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    Rodrigo brings over 20 years of technical expertise, consistently delivering impactful IT solutions across a diverse range of sectors, including finance, technology, automotive, security, logistics, tourism, health, and real estate. He excels in steering IT teams and organizations towards achieving their business goals through a robust focus on digital strategy. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, Rodrigo drives innovation and technical excellence, ensuring that enterprise objectives are met with precision. His deep technical knowledge is a cornerstone of his success, enabling him to anticipate technical solutions and strategically provision resources, control budgets, and develop key partnerships that are essential for delivering efficient solutions. His people management skills and career path form the foundation for guiding and expanding cross-functional teams and fostering positive work environments, which are crucial for the successful execution of projects. Rodrigo has demonstrated a remarkable ability to steer both large corporations and startups from project inception to full operation, being instrumental in navigating complex projects and ensuring their successful completion. Rodrigo's passion for technology is further evidenced by his contributions to scientific publications in Data Science, AI, and parallel and distributed computing, showcasing his commitment to advancing the field and sharing his knowledge with the broader community.

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Rodrigo Tavares

HEAD OF ENGINEERING | AI | Data Science

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Contact:

+49 179 7389210

+55 21 986305096

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Linkedin:

www.linkedin.com/in/rtavares187

 

Location:

Stuttgart, Germany​

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FORMAÇÃO
EDUCATION
May 2021

Post-grad. in Blockchain

UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, NEW YORK

Emphasis on Smart Contracts and DApps.

Feb 2019

MSc. in Computer Science

CEFET/RJ, RIO DE JANEIRO

Specialization in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. 

Dec 2012

BSc. in Business Administration

UERJ, RIO DE JANEIRO

Emphasis on management systems for decision support.

EXPERIÊNCIA
EXPERIENCE
Out 2023 - Current

Head of Engineering

MERCEDES-BENZ AG

Stuttgart, Germany​​​​

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I joined Mercedes-Benz at its global headquarters in Stuttgart as Head of Engineering of the After-Sales Department, supporting the MB Global Training unit. In this role, I steer teams across the globe to deliver new products, drive technology adoption, IT governance, and define AI strategy. Key Achievements:

  • Driven the creation of a GenAI platform that hosts different types of use cases (chatbots, multi-agent systems, and workflows). Reduced content creation costs by 17% by supporting tasks such as translation, optimization, augmentation, and others.

  • Led a large-scale project that developed a new architecture, increasing product capacity by 730% in the Chinese market. It made it possible for dealers in different regions to execute training, tests, and process results in real time.

Jun 2021 - Jul 2023

Director of Engineering

TOPTAL

California, EUA (Remote)

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As Director of Engineering at Toptal, a premier Silicon Valley company, I led a core team entrusted with a portfolio of high-profile clients, including Google, Pfizer, and Philips. I adeptly navigated both business and technical landscapes to ensure seamless team assembly, project execution, and overall success. Key Achievements:

  • On-time delivery for 87% of projects and within expected costs for 91%.

  • Scaled a high-performing, cross-functional team by 26% to accommodate new clients.

  • Achieved a customer retention rate of 82%.

  • Attained a customer conversion rate of 38%, boosting client numbers on the USA East Coast and Europe.

Apr 2018 - Jun 2021

Program Manager

Multiplan Empreendimentos S.A

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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At Multiplan, the largest mall constructor and administrator in Latin America, I led a 21-member IT development team to deliver impactful projects and achieve significant corporate goals. Key Achievements:

  • Attained a 23% cost reduction in infrastructure and support activities by seamlessly migrating legacy systems to Azure. In parallel, I migrated the core ESB solution to a microservices architecture, setting new governance and DevSecOps standards, facilitating technological evolution.

  • Optimized lease negotiation time by 36% with the implementation of a cutting-edge BI system that visualizes business indicators on 2D shopping maps.

  • Delivered critical web systems and mobile applications, enhancing the functionalities of SAP FI, MM, RE, CO, and PS modules.

Sep 2016 - Apr 2018

Master's Researcher

CAPES - CEFET/RJ

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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During my master's degree at CEFET/RJ, a federal educational technology center of excellence in Brazil, I accomplished the following key achievements:

  • Published a scientific article accepted by the Brazilian Symposium on Databases (SBBD) titled "Supporting the Imputation Process with Machine Learning Techniques".

  • Developed the large-scale imputation framework Appraisal-Spark, which implements the techniques from my master's thesis. Appraisal-Spark has since been adopted by the data science community to apply imputation techniques to a variety of data structures.

Sep 2012 - Aug 2016

Tech Lead

SICPA Holding S.A.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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At SICPA, a Swiss company renowned for providing over 85% of the world's currency inks, I served as Tech Lead, achieving significant milestones. Key Achievements:

  • Led the development team for the Scorpios project (12 members), the official Brazilian IRS solution for tracking and tracing cigarette production. This pioneering system, the first to operate on the H1000—the fastest cigarette packer globally—enabled real-time validation of security stamps across multiple industrial production lines, integrating complex electronic and mechanical components. Scorpios continues to provide production tracking, reporting, and fraud detection to this day.

  • Oversaw project evolution and technical requirements in collaboration with the client, Casa da Moeda do Brasil (The Brazilian Mint), ensuring successful homologation of production lines.

Jun 2010 - Sep 2012

Lead Software Architect

CTIS

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Jul 2009 - Jun 2010

Software Development Analyst

DELL

Porto Alegre, Brazil

Jul 2007 - Jun 2009

Senior Software Developer

WTH (World Travel Holdings)

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Oct 2005 - Jul 2007

Software Developer

DBA

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

May 2004 - Jan 2005

IT Intern - Junior Dev

Lopes Filho Investment Consultancy

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

CERTIFICATIONS
CERTIFICATIONS

PMP (Project Management Professional)

PSPO (Professional Scrum Product Owner)

COBIT® 2019 Foundation

PSM (Professional Scrum Master)

AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals

ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library)

ESPECIALIDADES
AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATION

SBBD (BRAZILIAN SYMPOSIUM ON DATABASES), 2018 | Scientific paper published in the machine learning section:

PRAISE FOR MASTER'S DISSERTATION

CEFET/RJ, 2020:

  • Praise for the contribution of scientific production, technical support for improving the program's computational infrastructure, and performance during the dissertation defense: An approach for large-scale imputation.

  • Founding member of the Appraisal Spark project, a large-scale imputation framework that materializes the technique presented in the master's thesis: https://eic.cefet-rj.br/ppcic/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/04-Rodrigo-Tavares-de-Souza.pdf. The data science community has used Appraisal-Spark to apply imputation techniques using machine learning algorithms to various data structures.

HABILIDADES
SKILLS

Executive Leadership

IT Management

AI and Data Science

Software Engineering

Blockchain and Smart Contracts

English (native)

CLIENTES
CONTACT

Rodrigo Tavares

HEAD OF ENGINEERING

​

Contact:

+49 179 7389210

+55 21 986305096

 

E-mail:

rtavaresrj87@gmail.com

​

Thank you for reaching out!

© 2023 by Rodrigo Tavares de Souza.

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