NIMANTHA BANDARA

Founder & Lead Data Scientist

+94 716 113 385
nimantabandara@gmail.com
Borelasgamuwa, Sri Lanka
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PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Results-driven Lead Data Scientist with 5+ years of experience in advanced analytics, AI initiatives, and business intelligence. Proven track record of leading distributed teams, delivering impactful data-driven solutions, and driving operational efficiency improvements of up to 50%. Specialized in Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning, and AI implementation with expertise in cloud platforms and modern data architectures. Passionate about leveraging cutting-edge technologies to solve complex business challenges and drive strategic decision-making.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Nov 2022 - Present

Self Employed

    As the founder of DetaLabs AI, I'm proud to lead a venture dedicated to pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence. We specialize in crafting intelligent AI agents designed to automate complex tasks, developing high-performance computer vision applications for insightful analysis, and building powerful machine learning solutions—from deep learning to neural networks—that turn data into actionable intelligence. At DetaLabs AI, we're focused on delivering innovative AI that truly makes a difference.

Lead Data Scientist

Firehouse Technology

Oct 2024 - Present

Current Role
Team Leadership
50% Efficiency Gain
40% Cost Reduction
  • Lead and manage distributed Data Science teams across Australia and Sri Lanka, ensuring seamless collaboration and project delivery
  • Collaborate with Business Analysts and PMO to gather requirements and develop strategic project roadmaps
  • Achieved 50% improvement in ML model training efficiency through innovative incremental update strategies
  • Reduced data pipeline operational costs by 40% through comprehensive optimization and automation
  • Design and implement scalable Python ETL processes using Kafka and Airbyte for Azure Data Lake integration
  • Spearhead AI initiatives including Mortar AI co-pilot, entity resolution, churn prediction, and audience analysis
  • Manage complete ML model lifecycle from development to production deployment and monitoring
  • Mentor team members and interns, fostering technical growth and knowledge transfer

Senior Data Scientist

Firehouse Technology

Feb 2023 - Oct 2024

  • Conducted comprehensive POC exercises for emerging data initiatives and AI solutions
  • Developed automated data processing scripts, significantly reducing manual effort and increasing productivity
  • Analyzed complex, high-volume datasets to identify actionable business insights and trends
  • Implemented production-ready machine learning models with continuous monitoring and optimization

Business Intelligence Engineer

OctopusBI

May 2022 - Feb 2023

  • Managed analytics dashboard projects for Australian Public Schools (Anglican School corporations)
  • Developed custom analytics solutions and queries for client-specific requirements
  • Led R&D initiatives to enhance student academic performance through innovative analytics
  • Collaborated with development teams to optimize ETL processes and API services
  • Conducted comprehensive BI verification across development and QA environments

Data Science Intern

Sydpro (Pvt) Ltd

Sep 2020 - Mar 2021

  • Identified business problems solvable through data analytics and machine learning approaches
  • Developed data-driven solutions for student performance improvement and risk detection
  • Built real-time analytics dashboards supporting multiple client teams
  • Created full-stack POC applications for key R&D initiatives

TECHNICAL EXPERTISE

Programming & Frameworks

PythonSQLPySparkTensorFlowPyTorchFlaskReactJavaScript

AI & Machine Learning

NLPDeep LearningComputer VisionNeural NetworksGPTLangChainRAG

Cloud & Data Platforms

AzureGCPDatabricksKafkaAirbyteAzure Data Lake

Analytics & Visualization

Power BIETL/SSMSGraphQLPostmanFigma

KEY PROJECTS

Mortar AI Co-pilot

Firehouse Technology

2024

PythonGPTLangChainRAGAzureNLP
  • Developed an AI-powered co-pilot system to assist with automated decision-making processes
  • Implemented RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) architecture for enhanced context awareness
  • Integrated with existing business workflows, improving operational efficiency by 35%
  • Led cross-functional team of 5 engineers across Australia and Sri Lanka

Intelligent Churn Prediction System

Firehouse Technology

2023-2024

PythonTensorFlowAzure MLPySparkKafkaPowerBI
  • Built end-to-end machine learning pipeline for customer churn prediction with 92% accuracy
  • Processed over 10M customer records using distributed computing with PySpark
  • Implemented real-time data streaming with Kafka for continuous model updates
  • Created interactive dashboards enabling business teams to identify at-risk customers proactively
  • Reduced customer churn by 28% through early intervention strategies

Hybrid Client Entity Resolution System

Firehouse Technology

Personal Initiative

2023-2024

PythonAutoencodersMinHashDeep LearningAzureData EngineeringETL
  • Led full initiative to replace legacy rule-based entity resolution system with hybrid ML approach
  • Designed and implemented autoencoder-based similarity detection combined with MinHash blocking techniques
  • Achieved 67% processing time reduction - from 30 minutes to 10 minutes for equivalent workloads
  • Successfully scaled system to process 17 million client records - a capability the previous system lacked
  • Significantly reduced cloud infrastructure costs through optimized algorithms and efficient data processing
  • Integrated rule-based validation layer with ML predictions for enhanced accuracy and business logic compliance
  • Delivered end-to-end solution including data preprocessing, model training, and production deployment

Product Resolution & Clustering System

Firehouse Technology

2023-2024

PythonFlaskNLPNeural NetworksDatabricksAzureSQLClustering
  • Developed full-stack product resolution system to identify duplicate products from multiple data sources
  • Implemented advanced NLP techniques and neural networks for intelligent product matching and clustering
  • Built interactive Flask backend with decision-making interface for merge, edit, or ignore cluster recommendations
  • Designed clustering algorithms with accuracy scoring to assist clients in data consolidation decisions
  • Integrated with Databricks for large-scale data processing and Azure cloud infrastructure
  • Delivered end-to-end solution from data ingestion to user-facing decision support system

Student Academic Performance Analytics

OctopusBI

2021

PythonRNNFlaskReactFeature EngineeringAcademic Analytics
  • Conducted comprehensive feature analysis to identify key factors affecting student academic performance
  • Developed RNN-based predictive model to analyze sequential academic data and performance patterns
  • Built full-stack application with Flask backend and React frontend for interactive data visualization
  • Implemented feature importance analysis to help educators understand performance drivers
  • Created user-friendly dashboards enabling teachers and administrators to make data-driven decisions
  • Delivered actionable insights for improving student outcomes in Australian Public Schools

EDUCATION

Master of Science in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

University of Sri Jayewardenepura

2023 - Present

Machine Learning for Professionals (Certificate)

University of Jayewardenepura & Erasmus DS and AI Consortium

2022

BSc (Hons.) Applied Statistics

University of Colombo - Faculty of Science

GPA: 3.2/4.0

2017 - 2021

TEACHING & MENTORING

Guest Lecturer

University of Colombo

  • • Fundamentals of AI
  • • Introduction to Deep Learning

LEADERSHIP & ACTIVITIES

Director

Rotaract Club of Faculty of Science (2018/19)

Team Leader

AIESEC in Colombo Central (2018/19)

Department Head

FOS Media - Videography & Photography (2018/19)

University Colors

University of Colombo (2017-2019)

  • • Rugby (2017-2019)
  • • Weightlifting - Vice Captain (2019)
  • • Rowing (2017-2019)

References available upon request