About Me
I'm Chirag Bolakani, a Ph.D. student in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz. My current work focuses on developing intelligent applications at the intersection of wireless sensing and AI.
Previously, I worked extensively in backend development, with experience in Python and JavaScript, along with frameworks and technologies such as Django, Node.js, FastAPI, and Flask. I also have hands-on experience with DevOps tools including Docker and Jenkins, as well as databases such as MySQL and PostgreSQL, with Redis for caching.
Beyond my academic and professional work, I have led diverse project teams at multiple hackathons, where our solutions secured top positions in highly competitive events. Driven by a passion for solving complex problems, I continue to explore new technologies and approaches to build efficient, intelligent, and scalable systems.
Interests
- Wireless Sensing
- LLMs
- Backend Development
Technical Skills
- Languages - Python, Java, Javascript
- Web Technologies - Django, Flask, Django REST Framework, NodeJs, Express.js
- Databases - PostgreSQL, MySQL Server, Oracle DB
- Dev-Ops - Docker, Jenkins
Education
Technical Experience
Software Engineer
SpotinfoAI — Aug 2024 - Jul 2026
- Developed a robust Django backend with 100+ REST endpoints, integrating JWT and Google OAuth2 for secure authentication and asynchronous WebSocket handling via Python generators.
- Optimized the time to first byte of LLM responses by over 60% (from 8s to 3s) through performance enhancements and Redis caching.
- Streamlined file workflows by integrating Amazon S3 and the Google Drive API for secure document and image management.
- Built a FastAPI service for managing LiveKit rooms, enabling real-time voice communication.
- Deployed the Django Uvicorn server on EC2 behind NGINX and containers on Google Cloud Run for scalable production environments.
Research and Development Intern
Nokia Networks — Aug 2023 - May 2024, Chennai, India
- Engineered Django-based website for regression testing; enhanced with auto re-run of tests and bulk comment updates.
- Built CI/CD pipeline using Jenkins for seamless ML-Ops such as data collection, cleaning, pre-processing and training. Hosted Django ML backend with mod_wsgi and apache inside Docker container on an on-premises Rocky linux server.
- Developed visualization and analytical tools for processing Broadcom Distribution Point Unit (DPU) logs, enabling the identification of anomalies associated with critical bandwidth issues.
- Successfully spearheaded the implementation of effort reduction strategies, resulting in a 25% decrease in manual intervention in the team.
Technical Projects
DocGenie, Feb 2025 - Mar 2025
- RAG-based AI application for document processing.
- Built using Django, Celery for task execution, PostgreSQL as DB, ChromaDB as vector storage, and Redis for caching.
- Deployed on Google Cloud Run using Docker for scalability and efficiency.
- Implemented real-time query streaming via HTTP Server-Sent Events (SSE).
- Optimized for an average Time to First Byte (TTFB) < 2s, ensuring fast query responses.
Chill-Pill, May 2024 - Jun 2024
- Music streaming app written in Javascript with no external dependencies.
- Developed NodeJs server that supports HTTP 206 Partial Content Stream.
- Created responsive and interactive UI purely using Vanilla Javascript.
- Deployed on AWS with the NodeJS Backend running inside a docker container and Frontend behind apache docker container.
Vendor Management System, Apr 2024 - May 2024
- This backend provides required routes to implement a Vendor Management System. Utilised class-based views in Django-rest framework. Endpoints are authenticated using JSON Web Tokens (JWT).
- Utilised Django Signals to trigger updating of the vendor performance metrics on each modification.
Human Presence Detection Using RF Signals, Oct 2022 - Jan 2023
- A Collected Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) from Esp32 and applied various statistical parameters over the RF Signal and successfully detected the presence/absence of a Human in an controlled environment.
Lung Capacity Check - Spirometry for Pulmonary Function Test, Oct 2021 - Apr 2022
- Innovated a low-cost solution to calculate Spirometry parameters by leveraging Bernoulli-Venturi Principle as well as performs Incentive Spirometry. Utilised MongoDB and Matplotlib to analyze the patients' results.
Automation Society Security Task, Dec 2020 - Mar 2021
- Extracted Channel State Information(Phase and Amplitude) from Intel IWL5300 NIC using Linux CSI Tool and ESP32 for Activity Recognition.
- Applied Hampel Identifier and running mean on CSI Data.
Personal Accomplishments
Led team SecureVision to first place and the ₹1,00,000 prize among 500 teams from across India.
Team Leader. Placed 2nd Runner Up in Deep Blue Season 7 among 282 registered teams.
Presenting our low-cost spirometry device for pulmonary function testing to the Mastek jury.
Arduino-based hardware prototype built on the Bernoulli-Venturi principle, live at the finals.
Team Leader. Spearheaded the team to 2nd position at the Smart India Hackathon internal round.
- Best Project Award, Code for Life Hackathon, VIT Vellore (May 2023) - Awarded Best Project among more than 100 registered teams and 400+ students.
- My Applied Science Contest, VIT Business Incubation Center (Mar 2023) - Secured 3rd position in the inter-department Innovation contest.