The tech world relies heavily on constructive criticism to evolve and make valuable changes. Innovation requires feedback from different perspectives that can assist in creating unique solutions. Hackathons and academic conferences are places where tech leaders can put their products to the test, showcasing their utility and desire to improve solutions.

Experienced tech professionals like Avinab (Avi) Singh contribute to the space by guiding the next generation of designers and technologists. His participation as an academic journal reviewer and hackathon judge contributes to the continuous evolution of tech. As the use of AI rises in design and technology fields, creators require experienced professionals who can provide insight into both user needs and advanced technological capabilities.

Early Career Challenges

Avi began his journey in the tech industry in Chennai, India. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunication Engineering but Avi wanted cutting edge education. He decided to move to the United States, where he pursued a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering, focusing on human factors at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

After graduate school, Avi moved to Silicon Valley with hopes of growing his professional career. However, he was left discouraged by the fact he didn’t have any mentors to guide him along the way. Undaunted, Avi persisted in his career to great success.

It was after this long journey that Avi realized he wanted to provide the mentorship he never had to young professionals who were struggling. He doesn’t want anyone to feel left behind in the already competitive world of tech.

Mentoring Up-and-Coming Designers

Avi’s role as a mentor within his companies and through ADPList.org helps others aspire to make significant contributions in the industry. He has accumulated over 800 minutes of mentoring across 3 countries, demonstrating his desire to help professionals grow.

His work in assisting global hiring initiatives through internship programs at EY GigNow and Dusty Robotics has jumpstarted the careers of novice designers and helped them navigate ongoing professional challenges & grow their careers.

Providing mentorship to young professionals gives them the tools and insights they need to succeed in the tech industry. Having a competitive advantage against others in the industry is vital to a successful career.

As a result of these internship programs, many junior designers have successfully secured full-time roles in these companies, contributing to the teams’ growth and innovation with the addition of their fresh perspectives.

Serving as a Judge at Hackathons

Avi’s role as a judge at notable hackathon events like HackMIT, SwiftHack, and GenLab2 has played a crucial role in bringing novel ideas to the tech industry. His experience allows him to provide insightful advice for novices and solidifies his longstanding knowledge in the field.

At hackathons, Avi is responsible for evaluating new projects and guiding teams toward creating practical and impactful tech solutions. His judging experience helps him identify promising talent and encourages collaboration among participants.

Reviewer for Reputed Journals and Conferences

Avi is also an active reviewer for top-tier conferences such as ACM and IEEE in the field of Human-Computer Interaction and AI/ML. This growing industry is in need of the insight of experienced professionals to ground itself in tech.

His ongoing involvement in reviewing scientific papers for major conferences has gained him recognition as a trusted reviewer by UIST and AutomotiveUI. He continues to review papers at other notable conferences like CHI, HAI, ICSI, NordiCHI, and UbiComp/ISWC, among others. Peer review is essential to maintaining the quality of research needed to develop impactful solutions and promote technological advancements.

Avi’s contributions help ensure that emerging research aligns with high industry standards by ensuring paper reviews shape the current challenges in design and technology.

How Avi Singh is Shaping Future Tech Leaders

Through the mentorship of novice designers, reviewing academic papers, and judging at hackathons, Avi is actively contributing to the development of future leaders and their solutions in the tech industry.

Avi is currently working as a Staff Product Designer at Moveworks, where he works on Generative AI tools to help small to large enterprises scale their employee experience organizations. His latest creation is a Generative AI tool called Brief Me that assists users with summarizing and question & answer with dense documents. Brief Me helps increase employee productivity by helping them read large documents, create reports and write emails using content from these documents. Avi creates software used daily by employees of Fortune 100 companies. Avi continues to provide valuable solutions to the field of Design of AI/ML products through his work and mentorship initiatives.

Sharing knowledge and experience is vital for overcoming the challenges newcomers face in the field. Up-and-coming talents are more likely to succeed in the industry with the help of mentors like Avi.

Avi’s efforts to create a collaborative, supportive environment for emerging professionals in both corporate and educational settings. His dedication to mentorship aims to alleviate the difficulties he faced early in his career by providing others with the guidance they need to thrive.