Ravindra Sadaphule

  • Engineering leader with many years of building agentic AI systems at a billion-user scale. Leads a global ML engineering organization at Adobe across the US, Europe, and APAC, owning the agentic AI substrate consisting of creative knowledge graph, intent intelligence, context engineering, semantic search, multimodal retrieval, learning-to-rank, and GPU inference services powering Creative Cloud, Acrobat, Express, Stock, and Lightroom. AI initiatives across Adobe and Microsoft have contributed to $2.5B+ in revenue impact. Hands-on with VLM/LLM/SLM fine-tuning (SFT, PPO, GRPO), multi-agent orchestration, RAG, and large-scale GPU inference using TensorRT and vLLM. Patents in multimodal retrieval, contextual ranking, and knowledge graph construction.

  • Currently working as Senior Director of Engineering at Adobe
  • M.S. (Artificial Intelligence) from Johns Hopkins link
  • LEAD course from Stanford GSB
  • MBA (Information Technology) from American Public University
  • Also serves as AI Technology Advisor

Digital Storytelling

Blog

Podcasts

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Professional Network

Key Highlights in AI Field

  • AI Platforms: Built and led AI-powered RAG search and recommendation platforms for Adobe Express, Photoshop, and Adobe Stock.
  • Agentic AI: Powered “For You” Agentic AI recommendations using multi-modal intent detection, VLM, LLM, and creative knowledge graphs.
  • Open-Source Integration: Leveraged open-source LLM (LLama, NanoGPT) and VLM (Flemingo) for creative use cases.
  • Model Development: Developed deep learning models for prompt generation, assistance, search relevance, anomaly detection, and personalized recommendations.
  • Patents: Authored patents in digital knowledge graphs and contextual recommendations.
  • Generative Features: Delivered AI generative features like prompt recommendations, query intent services, and creative knowledge graph-based suggestions.
  • Scalable AI Applications: Architected and deployed multi-agent full-stack AI applications like Adobe Express and Adobe Stock.
  • Global Reach: Built scalable AI apps like Bing.com and Office 365 apps, serving over 1 billion users globally.

Leadership Skills

  • Proven ability to build and mentor 20 globally distributed engineering teams (300+ engineers) across the US, Norway, UK, Japan, and India.
  • Expertise in stakeholder management, vision setting, and fostering startup cultures within organizations.
  • Strong focus on engineering excellence, agility, and innovation.

Technology Skills

  • AI & ML: LLM, RAG, Agentic AI, Generative AI, Stable Diffusion, Transformers, GPT-4, OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, TensorFlow, BERT, Llama, NanoGPT, PyTorch.
  • Big Data & Search: Elasticsearch, Spark, Kafka, HBase, Neo4j.
  • Cloud Platforms: AWS, Azure.
  • Programming: Java, .NET, Python, React.js, TypeScript, Node.js.
  • Other Tools: Hadoop, Kubernetes, Mesos.

Code

Education and Certifications

  • M.S. in Artificial Intelligence: Johns Hopkins University
  • Stanford LEAD Certificate in Strategy and Innovation: Stanford University Graduate School of Business
  • MBA in Information Technology: American Public University
  • Certifications: GANs, Machine Learning Specialization, Data Science

Awards and Publications

Work Experience

Senior Director of Engineering | Adobe | San Jose, CA (2017 – Present)

  • Strategic AI Vision: Led engineering teams on a 0-1 roadmap for multi-agent AI-driven RAG-based search, recommendations, and creative knowledge graphs using GPU and CPU systems powered by VLM and LLM.
  • Infrastructure Transformation: Designed and migrated the AI foundation platform from Mesos to Kubernetes, improving reusability, extensibility, maintainability, efficiency, and scalability.
  • ML Engineering: Powered generative text and computer vision-based search solutions for Adobe products.
  • Scalable Architectures: Developed scalable architectures for semantic search and multi-modal intent detection platforms.

Senior Engineering Manager | Intuit | Mountain View, CA (2016 – 2017)

  • Transformed QuickBooks Online technology using AWS-based microservices architecture.
  • Designed deep learning-powered search solutions and sales growth platforms.
  • Enhanced scalability, availability, and performance through innovative architecture.

Engineering Manager | Microsoft | Mountain View, CA (2008 – 2016)

  • Led global teams for Bing, Office apps, and Cortana recommendation systems.
  • Built real-time data ingestion pipelines and developed personalized search experiences.
  • Improved MSN homepage scalability using distributed caching and analytics platforms.
  • Developed enterprise search for SharePoint and optimized performance of large-scale data systems.

Detailed Resume is available here