Dr Richard Bergmair



Professional Experience

Freelance Consultant | Utopia Refraktor
Founder & CEO;  2012–present

⯈ Established and have continuously operated a corporate entity including execution of the office of its sole Executive Director, as a legal basis for conducting freelance and consulting projects; reduces administrative overhead for clients and safeguards observance of their compliance practices

Senior Search and AI Engineer | CredCore
Remote, freelancer;  2024–2025

⯈ Developed a legal tech search engine to search a collection of AI-enhanced corporate credit-related legal documents, thus accelerating the acquisition of expertise by in-house domain experts and improving the accuracy of their deliverables

Senior Data Scientist and AI Engineer | Jurelei
Remote, proprietary;  2022–2024

⯈ Developed an AI to create audio learning materials for law students.

Senior Backend Engineer | DuckDuckGo
Remote, freelancer;  2018–2022

⯈ Developed backend logic for a web search engine with 100M+ daily search requests, safeguarding user retention and reducing fraud-related slippage
⯈ Autonomously developed improvements based on natural language processing, improving relevance and increasing engagement and ad revenue
⯈ Deployed releases regularly, working closely with site reliability engineers and taking responsibility for end-to-end integration of search engine improvements and DevOps, safeguarding system stability, and avoiding incidents
⯈ Conducted mathematical modelling & simulation of data anonymity, reporting directly to C-suite executives, thus strengthening data governance and enabling the privacy promise to users at the core of the brand

Data Science Consultant | Telefónica Germany
Munich (onsite), freelancer;  2017–2018

⯈ Developed a text mining solution for quality assurance in network operations, utilizing ticket data in a geospatial and technical context, thus reducing recurrence of network incidents
⯈ Integrated heterogeneous data sources and delivered results through dashboards and batch reporting, thus strengthening accountability and reducing manual research effort

Machine Learning Subject Lead | Flowminder
Remote, freelancer;  2016–2017

⯈ Created geospatial visualizations and models from call data records to support humanitarian aid in a conflict zone, increasing situational awareness and logistical efficiency
⯈ Implemented data preprocessing and ingestion, enhancing analytical accuracy and reducing time-to-insight

Elasticsearch Expert | Eurofunk
Remote, freelancer;  2015–2016

⯈ Architected & engineered a search engine setup with strong delivery guarantees based on Elasticsearch for an emergency operations centre software, improving fault-tolerance.

Member of the Steering Committee | insightTourism (FFG)
Remote, scientific;  2013–2016

⯈ Developed and implemented a technique based on natural language processing for valid-demand analysis in tourism in the context of a publicly funded science project

Data Science Consultant | Upper Austrian Insurance Corporation
Remote, freelancer;  2015

⯈ Performed predictive analysis of customer segments with regard to payment irregularities, reporting directly to the C-suite of an insurance company, thus establishing a lighthouse project promoting evidence-based management
⯈ Implemented the data preprocessing, developed the mathematical model, and presented the findings autonomously, thus freeing up highly contested executive focus

Senior Search Engineer | Juju
Remote, freelancer;  2012–2015

⯈ Defined KPIs collaboratively with the CEO of a jobs search engine and developed them into a terabyte-scale a/b testing infrastructure, increasing click-through rate and profitability
⯈ Implemented several improvements based on natural language processing, supporting user retention and driving engagement


Technical Project Leader | Traktoro
Remote, general contractor;  2013–2015

==> ⯈ Enabled market introduction of a search engine in the domain of used land machines by managing a team consisting at times of 6 developers, contributing to the client’s success and fully satisfying their requirements

220hr Dr Bergmair + 700hr Junior Devs

Cloud Computing • Linux • Programming • Python • Data Engineering • NoSQL • MongoDB • RabbitMQ • Celery • Search Engineering • Solr • stakeholder management • DevOps

Theklatur GmbH, not having any software engineering resources of their own, contracted my company Utopia Refraktor for the design and implementation of a search engine website from the ground up. I conducted this project, coordinating a team of 5 junior developers as well as a number of subcontractors over a period of 6 months and implementing critical parts of the system myself. <==

Show project details.


Senior Data Scientist | Panopticom
Remote, proprietary;  2012–2013

⯈ Brought an internet media observation platform to market, taking end-to-end ownership of architecture & selection of the tech stack, implementation, ongoing DevOps, and continuous improvement, winning over customer revenue

Algorithmic and Quant Trading Strategist | Goldman Sachs
London (onsite), employment;  2010–2012

⯈ Defined KPIs pertaining to the high-frequency equities trading business collaboratively with stakeholders, increasing alignment between traders, strategists, and management
⯈ Implemented them into a business intelligence & analytics infrastructure, reducing time spent on ad-hoc analysis
⯈ Improved & adapted it continuously and took ownership of related DevOps, eliminating analytics-related distractions and friction
⯈ Supported management in deriving actionable insight, improving profitability

Member of Scientific Staff | Software Competence Center Hagenberg
Hagenberg (onsite), internships;  2004–2008

⯈ Assisted in Data Science research and drafted funding applications in one of Austria’s largest Data Science-related research facilities (2x internship, 1x freelancer)

Software Engineer | IBM
Linz (onsite), internships;  1999–2006

⯈ Contributed to data-intensive system integration projects, focusing on software engineering and data integration for enterprise solutions (5x internship, 3x freelancer).

Education

casual lecturer, Machine Learning for Natural Language Processing
University of Malta;  2014

⯈ Designed and delivered a course on Machine Learning for Natural Language Processing, managing all aspects from content selection to creation of learning materials, lecture delivery, and examination.

Ph.D., Computer Science (Natural Language Processing)
University of Cambridge;  2006–2010

⯈ Thesis: Monte Carlo Semantics: Robust Inference and Logical Pattern Processing with Natural Language Text; Awards: DOC fellowship of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, EPSRC DTA studentship, honorary Cambridge European Scholar

M.Phil., Computer Speech, Text, and Internet Technology
University of Cambridge;  2005–2006

⯈ Awards: EPSRC studentship, Cambridge European Bursary

B.Sc., Computer Studies
University of Derby in Austria;  2003–2004

Certifications

AI System Architecture and LLM Applications
MIT Professional Education;  2024

Sales Development Training: Selling Actively
IHK Centre for Professional Development;  2024

Specialization on Large Language Model Operations
Duke University via Coursera;  2024

Interaction Design
Interaction Design Foundation;  2023–2024

Certified Data Protection Officer and Auditor
TÜV Süd, TÜV Rhineland;  2021

Certified Bookkeeping Assistant
WIFI Linz;  2015

Filmmaking Foundations
London Film Academy;  2010

Level 3 Certificate in Securities & Derivatives
Chartered Institute for Securities & Investments;  2007