# Rugved Darwhekar > Solutions & Technical Support Engineer | AI/RAG Systems · SDK Debugging · Developer Experience | 4.5 Years @ HCLTech (Supporting Google) Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/rugveddarwhekar I love using tech to make life easier for people and unblock developers. Software Engineer and Technical Support / Solutions Engineer with 4.5 years working at the intersection of deep systems debugging and AI platform engineering — supporting Google Pixel, Android, and ChromeOS products at HCLTech. Built a reputation for closing the escalations that bounced across teams, which led to being designated the go-to engineer for Google's most sensitive executive-level escalations. That trust came from maintaining a low triage bounce rate on a 40-person team. Outside of triage, spent the last two years building AI systems that address the problem at the source. Architected a production RAG pipeline using parent-child chunking, BM25 + dense vector hybrid search, and Qdrant — evaluated with RAGAS Faithfulness metrics — that reduced developer feedback analysis time by 70%. Built an automated ticket classifier (Python, Flask) with a Human-in-the-Loop threshold that handles 85% of routing decisions automatically. What I actually do: I read broken systems. I find where the failure lives. Whether that's errors in a biometric SDK, a metadata filter breaking a retrieval pipeline, or a misconfigured webhook silently dropping events. Then I fix it, document it, and build something so the next engineer doesn't hit the same wall. Currently open to Solutions Engineering, Technical Support Engineering, and AI/Developer Experience roles at Enterprises, AI-first startups and developer tooling companies. Let's connect: hello@rugvedd.com ## Work Experience ### Technical Support & Solutions Engineer - Android, Generative AI, Developer Experience @ HCLTech Jan 2021 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area • Led a developer productivity initiative resolving SDK integration blockers across Python, Java, and Go, including authoring a canonical Gemini 2.0 Flash migration script that unblocked external developers • Triaged 100+ complex OS and system UI bugs weekly via deep-dive root cause analysis (logcat, ADB, bugreports), maintaining a 0.7% bounce rate and 2% hop rate, the lowest on a 40-person team supporting Android on Pixel • Designated as the team's dedicated engineer for C-suite executive escalations, a direct recognition of sustained triage accuracy, and leveraged that trust to establish and lead an L2 specialist group for thermal and battery regression triage • Architected a RAG pipeline on Google Cloud (Vertex AI) using parent-child chunking, BM25 + dense vector hybrid search (RRF reranking), and Qdrant, evaluated against a golden dataset with RAGAS Faithfulness metrics, reducing developer feedback analysis time by 70% • Engineered an automated ticket classification system (Python, Flask) achieving 85% routing accuracy with a Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) grace-fail threshold for low-confidence edge cases, reducing manual triage overhead and earning stakeholder buy-in for a dedicated AI tooling role • Conducted build bisection on pre-release system crashes by toggling Android feature flags and diffing behavior across builds to isolate exact failing code paths, directly unblocking hardware release timelines • Built a Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) automation framework for Android devices using Python and Appium converting manual hardware validation into 100+ repeatable automated test flows • Isolated a critical face-auth failure by writing a custom Android sample app to reproduce the exact issue, delivering engineering a fully reproducible test case that enabled an immediate patch • Served as technical lead for junior engineers, establishing RCA best practices and debugging playbooks that improved team triage accuracy from 92% to 98% ### Software Developer - Web @ City of Los Angeles, Housing + Community Investment Department (HCIDLA) Jan 2020 – Jan 2021 | Los Angeles Metropolitan Area (Employer: Satwic Inc) • Collaborated within a 15-member team to develop and maintain web applications serving 3.6M+ Los Angeles residents, utilizing Agile methodologies and focusing on website performance and scalability • Improved the accessibility of the housing registry website by resolving over 300 bugs to meet WCAG 2.1 and Section 508 standards, utilizing Java, jQuery, JavaScript, ASP.NET, and C# to implement fixes • Engineered RESTful APIs to streamline data flow across front-end and back-end systems, enhancing application feature implementation speed and improving cross-service data integration About the company: HCIDLA short for the City of Los Angeles, Housing + Community Investment Department is a government institution whose mission is to promote livable and prosperous communities through the development and preservation of decent, safe, and affordable housing, neighborhood investment, and social services. ### Android Developer @ Vision Labs Jan 2020 – Jan 2020 | San Francisco Bay Area Achievements/Responsibilities: • Implemented cross-platform (Android/iOS) applications for Virtual Reality products, integrating BTBLE and Wi-Fi P2P. • Optimized resource utilization by employing Flutter for cross-platform app development, significantly reducing costs. • Implemented data persistence using SQLite and SharedPreferences for user preferences and offline content • Assisted in test automation efforts for Android apps, gaining exposure to tools like Appium and Firebase Crashlytics to ensure app performance and reliability • Participated in daily stand-ups in an Agile environment, contributing to feature discussions and bug resolution. ### Data Analyst @ TAP Series Jan 2019 – Jan 2020 | Westlake Village, California, United States Accomplishments/Responsibilities: • Created a Python web scraping tool that automated financial data and stock quote collection, increasing data acquisition speed by 30% and broadening investment opportunity analysis • Performed analysis and visualization of data using Pandas and Matplotlib, identifying trends and patterns that supported investment research, leading to a 10% improvement in the accuracy of financial forecasts • Conducted data cleaning and preprocessing to ensure the accuracy and reliability of financial data used for analysis, leading to a 15% reduction in errors caused by data inconsistencies • Implemented data governance protocols to ensure compliance and data quality throughout the financial data lifecycle, from web scraping to analysis and reporting About the company: TAP Series is an industry leader in online classes, training and certification courses, and cloud solutions with over a million employees successfully trained globally. ### Web Developer @ The Sundial Jan 2018 – Jan 2020 | Northridge, California Accomplishments/Responsibilities: • Led the development of a user-centric website, driving a 40% increase in advertisement revenue through homepage and ad optimizations. • Pioneered the website's transition from WordPress to a custom-built platform, which led to a 1.5x surge in revisiting users and significantly enhancing user engagement. • Used version control systems such as GitHub to manage code repositories and collaborate with team members About the company: The Sundial is an award-winning, and financially independent, student newspaper and website. We are student journalists who seek to gather, write, edit, and publish or disseminate news for our students and community. ### Student Assistant - IT @ Department of Journalism, California State University, Northridge Jan 2018 – Jan 2019 | Northridge, California Achievements/Responsibilities: • Performed a range of simultaneous job tasks to support the professor’s academic, research, and operational needs. • Set up and configured system using hardware and software applications. • Supported the IT manager with department administrative duties. • Developed IT strategic vision and drove key departmental objectives. ### UI/UX Developer @ Engaginbiz Technologies Private Limited Jan 2017 – Jan 2017 | Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India Accomplishments include: • Incorporated a cohesive style guide to standardize design patterns for Android and iOS applications • Generated cross-platform and responsive product prototypes along with developing 50+ application components and user interface resources • Led application design sessions with engineering and design teams on 2 projects to develop functional and technical requirements ### User Interface Designer @ Exalt Design Hub Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 | Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India Accomplishments include: • Implemented visual mockups/prototypes from wireframes and delivered final design production-ready assets • Persuaded programmers and product managers to develop user-centered products for clients • Established and implemented the company's core branding strategy and redesigned the company logo ## Education ### Master of Science - MS in Computer Science California State University, Northridge ### Bachelor of Engineering - BE in Computer Science & Engineering Government College of Engineering Aurangabad ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/rdarwhekar - Portfolio: https://rugveddarwhekar.github.io/portfolio/ --- Source: https://flows.cv/rugveddarwhekar JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/rugveddarwhekar/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13