Cornell University
B.S. in Computer Science, Minor in InfoSci & Artificial Intelligence — Class of 2025
- Key Courses: Systems Programming, Data Structures & Functional Programming, Object-Oriented Design and Data Structures (Honors), Practical Tools for OR & Machine Learning, Introduction to Data Science, Foundations of Artificial Intelligence, Introduction to Machine Learning, Practical in AI, C++ Programming, UNIX Tools and Scripting, Intermediate Design and Programming for the Web, Data-Driven Web Applications, Communicating Digital Identity, Computer System Organization.
- Activities: ACSU · Cybersecurity Club · Blockchain Club · Climbing Club · Fencing Club
Work Experience
Founding Engineer @ Refine.
Designing scalable microservices using GoLang, gRPC, and Protocol Buffers for efficient service communication. Deploying backend systems on Google Cloud Platform and collaborating with MLOps and frontend teams to integrate new features into the core platform.
Software Engineering Intern @ Lavendr Software
- Leveraged Ruby on Rails to optimize backend services for a vertically integrated SaaS app supporting small business operations.
- Enhanced the test suite with RSpec, increasing unit and integration coverage to over 90%.
- Designed and optimized PostgreSQL schema to reduce query latency and improve performance under heavy load.
- Rebuilt the store front-end UI with Bootstrap in the store section and created a new registration page
Software Engineer Intern @ Jade Studios
- Led a team of 8 developers to create a 2D Java game for the Cornell Game Design Initiative.
- Solo-built a robust UI framework and user-friendly level editor with LibGDX and Tiled, enabling non-technical designers to create and export levels as JSON files.
- Designed a modular Java inheritance system for managing 30+ game elements and modeling enemy and NPC AI, including movement, attacks, and interactions.
- Managed Git version control across 16 branches and 25,000+ lines of code, coordinating merges, rebases, and conflict resolutions.
Cornell University
Research Assistant I — Built Python pipelines to analyze meme-based sentiment during the Ukraine war, scraping and processing 5,000+ Reddit posts. Used Pandas, NumPy, and BeautifulSoup to clean and structure the data, and Matplotlib to visualize trends. Research published by the Brookings institution.
Research Assistant II — Deployed a Python-based AWS Lambda pipeline for a research paper viewer tool, integrating DynamoDB and API Gateway. Improved backend speed using Zustand and React Hooks, rebuilt interfaces with Material-UI, and wrote tests covering most of the backend with Jest and RTL.
Teaching Assistant — Led labs, held one-on-one meetings, and ran office hours for 40+ students in Intermediate Web Development (CS 2300). Taught SQL indexing, partitioning, and normalization, and developed instructional materials on PHP, SQL, and JavaScript to support coursework and projects.
Software Engineer Intern @ Pathfinder
Built and optimized SQL scripts for data reporting and cleanup, automated customer data workflows, and fine-tuned queries to improve backend efficiency. Deleted bot accounts, sanitized database records, and improved website UI.
Projects
Seas the Throne
Java, LibGDX, Tiled · Jade Studios
Spring 2024
Dash, skewer, and shoot your way through the fishy competition to claim your place as ruler of the seas. In Seas the Throne, players fight as a swordfish-loving humanoid seeking to ascend to power after Triton, ruler of the sea, mysteriously vanishes. Dash through waves of angry fish, skewer a menagerie of sea creatures, and fling enemies' ammunition back at them to conquer all challengers and "seas" the throne!
Number Plate Scanner
Python, Pandas, NumPy, OpenCV, scikit-learn
Fall 2024
I built a machine learning system that takes still images of speeding cars and pulls out the license plate numbers automatically. It uses YOLO to find the plates and a custom HOG + SVM setup to recognize the characters. I tuned the training and preprocessing pipeline to boost detection accuracy by 15%, and ended up hitting 95% accuracy on the classification side. To make the system easier to debug and work with, I added bounding box visualizations and made everything modular. I also optimized it to run on still images only, which cut the processing time by about 30%.
Video Game Recommendation Search Engine
React, Node, Express, JS, scikit-learn
Fall 2024
I built a search engine-style web app that recommends similar video games based on any title, keyword, or phrase a user inputs. It pulls from Steam’s extensive game library and uses a mix of Rocchio algorithms, SVD, and NLP techniques to calculate similarity scores between games. To make the experience more dynamic, I integrated Google and YouTube APIs so that users not only get personalized suggestions but also see trailers, official game images, platform info, ratings, and top reviews. The backend is optimized for speed and real-time data retrieval, keeping interactions smooth and responsive.
Tracking Conflict Through Memes (Featured on Brookings.edu)
Python, Pandas, Jupyter Notebook
Winter 2023
I scraped over 1,300 visual memes from Ukraine-focused subreddits using Python and Reddit’s image API to study how meme activity reflected key moments in the war. By pulling metadata like post scores, authors, and timestamps from subreddits such as /r/ukrmemes and /r/ukraine22memes, I was able to track trends in meme popularity and frequency alongside major military and political events. The analysis revealed that meme spikes often coincided with battlefield developments rather than diplomatic milestones, suggesting a more grassroots, emotionally reactive form of public expression. This research was published by the Brookings Institution in an article examining the role of memetic warfare in Ukraine.
About Me
Biography
I'm Alexey Elkin. I grew up in Russia and spent ten years studying in England, first in Oxford 2011 - 2016, then in Tonbridge 2016 - 2021. After that I moved to the United States to study at Cornell University, where I’m finishing my B.S. degree in Computer Science with minors in Information Science and Artificial Intelligence.
I’m passionate about backend development, machine learning, and building full stack systems. Over the past few years, I’ve worked on everything from cloud infrastructure and machine learning pipelines to web apps and 2D games. My experience includes internships, research projects, and team-driven software development. Right now I'm working full time at Refine, a startup based in SoHo, New York. I’ve been enjoying exploring New York City and getting to know all the different neighborhoods.
At Cornell, I'm involved with the Association of Computer Science Undergraduates, the Cybersecurity Club, the Blockchain Club, the Climbing Club, and the Fencing Club.
Outside of tech, I stay active through weightlifting, cycling, skiing, and fencing. I also enjoy reading, especially fiction, and watching foreign films whenever I get the chance.
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