I'm Simon Kahenya, an AI and mathematics expert with a PhD in Computer Science and Mathematics. I specialize in large language model training, evaluation, and mathematical prompt engineering, with over a decade of experience across academia, research, and AI companies, including DeepMind, Telus, and Turing. I have led teams, managed quality assurance in mathematical data annotation, and bridged theoretical mathematics with applied AI development. I'm passionate about the integration of deep learning, logic-based reasoning, and educational innovation in artificial intelligence. I'm excited to bring a collaborative, problem-solving approach to AI projects, mentoring teams, and translating complex mathematical ideas into practical AI solutions.

Simon Kahenya

I'm Simon Kahenya, an AI and mathematics expert with a PhD in Computer Science and Mathematics. I specialize in large language model training, evaluation, and mathematical prompt engineering, with over a decade of experience across academia, research, and AI companies, including DeepMind, Telus, and Turing. I have led teams, managed quality assurance in mathematical data annotation, and bridged theoretical mathematics with applied AI development. I'm passionate about the integration of deep learning, logic-based reasoning, and educational innovation in artificial intelligence. I'm excited to bring a collaborative, problem-solving approach to AI projects, mentoring teams, and translating complex mathematical ideas into practical AI solutions.

Available to hire

I’m Simon Kahenya, an AI and mathematics expert with a PhD in Computer Science and Mathematics. I specialize in large language model training, evaluation, and mathematical prompt engineering, with over a decade of experience across academia, research, and AI companies, including DeepMind, Telus, and Turing. I have led teams, managed quality assurance in mathematical data annotation, and bridged theoretical mathematics with applied AI development. I’m passionate about the integration of deep learning, logic-based reasoning, and educational innovation in artificial intelligence.

I’m excited to bring a collaborative, problem-solving approach to AI projects, mentoring teams, and translating complex mathematical ideas into practical AI solutions.

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Language

English
Fluent
Swahili
Fluent
French
Intermediate

Work Experience

Senior AI Researcher & LLM Model Evaluator at Google DeepMind
January 1, 2021 - Present
Led the evaluation and optimization of large language models for accuracy, bias reduction, and efficiency; conducted cutting-edge research in AI fairness, explainability, and ethics; developed advanced AI models for deep neural networks and reinforcement learning; published peer-reviewed work in NeurIPS and ICML.
Machine Learning Engineer & AI Model Trainer at Microsoft Research Cambridge
January 1, 2018 - January 1, 2021
Developed data labeling pipelines for computer vision and NLP models; evaluated text generated by AI, trained LLMs for higher accuracy; built scalable ML algorithms for real-world AI applications; led an ethical team focused on bias detection and mitigation.
Teaching Assistant & AI Research Associate at University of Edinburgh
January 1, 2016 - January 1, 2018
Taught ML, deep learning, and mathematical computing; conducted AI-based mathematical modeling research; supervised undergraduate and masters-level AI projects.
Data Scientist & Machine Learning Specialist at Amazon Web Services (AWS)
January 1, 2014 - January 1, 2016
Established AI-based cloud computing models for big data scaling; developed predictive models for autonomous AI operations in AWS cloud networks; contributed to SageMaker enhancements for speeding up deep learning model training.
LLM Trainer & Prompt Generator at TELUS INTERNATIONAL AI Division
December 1, 2024 - Present
Design and evaluate high-quality prompts for AI reasoning, mathematical problem-solving, and Python coding tasks. Conduct in-depth LLM testing and refinement across mathematics, logic, and computational tasks. Collaborate with cross-functional teams on model evaluation strategies to enhance reasoning consistency. Train evaluators and oversee alignment-based model training ensuring adherence to prompt quality frameworks. Integrate SciCode tools for model testing, dataset validation, and analysis of AI reasoning structures.
AI Trainer (Part-time) at Turing Technologies
May 1, 2025 - August 1, 2025
Annotated and evaluated AI model responses for mathematics and computational reasoning tasks. Designed validation checks and evaluation rubrics for STEM-related datasets. Collaborated with technical leads to test and refine model interpretability and logical reasoning outputs.
Quality Manager - Mathematics Prompt Evaluation at Outlier AI Mathematics Domain
March 1, 2024 - February 1, 2025
Supervised data quality assurance for mathematics domain prompts used in LLM fine-tuning. Led prompt evaluation teams focused on ensuring clarity, accuracy, and reasoning depth in datasets. Contributed to development of metrics for assessing LLM mathematical reasoning reliability.
Lecturer Mathematics and AI Applications (Part-time) at Chelmsford Institute of Technology
September 1, 2014 - Present
Teach undergraduate mathematics and AI modules integrating programming and data analysis concepts. Develop new courses linking mathematical reasoning with AI-driven modelling and algorithm design. Supervise student research projects on applied machine learning and mathematical computation.

Education

PhD at University of Cambridge
January 1, 2016 - January 1, 2020
Master's at Imperial College London
January 1, 2014 - January 1, 2016
Bachelor's at University of Oxford
January 1, 2010 - January 1, 2014
PhD in Computer Science & Mathematics at University of Cambridge
January 1, 2016 - December 31, 2020
Master’s in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning at Imperial College London
January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2016
Bachelor’s in Computer Science & Mathematics at University of Oxford
January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2014

Qualifications

Deep Learning Specialization
January 1, 2021 - January 7, 2026
NLP with Transformers
January 1, 2022 - January 7, 2026
AI Ethics & Fairness in Machine Learning
January 1, 2023 - January 7, 2026

Industry Experience

Software & Internet, Media & Entertainment, Education, Professional Services, Telecommunications