Hi, I'm Rahul Rao
CS student at Northeastern University building full-stack applications, machine learning pipelines, and everything in between.
Work
Things I've built
A selection of projects — from hackathon wins and published research to production applications.
Optimum Hacknet
Decentralized file transfer system using Optimum's P2P infrastructure with RLNC for reliable network communication. Integrated Go-based sender/receiver components with Optimum's P2P service proxy to achieve best system efficiency metrics.
Semantic Contract Diff
NLP-powered tool that uses semantic analysis to distinguish substantive legal changes from superficial text edits in contract documents — surfacing what actually changed in meaning, not just in wording.
AlgoTutorAI
Context-aware AI tutoring engine that delivers logic-based critiques of user-submitted algorithm solutions. Built with a scalable RESTful backend with automated data seeding and containerized deployment for environment parity.
Evolutionary Network Optimization
Novel graph theory algorithm to maximize airline network flow, accounting for topological constraints. Published in the Curieux Academic Journal and awarded 1st place at the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair.
Artemis
Safety-focused mobile application for female travelers. Provides one-tap access to local emergency services (police, fire, ambulance) based on live location, an AI-powered travel assistant for recommendations and safety ratings, and an interactive map for trip planning.
Resume
Skills & Experience
A snapshot of my technical skills, work history, and education.
Proficiency
Technologies
Education
Expected Dec 2027
B.S. Computer Science
Northeastern University · Boston, MA
3.9 GPA · Dean's List (All Semesters)
Experience
May 2026 — Jul 2026
Teaching Assistant — Discrete Structures
Northeastern University, Khoury College
Hold office hours covering logic, proof techniques, combinatorics, graph theory, and asymptotic analysis. Grade assignments and exams, and provide individualized support to students on foundational discrete mathematics concepts.
Jan 2026 — Present
Teaching Assistant — Data Science Foundations
Northeastern University, Khoury College
Hold weekly office hours on topics like kNN and linear regression. Grade assignments and exams for 200+ students, providing detailed feedback on data science concepts and Python implementation.
May 2024 — Aug 2024
Software Engineering Intern
Hypatia AI
Engineered differential equation simulations in Python (SciPy/NumPy) to model insulin dynamics from glucose data. Integrated Python backend functions into a mobile ecosystem (iOS/Android) enabling real-time CGM data processing.
Apr 2023 — May 2024
Research Assistant
Allayee Lab — USC Keck School of Medicine
Architected a scalable pipeline to parse and normalize 30M+ rows of GWAS data. Refactored Pheweb modules to build an interactive visualization platform for large-scale genetic interaction analysis.
Activities
Jan 2026 — Present
Technology Lead
Northeastern Blockchain
- –Lead a developer team maintaining the organization's web presence using React, coordinating agile sprints and QA.
- –Design curriculum and lead student workshops on smart contract development and blockchain fundamentals.
Apr 2026 — Present
Director of Technology
Northeastern AI (MLE Dev Team)
- –Lead all technical teams across Northeastern AI, overseeing project direction, team coordination, and delivery across the MLE Dev Team and all other verticals.
Mar 2026 — Apr 2026
Tech Lead
Northeastern AI (MLE Dev Team)
- –Led development of Semantic Contract Diff (SCD) — an NLP-powered tool that uses semantic analysis to distinguish substantive legal changes from superficial text edits in contract documents.
- –Architected end-to-end ML pipelines for industry partners, implementing model training, hyperparameter optimization, and performance evaluation.
Sep 2025 — Feb 2026
Machine Learning Engineer
Northeastern AI (MLE Dev Team)
- –Built end-to-end ML pipelines for industry partners using Python and PyTorch, covering model training, hyperparameter optimization, and systematic performance evaluation.
- –Delivered scalable codebases with detailed documentation to validate system efficiency for external organizations.
Interests
Beyond the code
The things I care about when I step away from the screen.
Basketball
AAU · Varsity · D3 recruitedBasketball has been a huge part of my life. I played varsity in high school and competed in AAU for San Diego Sol, where I was recruited by multiple Division III programs. The discipline, teamwork, and resilience that basketball demands are things I try to bring into everything I do.
Cooking & Family
Home cooking · Quality timeCooking is one of my favorite ways to unwind — there's something satisfying about starting with raw ingredients and ending with something that brings people together. Some of my best memories are around the dinner table with family, and I try to recreate that feeling as often as I can.
The Outdoors
Hiking · Travel · Fresh airGetting outside is how I reset. Whether it's a hike, a walk, or just being somewhere new, time outdoors keeps me grounded. I love to travel and explore — there's always something interesting about the way different places look and feel.
Current Work
What I'm working on
Active research and upcoming work — where I'm spending my time right now.
Software Engineering · E-Commerce
Software Engineer Co-op — Wayfair
Joining Wayfair's Supply Chain & Retail Technology team in Boston for a six-month co-op. Will be working on engineering problems at the intersection of e-commerce infrastructure, supply chain logistics, and retail systems — applying software engineering to large-scale, data-driven platforms.
Computer Vision · Artificial Intelligence
Adaptive Facial Expression Recognition
Building a game-based learning tool to help neurodivergent children recognize facial expressions using real human faces. Implemented a CNN in PyTorch trained on FER2013Plus (73.67% test accuracy) and explored Vision Transformers for higher performance. Also optimized the training data pipeline to eliminate dead time between epochs.
Web Development · Leadership
Northeastern Blockchain — Web Platform
Leading a student developer team to build and maintain the Northeastern Blockchain organization's web presence. Coordinating agile sprints, conducting code reviews, and designing curriculum for smart contract workshops.
Quantitative Finance · High-Frequency Trading
Lead-Lag Dynamics in Equity Markets
Researching temporal relationships between financial instruments and how information propagates across correlated assets at short time horizons. Exploring whether these dynamics can be identified and acted on systematically.
Contact
Let's work together
Have a project in mind, want to collaborate, or just want to say hi? My inbox is always open.
Based in
Boston, MA
Availability
Open to co-ops, internships & research roles
© 2026 Rahul Rao. All rights reserved.
Built with Next.js & Tailwind CSS