Alvin Chirchir

Experience

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  Efficiency for Access

  Apr 2020 - Jun 2021

  Innovator

  ● Led team in designing and implementing a prototype of an efficient smart solar powered home management system using machine learning techniques such as training models using Support Vector Machines to control lights based on several parameters i.e sensor readings

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  University of Nairobi

  Sept 2020 - Jun 2021

  Electrical and Electronic Engineering

  ● Optimized a disease diagnosis assistant by using Support Vector Machine, a supervised machine learning algorithm, improving accuracy by ~ 5% and reducing computational time by ~ 4.5% .● Researched and compared classification algorithms based on computing time and accuracy amongst other factors. Eventually narrowing down to Support Vector Machines.● Evaluated different meta-heuristic optimization techniques eventually resolving to use the Bat algorithm - inspired by the foraging behavior of real bats. It was used to optimize parameters of SVM.● Abstracted inner complexities by building a User Interface where medical practitioners could key in symptoms and with a single click get a second opinion.The project is open source and the repository can be accessed from the link below.https://github.com/alvinchirchir/SVMOptimizedDiseaseDiagnosisAssistant Show less

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  Kundarilla Palace

  Aug 2021 - Mar 2022

  ● Researched business needs through on-line and on-ground surveys to identify gaps avoiding any assumptions.● Strategised on providing a centralized way to manage the different customer segments and monitor critical metrics such as profit margins.● Led the backend team in translating identified gaps into viable technical solutions - the custom inventory management system. Effectively articulated technical challenges and provided solutions while making wise trade-offs.● Launched an MVP of the system which solved key challenges faced and increased business productivity saving time and cost as better inventory accuracy was achieved.● Prioritized on user feedback and improved on first iteration, subsequently innovated a feature that automated a tedious manual task. Instead of users sharing several single product photos to customers they could now share a single pdf containing several photos. This proved critical improving turnover by upto 30%.● Deployed a well architected framework having considered several factors such as stage of business and budget. Instead of using virtual machines, containers were used to save on costs.● Influenced team to opt for a managed e-commerce solution for first iteration over building a custom solution.Argued that all custom needs could be catered for by building custom plugins or modifying existing codebase.● Launched a successful e-commerce website, https://kundarillapalace.com , serving thousands of users daily. Show less

  • Software Engineer

    Jun 2021 - Mar 2022

  • Back End and DevOps Engineer

    Aug 2021 - Dec 2021
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  Lipad Technologies

  Jan 2022 - now

  Senior Software Engineer

  - Successfully launched several payment solutions such as payment links and pages, used by thousands of users daily navigating complex international regulatory and compliance requirements within a highly regulated industry.- Increased customer payment options and overall payment experience through integration of multiple third-party payment gateways, such as Mastercard, Visa, and Safaricom Mpesa.- Implemented messaging queues such as Kafka and caching mechanisms like Redis to improve transaction processing and application performance, respectively, while reducing load on databases.-Incorporated advanced security measures, such as signing and encryption, to ensure the platform maintains the highest level of security and protects sensitive data.-Developed and released public-facing libraries and SDKs in several languages such as Java, Javascript, PHP to simplify the process of integrating with the platform, making it easier for clients to onboard and utilize the services.-Created comprehensive technical support documentation for supported products, empowering technical staff and end-users to effectively utilize and consume these products.-Mentored interns and provided guidance in professional software engineering practices to aid in their technical and professional development. Show less

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  Swansea University

  Jan 2024 - now

  Teaching Assistant