Ilya Reznik, an ML Engineering Thought Leader with 13 years at Meta, Adobe, and Twitter, shares his journey and insights on navigating machine learning careers. He discusses the limitations of traditional model fine-tuning and promotes innovative methods like prompt engineering. Ilya emphasizes the significance of practical applications from recent conferences and offers guidance for aspiring ML engineers aiming for senior roles. His rich experience blends technical expertise with practical career advice, making it a gem for those in the AI field.
01:00:36
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Prompt Engineering First
Prioritize prompt engineering over fine-tuning when possible.
Fine-tuning large language models (LLMs) requires significant effort and can decrease performance on general tasks.
insights INSIGHT
Fine-Tuning Gamble
Fine-tuning LLMs is a gamble, with outcomes uncertain until the process completes.
Careful data selection is crucial, prioritizing relevance over quantity, as fine-tuning impacts overall performance.
insights INSIGHT
LLM Limitations
LLMs excel at form and expert language but not knowledge retention due to their probabilistic nature.
Fine-tuning for specific knowledge domains is often ineffective; alternative approaches like Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) offer better solutions.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
In his 13 years of software engineering, Ilya Reznik has specialized in commercializing machine learning solutions and building robust ML platforms. He's held technical lead and staff engineering roles at premier firms like Adobe, Twitter, and Meta. Currently, Ilya channels his expertise into his travel startup, Jaunt, while consulting and advising emerging startups.
Navigating Machine Learning Careers: Insights from Meta to Consulting // MLOps Podcast #286 with Ilya Reznik, ML Engineering Thought Leader at Instructed Machines, LLC.
// Abstract
Ilya Reznik's insights into machine learning and career development within the field. With over 13 years of experience at leading tech companies such as Meta, Adobe, and Twitter, Ilya emphasizes the limitations of traditional model fine-tuning methods. He advocates for alternatives like prompt engineering and knowledge retrieval, highlighting their potential to enhance AI performance without the drawbacks associated with fine-tuning.
Ilya's recent discussions at the NeurIPS conference reflect a shift towards practical applications of Transformer models and innovative strategies like curriculum learning. Additionally, he shares valuable perspectives on navigating career progression in tech, offering guidance for aspiring ML engineers aiming for senior roles. His narrative serves as a blend of technical expertise and practical career advice, making it a significant resource for professionals in the AI domain.
// Bio
Ilya has navigated a diverse career path since 2011, transitioning from physicist to software engineer, data scientist, ML engineer, and now content creator. He is passionate about helping ML engineers advance their careers and making AI more impactful and beneficial for society.
Previously, Ilya was a technical lead at Meta, where he contributed to 12% of the company’s revenue and managed approximately 30 production ML models. He also worked at Twitter, overseeing offline model evaluation, and at Adobe, where his team was responsible for all intelligent services within Adobe Analytics.
Based in Salt Lake City, Ilya enjoys the outdoors, tinkering with Arduino electronics, and, most importantly, spending time with his family.
// MLOps Swag/Merch
https://shop.mlops.community/
// Related Links
Website: mlepath.com
--------------- ✌️Connect With Us ✌️ -------------
Join our slack community: https://go.mlops.community/slack
Follow us on Twitter: @mlopscommunity
Sign up for the next meetup: https://go.mlops.community/register
Catch all episodes, blogs, newsletters, and more: https://mlops.community/
Connect with Demetrios on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dpbrinkm/
Connect with Ilya on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ibreznik/
MLOps.community