Michael Sachs

Summary

Accomplished data and technology leader with extensive experience in machine learning, analytics, and data science. Proven track record of driving business value, building world-class teams, and leading complex, enterprise-wide cross-functional initiatives. Expertise in delivering data science products that inform high-stakes decision-making, save millions of dollars, and enhance the product experience for hundreds of millions of customers.

Experience

Netflix

Senior Data Science Manager, Infrastructure Jan 2022 - Sept 2024

  • Led the team of ML engineers, causal inference scientists and analytics engineers focused on improving the performance of Netflix’s billion-dollar product and research infrastructure.
  • Built Netflix’s first ML for Systems team, optimizing AWS traffic, predicting demand for Live events, developing ML models for workload placement, and using LLMs to classify customer service activity, resulting in improved infrastructure efficiency and performance.
  • Led cross-functional efforts to build AWS cost efficiency tools, managing nearly $800 million cloud infrastructure spend.
  • Developed experimentation tools to test changes against production, and reveal expected costs of proposed new features enhancing developer productivity and efficiency.
  • Co-lead the development of the first "Data and Insights Day” for the 500-person data science org, and co-wrote new job families for Analytics Engineer and Machine Learning Engineer roles.

Data Science Manager, Content Distribution Infrastructure Sept 2020 - Jan 2022

  • Led the ML, data, and causal inference team focused on improving the performance and efficiency of Netflix’s global content distribution network, Open Connect.
  • Led the cross-functional effort to build data science infrastructure from the ground up for the new Netflix Cloud Games product.
  • Developed ML models to improve the performance of Netflix’s global VPN detection systems, to proactively distribute new content based on predicted demand across the globe, to predict streaming traffic, and to predict streaming server utilization.
  • Conducted experiments to test how TCP pacing algorithms and client server distance affects streaming quality; improved self service experimentation capabilities for network research teams; built better testing and experimentation methods for updating streaming server operating systems.
  • Built high volume data pipelines to collect TCP black box logs: ultra-high resolution logging of TCP activity.
  • Partnered in the development of Data Science IC levels.

FLYR

Head of Product Mar 2019 - Apr 2020

  • Led a team of 22 people across San Francisco, Krakow, Poland, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, driving data-driven product development and improving pricing models to achieve FLYR’s mission to rethink airline ticket pricing using AI.
  • Spearheaded the adoption of a data-driven product development approach, expanding FLYR’s customer footprint and enhancing pricing models.
  • Managed partner relationships with JetBlue, Air Asia, and Air New Zealand, ensuring successful collaborations and business growth.

Head of ML Platform Nov 2018 - Mar 2019

  • Founded and led the team of engineers and data scientists responsible for FLYR’s ML infrastructure, managing a team of seven Data Scientists and Engineers.
  • Created end-to-end ML development tools centered around GCP and DVC, enabling data and model versioning, and improving model iteration speed by 80%.
  • Designed the system architecture for FLYR’s production inference pipeline, reducing system runtime from around 8 hours to 4 hours, and reducing the frequency of failures by about 96%.

Radius Intelligence

Data Science Manager Mar 2017 - Oct 2018

  • Led the research team responsible for developing methods to improve the quality and comprehensiveness of Radius Intelligence’s core B2B marketing data product.
  • Partnered with engineering teams and provided technical leadership in improving systems that did entity resolution, search space reduction, clustering and entity matching, resulting in an approximate 90% improvement in AUC.
  • Defined the charter for measuring research impact, developed a job ladder for data scientists, and fostered strong cross-functional relationships to ensure team success.

Discovery Digital Networks

Director of Data Science and Technology Sept 2014 - Mar 2017

  • Led a team of 10 engineers, responsible for Discovery Digital Networks (DDN), Discovery Channel branded, short-form video distribution footprint with two million unique users per month.
  • Migrated all DDN web and data infrastructure to AWS, enhancing stability and reducing development time by over 50%
    • .
  • Designed and built a robust streaming video data science platform using Python, Redshift, and EC2, supporting data collection and analysis of over 500 million rows of data per day.

Data Scientist Mar 2014 - Sept 2014

  • Founded the Data Science discipline at Discovery Digital Networks, enabling data-driven business and content decision making.
  • Developed insights applications and content performance metrics that provided an integrated view into video performance across six distribution channels, enhancing decision-making processes and improving content performance tracking.
  • Designed forecasting algorithms to predict 30-day performance of individual titles and 12-month performance of entire networks, around 95% of the forecasts were within 10% of the actuals.

University of California, Davis and Columbia University

Graduate Student, Researcher, Associate Instructor Jan 2005 - Mar 2014

  • Earned a PhD in Physics from UC Davis and studied undergraduate Physics and Math at Columbia University, demonstrating a strong foundation in technical and quantitative fields.
  • Conducted research focused on complex systems and computation, showcasing technical acumen and expertise in data-driven methodologies.
  • Awarded a prestigious NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship, highlighting recognition for outstanding research contributions and potential for impactful results.

Weill Cornell Medical College and New York Presbyterian Hospital

Product Manager, Senior Web Designer Jun 2002 - Jan 2005

  • Led the development of the Weill Cornell Medical College and New York Presbyterian Hospital suite of public websites, establishing a consistent design language across primary and department sites.
  • Collaborated with hospital and college staff to develop and implement a comprehensive content strategy, enhancing user engagement and content accessibility.
  • Directed cross-functional teams to ensure cohesive design and content integration, resulting in a unified and user-friendly web presence.

Xperts Inc.

Creative Director, Designer Mar 1997 - Jun 2002

  • Designer and later the leader of the design team at this mid-size technology consulting firm during the height of the dot-com boom.
  • Partnered with dozens of clients ranging from start-ups, to small businesses, to giant corporations on design and UX for web applications.
  • Improved the quality of UX and design work across all of Xperts through hiring, design reviews and guidance and mentorship.
  • Collaborated with the business development organization on acquiring new clients.

Technologies

Languages

Python, SQL, JavaScript, C, C++, HTML, CSS, IDL, Mathematica, MatLab, lisp, and ActionScript.

Applications, Modules, Libraries and Frameworks

PySpark, Databricks, Numpy, Scikit-learn, TensorFlow/Keras, Scipy, Pandas, MySQL/PostgreSQL, Google BigQuery, Matplotlib, Jira, Confluence, SQLAlchemy, Celery, Cassandra, Redshift, D3.js, Boto, Flask, HDF5, Django, JQuery, PIL, Ajax, Hadoop, WordPress, MPI, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Photoshop.

Cloud Platforms

Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform

Education

University of California, Davis

Completed physics PhD, 2013

  • Adviser: Professor John B. Rundle
  • Area of Study: Computational physics and complex systems
  • Course work completed with a 3.87 GPA

Columbia University

Completed undergraduate physics curriculum, 2007

  • Physics and math coursework in order to prepare for graduate school.
  • 3.99 GPA

Virginia Commonwealth University

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Graphic Design, School of the Arts, 1995

Publications

Parametrizing Physics-Based Earthquake Simulations
K. W. Schultz, M. R. Yoder, J. M. Wilson, E. M. Heien, M. K. Sachs, J. B. Rundle, and D. L. Turcotte
Pure and Applied Geophysics  (2016)

Virtual Quake: Statistics, Co-Seismic Deformations and Gravity Changes for Driven Earthquake Fault Systems
K. W. Schultz, M. K. Sachs, E. M. Heien, M. R. Yoder, J. B. Rundle, D. L. Turcotte, and A. Donnellan
International Symposium on Geodesy for Earthquake and Natural Hazards (GENAH)  145  29-37  (2015)

Simulating Gravity Changes in Topologically Realistic Driven Earthquake Fault Systems: First Results
K. W. Schultz, M. K. Sachs, E. M. Heien, J. B. Rundle, D. L. Turcotte, and A. Donnellan
Pure and Applied Geophysics  Volume 17 827–838 (2014)

Self-Organizing Complex Earthquakes: Scaling in Data, Models, and Forecasting
M. K. Sachs, J. B. Rundle, J. R. Holliday, J. Gran, M. Yoder and W. Graves
"Self-Organized Criticality Systems"  Open Academic Press  (2013)

A Comparison among Observations and Earthquake Simulator Results for the allcal2 California Fault Model
T. E. Tullis, K. Richards-Dinger, M. Barall, J. H. Dieterich, E. H. Field, E. M. Heien, L. H. Kellogg, F. Pollitz, J. B. Rundle, M. K. Sachs, D. L. Turcotte, S. N. Ward and M. B. Yikilmaz
Seismological Research Letters  83  994-1006  (2012)

Generic Earthquake Simulator
T. E. Tullis, K. Richards-Dinger, M. Barall, J. H. Dieterich, E. H. Field, E. M. Heien, L. H. Kellogg, F. Pollitz, J. B. Rundle, M. K. Sachs, D. L. Turcotte, S. N. Ward and M. B. Yikilmaz
Seismological Research Letters  83  959-963  (2012)

Virtual California Earthquake Simulator
M. K. Sachs, E. M. Heien, D. L. Turcotte, M. B. Yikilmaz, J. B. Rundle and L. H. Kellogg
Seismological Research Letters  83  973-978  (2012)

Forecasting Earthquakes: The RELM Test
M. K. Sachs, D. L. Turcotte, J. R. Holliday and J. B. Rundle
Computing in Science and Engineering  14  43  (2012)

Understanding Long-Term Earthquake Behavior through Simulation
E. M. Heien and M. K. Sachs
Computing in Science and Engineering  14  10  (2012)

Black swans, power laws, and dragon-kings: Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, wildfires, floods, and SOC models
M. K. Sachs, M. R. Yoder, D. L. Turcotte, J. B. Rundle and B. D. Malamud
European Physical Journal Special Topics  205  167-182  (2012)

Implications of the RELM test of earthquake forecasts in California
M. K. Sachs, Y. T. Lee, D. L. Turcotte, J. R. Holliday and J. B. Rundle
Research in Geophysics  2  e10  (2012)

Evaluating the RELM test results
M. K. Sachs, Y. T. Lee, D. L. Turcotte, J. R. Holliday and J. B. Rundle
International Journal of Geophysics  2012  (2012)

Earthquake precursors: activation or quiescence?
J. B. Rundle, J. R. Holliday, M. Yoder, M. K. Sachs, A. Donnellan, D. L. Turcotte, K. F. Tiampo, W. Klein and L. H. Kellogg
Geophysical Journal International  187  225-236  (2011)

Results of the Regional Earthquake Likelihood Models (RELM) test of earthquake forecasts in California
Y. T. Lee, D. L. Turcotte, J. R. Holliday, M. K. Sachs, J. B. Rundle, C. C. Chen and K. F. Tiampo
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA)  108  16533-16538  (2011)

Testing Lattice Quantum Gravity in 2+1 Dimensions
M. K. Sachs
arXiv:1110.6880 [gr-qc]  (2011)

Awards

  • Three time Discovery D-Lighter award winner
  • 2014 and 2015 Discovery Digital Networks Hackathon winner
  • 2011 NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship
  • 2011 Santa Fe Institute Complex Systems Summer School
  • Member of the Golden Key International Honor Society
  • Interactive Best in Show, Richmond Ad Show 2004: AdCenter Website
  • 10 eHealthcare Leadership Awards including 2 Platinum Awards for work done on the Weill Cornell Medical College Environmental Geriatrics Continuing Medical Education Application 2002-2005
  • Artwork exhibited in the 2002 Paperveins Museum of Art Biennial at the Here Arts Center in New York City
  • Xperts Employee of the Month May 1999, June 2001, August 2001
  • Addy Award: Xperts Self Promotional Website 2000
  • Xperts Outstanding Engineering Sales Support December 1999
  • Xperts Excellence in Engineering Award August 1999
  • 9 Xperts customer service awards 1997-2002

Conferences

AGU 2013

Earthquake Simulations and Historical Patterns of Events: Forecasting the Next Great Earthquake in California
M. K. Sachs, J. B. Rundle, E. M. Heien, K. Schultz, D. L. Turcotte, M. B. Yikilmaz, and L. H. Kellogg (2013)
Abstract NG41A-1662 (Poster) presented at 2013 Fall Meeting AGU San Francisco, Calif. 7-13 Dec.

Monitoring Earthquake Fault Slip from Space: Model Implications for a High Precision, High Resolution Dedicated Gravity Mission (Invited)
J. B. Rundle, M. K. Sachs, K. F. Tiampo, J. Fernandez, D. L. Turcotte, A. Donnellan, E. M. Heien and L. H. Kellogg (2013)
Abstract G13C-08 presented at 2013 Fall Meeting AGU San Francisco, Calif. 7-13 Dec.

AGU 2012

Virtual California: studying earthquakes through simulation
M. K. Sachs, E. M. Heien, D. L. Turcotte, M. B. Yikilmaz, J. B. Rundle and L. H. Kellogg (2012)
Abstract NG43C-02 presented at 2012 Fall Meeting AGU San Francisco, Calif. 3-7 Dec.

Dynamics, Patterns, and Migration in Earthquake Fault Systems (Invited)
J. B. Rundle, M. K. Sachs, J. R. Holliday, E. M. Heien, D. L. Turcotte, A. Donnellan and Z. Meadows (2012)
Abstract S13A-2518 (Poster) presented at 2012 Fall Meeting AGU San Francisco, Calif. 3-7 Dec.

EcoSummit 2012

Using Insights from Statistical Physics to Model Common Pool Resource Management
M. K. Sachs, N. Kunz, Z. A. Hamstead, A. Fajardo (2012)
Abstract GS07.28 presented at 2012 Meeting EcoSummit Columbus, Ohio 30 Sept. - 5 Oct.

AOGS 2012

Delivery of Earthquake Forecasts on Web-Based Platforms: Estimating Reliability and Forecast Skill
J. B. Rundle, J. R. Holliday, M. K. Sachs, W. Graves, P. B. Rundle, S. N. Ward and A. Donnellan (2012)
Abstract SE61-75-A001 presented at 2012 Meeting AOGS Singapore 13-17 Aug.

Numerical Simulations for Space-time Seismic Pattern Analysis and Earthquake Forecasting
M. K. Sachs, E. M. Heien, D. L. Turcotte, M. B. Yikilmaz, J. B. Rundle and L. H. Kellogg (2012)
Abstract SE61-75-A002 presented at 2012 Meeting AOGS Singapore 13-17 Aug.

AGU 2011

RELM Test Results: How Good Were the Forecasts?
M. K. Sachs, Y. T. Lee, D. L. Turcotte, J. R. Holliday and J. B. Rundle (2011)
Abstract NG44B-02 presented at 2011 Fall Meeting AGU San Francisco, Calif. 5-9 Dec.

Using Speculative Execution to Reduce Communication in a Parallel Large Scale Earthquake Simulation
E. M. Heien, M. B. Yikilmaz, M. K. Sachs, J. B. Rundle, D. L. Turcotte and L. H. Kellogg (2011)
Abstract NG51D-1672 (Poster) presented at 2011 Fall Meeting AGU San Francisco, Calif. 5-9 Dec.

E-DECIDER: Earthquake Disaster Decision Support and Response Tools - Development and Experiences
M. T. Glasscoe, R. G. Blom, G. W. Bawden, G. Fox, M. Pierce, J. B. Rundle, J. Wang, Y. Ma, M. R. Yoder, M. K. Sachs and J. W. Parker (2011)
Abstract IN11A-1269 (Poster) presented at 2011 Fall Meeting AGU San Francisco, Calif. 5-9 Dec.

SCEC Earthquake Simulator Comparison Results for California (Invited)
T. E. Tullis, K. Richards-Dinger, M. Barall, J. H. Dieterich, E. H. Field, E. M. Heien, L. H. Kellogg, F. Pollitz, J. B. Rundle, M. K. Sachs, D. L. Turcotte, S. N. Ward and O. Zielke (2011)
Abstract NG44B-01 presented at 2011 Fall Meeting AGU San Francisco, Calif. 5-9 Dec.

SCEC 2011

An Evaluation of the RELM Test Forecasts
M. K. Sachs, Y. T. Lee, D. L. Turcotte, J. R. Holliday and J. B. Rundle (2011)
Abstract B-120 (Poster) presented at 2011 Annual Meeting SCEC Palm Springs, Calif. 11-14 Sep.

Parallelization of the Virtual California Earthquake Simulator
E. M. Heien, M. B. Yikilmaz, M. K. Sachs, J. B. Rundle, L. H. Kellogg, and D. L. Turcotte (2011)
Abstract B-087 (Poster) presented at 2011 Annual Meeting SCEC Palm Springs, Calif. 11-14 Sep.

The Future of Virtual California Simulations
M. B. Yikilmaz, J. B. Rundle, D. L. Turcotte, E. M. Heien, M. K. Sachs, and L. H. Kellogg (2011)
Abstract B-110 (Poster) presented at 2011 Annual Meeting SCEC Palm Springs, Calif. 11-14 Sep.

Comparisons Among Earthquake Simulator Results for UCERF2 Fault Model of California and Observed Seismicity
T. E. Tullis, K. Richards-Dinger, M. Barall, J. H. Dieterich, E. H. Field, E. Heien, L. H. Kellogg, F. Pollitz, J. B. Rundle, M. K. Sachs, D. L. Turcotte, S. N. Ward, M. B. Yikilmaz, and O. Zielke (2011)
Abstract B-109 (Poster) presented at 2011 Annual Meeting SCEC Palm Springs, Calif. 11-14 Sep.

ACES 2011

Virtual California: Inner Workings, Recent Results and Future Development
M. K. Sachs, J. B. Rundle, D. L. Turcotte, A. Donnellan and J. W. Parker (2011)
Abstract 7400 presented at 2011 Meeting ACES Maui, Hawaii 1-5 May

Virtual California: A Guided Tour
M. K. Sachs, E. M. Heien, J. B. Rundle, D. L. Turcotte, M. B. Yikilmaz, L. H. Kellogg, K. F. Tiampo, A. Donnellan, W. Klein and J. W. Parker (2011)
Presented at 2011 Meeting ACES Maui, Hawaii 1-5 May

Press

Scientific American

Test Pits Earthquake Forecasts against Each Other

NBC News

Flagging quake hotspots an inexact science

UC Davis News

Assessing California earthquake forecasts

NASA

Managing the Deluge of 'Big Data' From Space

QuakeSim and NASA Mobile App Win NASA Software Award