Artificial intelligence
10 recommendation systems experts
These ten engineering leaders have built and run recommendation and personalization systems inside the companies they worked for. A reader can learn how companies build and run recommendation systems from the inside.
Professionals to explore
01—10Akın Tarakcı
LinkedInExperience: Head of Engineering - Homepage&Recommendation · Trendyol Group
Former Head of Engineering - Homepage&Recommendation at Trendyol Group (2023–2026), and Head of Engineering - Search at Trendyol Group since August 2026. Former Engineering Team Lead (2021–2022), Senior Software Engineer (2020–2021) and Software Engineer (2016–2020) at Trendyol Group.
Diane J. Hu
LinkedInExperience: Senior Director of Engineering, Recommendations · Etsy
Senior Director of Engineering, Recommendations at Etsy since April 2024, and former Director of Engineering, Personalization Engine (2021–2024) and Director of Engineering, Applied Machine Learning (2021) at Etsy. Former Senior Engineering Manager, Data Science & Machine Learning at Etsy (2020–2021).
Dmitrii Pogorelov
LinkedInExperience: Head of RecSys Backend at VK · VK
Head of RecSys Backend at VK since October 2022, where the profile says this person leads the backend recommendation systems team at VK's Technology Center, focused on making personalized recommendations fast, accurate and reliable across all company products. Former Lead Developer at Yandex (2017–2022).
Ivan Maksimov
LinkedInExperience: Head of Applied Research, RecSys · Wildberries
Former Head of Applied Research, RecSys at Wildberries (2023–2024), and Head of AI recsys, search, llm at Yandex since October 2024. Former Head of Product Analytics & ML at Delivery Club (2020–2023). The profile says this person led up to 3 cross-functional teams of 14 people across machine learning engineering, data science and analytics.
Linas Baltrunas
LinkedInExperience: Manager, Recommender Systems · Netflix
Manager, Recommender Systems at Netflix since September 2025; the profile says this person leads Netflix's recommender systems team, which develops algorithms that personalize rankings, rows, modules and full page layout for the Netflix home page. Former Manager, Core Recommendations (2024–2025) and Machine Learning Manager, Experience Personalization for Recommendations (2022–2024) at Netflix.
Nish Parikh
LinkedInExperience: Engineering Leader · Google
Engineering Leader at Google since September 2017; the profile says this person runs teams focused on shopping personalization, recommendation systems and growth quality, working on Deep Retrieval, Collaborative Filtering, User Modeling and Purchase Prediction. Former Director, Shopping Experience at eBay (2015–2017).
Rahul Aneja
LinkedInExperience: Head of Technology - Search, Recommendations & Personalisation · ASOS.com
Head of Technology - Search, Recommendations & Personalisation at ASOS.com since June 2026, where the profile says this person leads a cross-functional engineering team responsible for Search, Recommendations, Personalisation, Outfit Personalisation, Product Catalog, AI Stylist and Web Foundations. Former Director of Engineering at Disney+ Hotstar (2025–2026).
Rahul Goutam
LinkedInExperience: Engineering Manager, Personalization · Pinterest
Engineering Manager, Personalization at Pinterest since January 2026, where the profile says this person leads engineering for Homefeed personalization, Pinterest's largest recommendation surface, and sets technical strategy and roadmap. Former Applied Science Manager, Alexa shopping assistant (2023–2026) and Applied Science Manager, Query Understanding (2020–2023) at Amazon.
Samip Singhal
LinkedInExperience: Online Recommendation System - Machine Learning · Credit Karma
Online Recommendation System - Machine Learning at Credit Karma since May 2022; the profile says this person heads Online Recommendation System at Intuit Credit Karma. Former Sr. Engineering Manager - Ads at Code3 (2020–2022) and former Manager - Data Engineering and Science at New York & Company (2016–2020).
Steve Ivie
LinkedInExperience: Sr. Software Manager Core Recommendations, P13N Platform, and Enterprise Personalization · Amazon
Former Sr. Software Manager Core Recommendations, P13N Platform, and Enterprise Personalization at Amazon (2017–2024) and former Software Development Manager, Personalization Platform at Amazon (2012–2017). Director, Customer 360 & Personalized AI at Amazon since February 2026, and former Head of Customer 360 at Amazon (2024–2026).
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's role to your question: a manager of a single recommendation or ranking team suits questions about models, features and day-to-day tradeoffs, while a head or director over several teams suits questions about platform choices, staffing and how recommendations tie to business goals. Also ask about the kind of catalog and audience they worked with, since recommending videos, products and social content each brings different data and constraints.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How did you decide what to optimize your recommendations for, and how did you balance engagement against other goals?
- 02How did you test changes to the recommendation system before rolling them out to everyone?
- 03How did you split work between the recommendations team, the data platform and product teams?
Reaching recommendation systems experts
How can I contact one of these recommendation systems experts?
Pick one of the 10 people on this page and choose "Book a paid call", or describe your project to find others. You offer a fee for a 15-minute call or a written answer, Instant Expert finds the person's work email and sends the invitation, and they decide whether to accept. The list covers 10 companies, including Trendyol Group, Etsy and VK, based on profile data retrieved on October 4, 2026. Being listed here doesn't mean someone has agreed to take calls.
How much does it cost to reach recommendation systems experts?
You choose the offer, starting at $5 per person. It includes Instant Expert's 20% fee, so an offer that pays the person $100 costs you $125. You're charged only when the person books the call or sends the answer.
What if they don't reply?
You pay nothing. Instant Expert sends follow-up reminders, and if the person hasn't booked or answered within 7 days, the request expires and any hold on your card is released. You can invite several of the 10 people on this list at once and cap your total spend, so you pay only for the ones who accept.
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot and may describe past or present roles. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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