Getting to Know Rupesh Gupta

LinkedIn wouldn't be the company it is today without the engineers who built it. We have no shortage of talented individuals in technical roles across the company. They are the ones who create, build, and maintain our platform, tools, and features—as well as write posts for this blog. In this series, we feature some of the people and personalities that make LinkedIn great.

Rupesh Gupta is a member of the relevance organization at LinkedIn and has played an important role in establishing its culture. He started the feed relevance and email optimization efforts along with his teammates and now leads the email relevance and optimization efforts. He actively participates in refining our interview process for data mining job candidates and is passionate about mentoring new hires.

Rupesh is skilled in machine learning and optimization. He holds a master’s degree from Purdue University and a bachelor’s degree from IIT Delhi. He is a recipient of the Honda Young Engineer and Scientist award.

What are some of the coolest projects you have been working on?

LinkedIn has experienced hypergrowth over the past several years which has created an enormous amount of information. Information exchange at such scale has created a problem of email overload for our members. To overcome this problem, we have been developing novel email volume optimization techniques. Our techniques have successfully employed machine learning and multi-objective optimization to achieve tremendous reductions in email volume without any significant impact on our site-wide engagement.

What do you love most about engineering?

Technology has helped us overcome the fear of the unknown in several aspects of life. We can now know in advance if we will be susceptible to certain diseases through genetic testing, if we will be able to afford an apartment in a new city, if we are going to catch our train in time, if it’s going to rain today, and even things like if we will have anything in common with our interviewer. Some of this knowledge is factual, but some is based on predictions. These predictions have been made possible by the confluence of engineering and statistics. With recent advancements, most of these predictions can now be made with a very high degree of confidence. This is what I like the most about science and engineering.

Compared to other places you've worked, how do you like LinkedIn?

LinkedIn has a unique and vibrant work culture, which is reflected in the camaraderie among peers here. It facilitates seamless collaboration and exchange of knowledge across the company. LinkedIn also provides employees ample opportunities to invest in themselves and succeed.

What is something about you not found on your LinkedIn profile?

I have pretty good culinary skills. Other than that, I try my best to help the needy as much as I can.

What are your favorite things to do when you’re not at the office?

I consider my health (both physical and mental) as my top priority. I have been working out with my teammates at the LinkedIn gym every day for the past 3 years. I also like hiking, playing tennis, and freestyle Bollywood dancing!