents and products from 0 to 1. I believe that to help the world hire the best talent, we need to foster a high talent density within our own teams. I'm currently looking to connect with backend engineers and search specialists who are excited about production AI and scaling cutting-edge technology. Whether it's discussing recsys or exploring new opportunities at LinkedIn and Socratix AI, I'm always happy to share what I've learned and find ways to collaborate.

Networking

What I can offer

›Opportunities to work on cutting-edge semantic search at scale
›Insights into high-impact AI systems and recruiter search technology
›Collaborative engineering leadership

Looking for

›Staff Software Engineers
›Founding Engineers for Socratix AI
›Backend engineers and search/recsys specialists with production AI experience

Best fit for

Backend EngineersSearch and Recommendation SpecialistsAI ResearchersProspective Founding Engineers

Current Interests

Semantic SearchEnterprise-grade AI agentsBuilding products from 0 to 1Recruitment TechnologyProfessional Mentorship

Background

Career

Progressed from software development internships and research roles at UCLA to a long-term engineering career at LinkedIn, moving from data infrastructure to leading core recruiter search and AI integration teams.

Education

Master’s Degree in Computer Science, UCLA (2017–2018); Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering, University of Mumbai (2012–2016)

Achievements

›Leads the Core Recruiter Search applications team at LinkedIn
›Maintained 40+ Spark ETL pipelines for near real-time Talent Insights analytics
›Scaled Data Preparation code in Spark to enable training with significantly larger datasets

Opinions

To help customers hire the best talent, the internal team must also consist of the best talent.
Engineering should focus on building large-scale systems that have a massive impact on millions of users.
Collaborative growth and co-advising within teams are essential for solving complex problems.