Md Balal Raza


engineering • product • AI

I build highly predictable, cost-optimized AI production systems.

Product-Minded Software Engineer specialized in AI integrations and high-performance backend pipelines. I design resilient, multi-model architectures that solve real-world operational bottlenecks and scale with strict unit economics.

Semantic Search

Client-Side Semantic Search

Runs a 22MB MiniLM language model completely in your browser via Transformers.js. Your search query is processed by a tokenizer and embedded locally to compute real-time semantic similarity against pre-calculated vectors. Zero data leaves your device.

⚡ Edge-AI:

Production Case Studies

PRODUCTION CASE STUDY // BUILT AT BHANZU Feb 2026 - Apr 2026

AI Math Tutor: Guided Doubt Solving

To help students master concepts themselves, we engineered a spatial AI Math Tutor utilizing Gemini 3.1 Pro and Flash. The interface offers interactive question bank selection or physical worksheet image upload (OCR). While students work, the AI provides real-time guidance and highlights mistakes visually by drawing red circles directly around incorrect parts of equations, mimicking a human tutor.

Gemini 3.1 Pro / Flash React / Zustand Canvas API Spatial Vision OCR
Read Technical Breakdown
92% Self-Solved Rate Guided Doubt Scaffolding
<1.2s Ink Sync Latency Gemini 3.1 Pro & Flash
~65% GPU Cost Reduction Selective Inference Model Routing
PRODUCTION CASE STUDY // BUILT AT BHANZU Sep 2025 - Oct 2025

Enterprise AI Voice Automation Pipeline

High-volume Ed-Tech demo reminders and rescheduling created an expensive human operational bottleneck at Bhanzu. This Event-driven WebSocket system automates the workflow deterministically using live scheduling infrastructure.

Node.js / FastAPI Twilio Programmable Voice Deepgram Flux/Aura-2 GPT-4o-mini
Read Technical Breakdown
30% Headcount Reduction Mid-Funnel Operations
<900ms E2E Latency Multi-Model Stream Loop
~50% Per-Call Cost Savings Automated Unit Economics

Work Experience

May 2023 - Present

Senior Software Engineer

Bhanzu (formerly Exploring Infinities)

Bangalore, India
  • AI Smart Tutor (Feb 2026 - Apr 2026): Developed a spatial UI-driven AI tutor that facilitates step-by-step mathematical problem solving. Built a dynamic scaffolding engine that provides personalized hints, has real-time error correction, and suggests missing steps to students. [Read the Full Engineering Case Study ↑]
  • AI Voice Automation Pipeline (Sep 2025 - Oct 2025): Architected and deployed the core event-driven AI Voice Agent system for mid-funnel operations, driving an immediate 30% operational headcount reduction. [Read the Full Engineering Case Study ↑]
  • Led complete rewrite of student dashboard using bulletproof-react architecture, building extensible infrastructure with comprehensive test coverage and development guardrails for improved team velocity.
  • Built real-time classroom platform using AWS IVS serving 5,000+ concurrent users, delivering features like screen sharing, whiteboard, chats, picture-in-picture mode, quizzes, breakout rooms, in a 6-engineer team.
  • Hackathon Winner: Designed and deployed an AI-based Stories and Highlights feature that automates video extraction from class recordings, streamlining student recaps, enhancing dashboard engagement. [Read the Medium Post ↑]
  • Optimized company website from 56 to ~95 Lighthouse score on desktop and from 45 to ~85 on mobile.
  • Led a 5-member team to develop and deliver the Streams platform within tight deadline.
Dec 2020 - May 2023

Full Stack Developer Consultant

American Express

Remote
  • Legacy System Decoupling: Led the architectural migration of 3 monolithic enterprise applications, decoupling heavy server-side rendering (JSP) into a modernized, state-driven component architecture.
  • Latency & Query Optimization: Engineered comprehensive database query optimizations and asynchronous data pipelines, slashing end-to-end application latency by 68% (3.8s to 1.2s) and significantly improving system throughput.
  • Identity & Security Integration: Integrated Okta SAML2 SSO across legacy infrastructure, resolving critical security bottlenecks and reducing user onboarding friction by automating a multi-stage manual verification pipeline.
  • Infrastructure Standardization: Architected standardized technical workflows and documentation for 15+ complex enterprise systems, cutting cross-functional developer onboarding time by 66%.
Feb 2020 - Dec 2020

Full Stack Developer

BDI Plus Pvt. Ltd.

Bangalore, India
  • ETL Interface Architecture: Directed a 5-engineer team to build the core architecture for 'OneData', a complex ETL orchestration platform featuring real-time workflow state visualization, job scheduling, and dynamic data transformation pipelines.
  • Automated Underwriting Systems: Deployed the core application layer for the 'OneDigital' insurance platform serving major clients (SBLI, HavenLife). Engineered automated pipelines handling 1,000+ complex policy calculations and real-time quote generations monthly.
  • Augmented Analytics Rendering: Designed the client-side architecture for an Augmented Analytics (AugAn) engine, optimizing browser-side processing to handle massive data visualizations without main-thread blocking.
Sep 2017 - Jan 2020

Founding Engineer

Finoramic Inc.

Hyderabad, India
  • 0-to-1 Fintech Architecture: Served as founding engineer, architecting the complete technology stack from ground zero to a production-scale platform spanning B2C personal finance and B2B lending markets.
  • Algorithmic Data Pipelines: Engineered the core backend infrastructure, building a deterministic transaction deduplication algorithm and intelligent categorization engine that autonomously processed thousands of multi-source financial data points daily.
  • B2B Credit Assessment: Built a high-performance B2B lending portal featuring real-time financial health scoring and algorithmic credit assessment tools for institutional lending partners.
  • Operations Automation: Developed an automated, programmatic growth engine, orchestrating zero-code workflows that slashed manual operational marketing overhead by 80%.

Latest Articles

Operating Principles

Systems Over Snippets.

The current "AI wrapper" era is obsessed with the prompt; I am obsessed with the pipeline. Generative AI is inherently non-deterministic, making it highly volatile for enterprise systems. I build for the edge cases. My approach focuses on rigorous guardrails, evaluation metrics, and error-handling hierarchies. I design systems that assume the AI will be wrong—and fail gracefully when it is. I am not interested in building toys that work 80% of the time; I am interested in building resilient, cost-optimized engines that form the backbone of a scalable product.

Have an architectural bottleneck or a high-overhead workflow?

Let’s discuss how to optimize your business operations through deterministic AI pipelines and strict unit economics.

Direct Mail
B.S. Intent Filter Standby

Technical Consultation

Edge AI Intent Filter (B.S. Filter)

Runs a lightweight MobileBERT language model completely in your browser via Transformers.js. As you type a message, it detects intent in real-time, labeling it as high-value, outreach, or spam. Zero data leaves your device.

Please enter your name.
Please enter a valid email address.
Awaiting input...
Please enter your message.