I'm Yogi — an Engineering Team Lead at Rheinmetall USA and a PhD candidate at Oakland University. I've shipped automotive thermal management programs with lifetime turnover above $400M, and my research builds a trust-aware, explainable reinforcement learning framework for adaptive decisions in engineering project and portfolio management.
I've spent nearly nine years at Rheinmetall — rising from application engineer to project manager and now Engineering Team Lead — building automotive thermal management systems for some of the world's largest OEMs. In parallel, I'm finishing a PhD in Systems Engineering at Oakland University, where my dissertation builds a Multi-Level Trust-Aware Explainable Reinforcement Learning Framework for adaptive decision-making in engineering project and portfolio management. Coursework and research are complete — defense expected August 2026.
My work sits at the intersection of three things I care about: technical depth (reinforcement learning, explainable AI, thermal systems), program leadership (cross-functional teams, multi-hundred-million-dollar programs), and clear communication across engineering, commercial, and academic audiences. Trained in Germany, working in the US, and fluent in four languages — English, German, Hindi, and Marathi — I move easily across global teams.
Rheinmetall · Full-time
Rheinmetall
Rheinmetall
Oakland University · Part-time
Supported graduate research within Industrial & Systems Engineering programs.
ITH Engineering India Pvt. Ltd.
Restructured operations of ITH's Indian subsidiary — established standard business procedures and processes across the entity.
ITH GmbH & Co. KG
Developed key accounts across energy (wind, gas, hydro turbines), oil & gas, and general industry segments.
ZIEHL-ABEGG Inc.
Interface between sales and engineering; sharpened project management and technical-commercial communication skills.
Reitz Group · Apprenticeship
Built value-stream maps in iGrafx and created a production simulation model in ARENA to identify bottlenecks and improvement levers.
ABB · Internship
Delivered an in-house logistics optimization project using lean management techniques.
TradeMachines FI GmbH · Part-time
Aker Solutions
Premier Ltd. · Apprenticeship
My PhD at Oakland University's Complex Systems Laboratory develops a framework that lets reinforcement learning agents make adaptive decisions in engineering project and portfolio management — while remaining explainable to the humans who have to trust them. Coursework and research are complete; only the dissertation defense remains, with expected completion in August 2026.
A framework combining deep RL with explainability and calibrated trust, enabling adaptive portfolio decisions managers can interrogate, challenge, and rely on under uncertainty.
Proposes an explanation engine that fuses textual, visual, and quantitative rationales so engineering managers receive the right form of justification for each decision context — improving comprehension, trust calibration, and time-to-decision in complex project environments.
Introduces a latent-variable model that infers a user's evolving trust in an AI recommender from interaction signals and adapts the depth, modality, and timing of explanations in real time — closing the loop between explainability and human–AI collaboration in engineering project management.
Active member of Oakland University's Complex Systems Lab, collaborating on modeling and simulation of engineered systems.
Doctor of Philosophy, Systems Engineering — Data Science & XAI specialization
Dissertation: Multi-Level Trust-Aware Explainable Reinforcement Learning Framework for Adaptive Decision-Making in Engineering Project and Portfolio Management. Coursework and research complete — dissertation defense pending. Member, Complex Systems Laboratory.
Master of Science, Production Engineering
Quality Management, Supply Chain Management, Lean Management, Manufacturing & Facilities Management.
Master of Science, Industrial & Systems Engineering
Concentration in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM — Teamcenter).
Bachelor of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
First class with distinction.
Project Management Institute
Credential ID · 3771925
IBM
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SkillUp
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LinkedIn Learning
Coursera
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The Wharton School — Coursera
365 Data Science
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365 Data Science
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American Society for Quality
Global community advancing quality practices, tools, and standards.
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
One of the largest technical societies for mechanical engineers worldwide.
Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers
The international society dedicated to industrial and systems engineering.
National Society of Leadership and Success
Honor society recognizing leadership potential and academic achievement.
Project Management Institute
Active PMP® credential holder and member of the global PMI community.
Fluent in four languages used across professional and research settings.
International Young Managers Program
Nominated by Rheinmetall AG — a global program reserved for a very small number of high-performing young managers selected from Rheinmetall's worldwide workforce.
North American Leadership Development Program
Nominated by Rheinmetall management — a selective US program for high-potential leaders.
Employee of the Month
Recognized for outstanding contribution at Rheinmetall.
The fastest way to reach me is email or LinkedIn.