Data Scientist

Alan Penkar

Finding patterns in numbers since 1987Senior Principal Data Scientist at Manhattan Associates specializing in machine learning, AI, and generative AI systems. Perfect 4.0 M.S. in Analytics from Georgia Tech. Leading cutting-edge research in anomaly detection, chatbot development, and ML performance optimization.

GitHub

Machine Learning & AI

Leading ML/AI initiatives at Manhattan Associates. Building wavelet-based anomaly detection and generative AI chatbots that improve product performance.

Performance Optimization

Reduced inference time from 300ms to 10ms and quadrupled throughput through smart architectural choices. Expert in MLOps and system optimization.

Meet Leopold

My beloved Pyrenees who's become the star of the show. He's the real brains behind the operation!

LeopoldThe real MVP behind all the data analysis. This Pyrenees has mastered the art of looking thoughtful while I work through complex algorithms.

About Alan

More details about my background, experience, and interests

I'm a Senior Principal Data Scientist at Manhattan Associates, where I lead machine learning and AI initiatives that directly impact product performance and customer experience. My passion lies in building practical ML systems that solve real-world problems—from wavelet-based anomaly detection for SaaS telemetry to generative AI chatbots that help users navigate complex technical documentation.With a perfect 4.0 M.S. in Analytics from Georgia Tech and over 15 years of experience, I've evolved from workforce analytics consulting at Deloitte to leading cutting-edge ML research. I love the challenge of optimizing systems—like reducing inference latency by 93% or quadrupling throughput on the same machine size with smart architectural choices and frameworks. There's something deeply satisfying to me about not just making algorithms work, but work beautifully.Beyond the technical work, I'm passionate about mentoring the next generation—I've guided 5 interns and junior engineers, and serve on the Peachtree Curling Association board. When I'm not optimizing neural networks or diving into the latest Gen AI research, you'll find me on the curling ice, hiking trails, or at home with Leopold, my Pyrenees who's convinced he's the real brains behind my ML models.

Education

• M.S. in Analytics, Georgia Tech (4.0 GPA)• B.S. in Applied Mathematics, Georgia Tech (2010)

Current Role

• Sr. Principal Data Scientist at Manhattan Associates• Leading ML/AI and Gen AI initiatives• Building anomaly detection and chatbot systems

Specializations

• Machine Learning Operations (MLOps)• Generative AI & RAG systems• Anomaly Detection & Customer Analytics• Performance Optimization & Team Leadership

Blog

Thoughts on data science, analytics, and technology

Fantasy Hockey Draft Prep with Altair

October 27, 2019

dataviz

altair

I recently had a need to embed plots into my blog for an upcoming post I am working on, and my favorite python plotting library right now is definitely Altairaltair-home, so I figured I would s...

NLP - Scraping a Real World Corpus

NLP

WebScraping

There are quite a few text corpora readily available in the standard NLP python packages NLTK has quite a few. However, using those corpora would gloss over the practical issues that arise from rea...