Curious
Precise
Creative
Software Engineer · Digital Architect · 2026
KATHA Shah
Engineer's Letter — Vol. I
Senior Software Engineer · Los Angeles / Bay Area, CA
I build right,
for the right reasons,
every time.

I'm a Senior Software Engineer with a rare breadth — full-stack technical depth, deep learning research, and product-level thinking.
MS Computer Science, USC.

From training sign language AI at USC to shipping scalable web at Druva and building systems at ISRO — I move between disciplines with precision and care.

About 2 / 9
A
In my own words The Engineer
Behind the Code

"I build at the intersection of craft and impact."

I'm Katha — a Senior Software Engineer who genuinely loves the work. I hold an MS in Computer Science from USC and I've spent my career moving between machine learning research and production-grade web engineering, finding that the two are more connected than people think.

I trained the first end-to-end American Sign Language Production model at USC, shipped scalable marketing systems at Druva that serve millions of visitors, and built secure intranet tools for remote sensing operations at the Indian Space Research Organisation. Each role taught me something different about what it means to build things people depend on.

My work is guided by a simple standard: technically sound, ethically grounded, and never shipped until it's truly complete. I don't optimize for done — I optimize for right.

Beyond the screen
  • Sketching & painting — acrylics, pencil art, Mandala, Procreate
  • Classical & freestyle dance
  • Hiking & being in nature
  • DIY projects & home decorating
  • Organizing everything (yes, everything)
  • Mystery & fiction — always mid-book
Expertise3 / 9
What I work withThe Full
Stack
Languages
  • Python
  • JavaScript
  • Java
  • C / C++
  • PHP
  • Java EE / JSP
Architecture & Leadership
  • System Design
  • API Design & Integration
  • Enterprise CMS Architecture
  • Performance Engineering
  • SEO Infrastructure
  • Team & Budget Ownership
AI & Machine Learning
  • Deep Learning & Neural Nets
  • LLM Integration & Agents
  • Agentic System Design
  • ML Pipeline Architecture
  • RAG & Vector Systems
  • PyTorch / Keras / TF
Platforms & Delivery
  • Adobe AEM (Certified)
  • Cloud — GCP / Azure
  • WordPress / Drupal
  • MySQL / Oracle
  • Figma / Sketch
  • Web-to-Pipeline Optimization
Experience4 / 9
E
Where I've built thingsMy Work
History
Druva Inc.
June 2021 — Present
Santa Clara, CA
Senior Software Developer

I own the technical development and delivery of Druva's marketing web ecosystem — driving SEO strategy, performance engineering, and user experience at scale across high-traffic properties.

  • Architected and executed a full site restructure — redesigning URL taxonomy, navigation system, and implementing large-scale redirect infrastructure across the entire marketing domain
  • Own end-to-end SEO strategy and technical implementation across all marketing systems, driving organic channel performance and web-to-pipeline attribution
  • Deliver production-grade, modular frontend code for high-traffic marketing properties with a focus on performance, accessibility, and scalability
  • Analyse web channel performance via Salesforce pipeline data to identify growth opportunities and inform demand generation strategy
  • Stepped up to lead the web team — owning headcount decisions, FY budget planning, and cross-functional delivery
  • Druva All Stars Award — 5x recipient, FY22-FY26
  • Stevie Award — 2x Gold, 1x Bronze — Website Navigation, UX & Digital Experience
Druva Inc.
Feb 2021 — May 2021
Sunnyvale, CA
Software Developer Intern

I built functional, modular and responsive code for the Druva marketing website — and shipped a feature that moved the needle in my first sprint.

  • Integrated a recommendation tool based on web traffic and user journey — drove 18% more user engagement
Parallel Agile Co.
May 2020 — Jul 2020
Remote
Directed Research — Tikiman Go

I developed AR-based features for Tikiman Go, a Hawaiian-themed AR/VR game — my first real foray into game development and spatial computing.

  • Designed and built battle scene features and a Halloween seasonal pack in Unity3D
  • Deployed and tested multiple Android builds across device targets
ISRO
Jan 2019 — May 2019
India
Research Intern

I worked as part of the team developing electro-optical payloads for Earth and planetary observations — an experience that fundamentally shaped how I think about reliability in software.

  • Built a secure resource reallocation and distribution portal (intranet) for the remote sensing division
Education5 / 9
My academic foundationsWhere I
Learned
Master of Science,
Computer Science
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA · May 2021 · GPA 3.44 / 4.0
Analysis of Algorithms Deep Learning Affective Computing Database Systems Mobile Social Games Web Technologies
Bachelor of Engineering,
Computer Science
LDRP Institute — KSV University
India · May 2019 · GPA 8.9 / 10 · Top 1% of class
OOP Artificial Intelligence Compiler Design Android Development Networking & Data Comm. Computer Graphics
Recognition6 / 9
What the work earnedEarned,
Not Given
Druva All Stars Award — 5x Recipient
Druva Inc. · FY22-FY26
Rank 1 - Computer Science
KSV University · Academic Excellence
City Mayor Honour — Top 1% of ~1 Million students
10th State Examinations · State Recognition
Scholarship
Mukhyamantri Yuva Swavlamban Yojna
Government of Gujarat
Merit Award
LDRP-ITR Merit Scholarship
LDRP Institute of Technology & Research
Certified
Adobe AEM Sites Developer Professional
Adobe Inc.
Projects7 / 9
P
Selected workBuilt From
Scratch
01
Python · PyTorch · Openpose · Matlab
Sign Language Production

I built the first end-to-end ASL Production model — a deep neural network generating multi-channel skeletal sign poses from English words. The project that still makes me most proud.

BLEU-1: 31.4 · DTW: 78.69 · Dataset: WLASL
02
Unity3D · C# · Python
Affective Horror Game Research

I built a survival horror game that measured how players feel — tracking biometric and input data to study the relationship between difficulty and enjoyment.

R = 0.747 correlation · 20 subjects · USC Research
03
Angular · Node.js · Java Android · eBay API
eBay Search Web & Android App

A full-stack product search app I built end-to-end — web and Android — with filters, wishlist, social sharing, and seller details. Deployed to GCP.

GCP deployed · Web & Android · Social sharing
04
Keras · InceptionV3 · Bi-LSTM · Python
Iksha — Vision Assistant

I built a real-time surrounding description system for visually impaired users — InceptionV3 encoder, Bidirectional LSTM decoder, output to TTS engine.

7.42s avg latency · Flickr30k · Ubuntu TTS
05
AR/VR · Unity3D · Android
Tikiman Go — AR Game Features

I designed the achievements module for a Hawaiian AR/VR game — building battle scenes and a Halloween seasonal pack for cross-platform Android builds.

Multi-version Android · AR/VR · Game design
06
PHP · MySQL · HTML · CSS · JS
ISRO Resource Distribution Portal

A secure intranet portal I built for the Indian Space Research Organisation — managing resource reallocation for the remote sensing division.

ISRO · Secure intranet · Remote sensing
Writing8 / 9
Essays & thoughtsFrom the
Notebook
I write for the same reason I code — to think clearly, and leave something behind that matters.
Drag to explore
Contact9 / 9
Let's build
something
real.
LocationLos Angeles / Bay Area, CA
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