Mohanad Albughdadi

Certified Google Cloud ML Engineer | PhD in Statistical Machine Learning | AI and Remote Sensing Expert

About

I am a Certified Google Cloud ML Engineer with a PhD in Statistical Machine Learning for Medical Image Analysis and a Postdoc in Artificial Intelligence applied to Remote Sensing. With over 11 years of combined academic and industrial experience, I have contributed to national and European-funded research projects as well as delivered AI-driven business solutions. My expertise lies in applying AI to Earth Observation (EO) and cloud computing, bridging research innovation with practical, real-world applications. I have also shared my knowledge through training sessions and workshops. Passionate about tackling complex challenges with AI, I am always eager to learn and embrace new opportunities.

Work History

Scientist for Machine Learning

European Center for Medium Weather Range Forecasts, Bonn, Germany (2022-12 – Current)

Dec 2022 - Present

  • Managing activities for European Commission (EC) projects, including stakeholder engagement, technology transfer, and report preparation.
  • Developing and implementing self-supervised learning pipelines for downstream tasks using EO data.
  • Contributing to the development of machine learning models for data volume reduction and efficient data transfer within the EO4EU ecosystem.
  • Designing ML models for object detection, prompt segmentation of very high-resolution satellite imagery, and super-resolution for Sentinel-2 and ERA-5 datasets.
  • Implement and integrate models on the AI-on-Demand platform, the one-stop shop for AI practitioners in Europe in the framework of AI4Copernicus and DeployAI.
  • Delivering training sessions, presentations, and organizing workshops at conferences, including IGARSS and EGU, enhancing technical knowledge-sharing within the community.
  • Collaborating with ECMWF and interdisciplinary teams to drive project success.
  • Building STAC catalogs using the STAC tools ecosystem to make data produced in the projects accessible, interoperable, and discoverable.

Head of Artificial Intelligence and Digital

TerraNIS SAS, Ramonville-Saint-Agne, FRANCE (2020-01 – 2022-11)

Jan 2020 - Nov 2022

  • Leveraged AI to extract value from EO data, including applications in illicit crop detection and swimming pool identification from satellite imagery.
  • Managed EC projects and fostered collaboration with academic institutions on AI applications in agriculture and viticulture.
  • Designed and delivered AI training sessions to diverse audiences, enhancing skillsets in EO and machine learning.
  • Supervised and mentored a team of three engineers, ensuring efficient project execution and technical excellence.
  • Developed cloud-based image processing workflows for EO data analysis, optimizing performance and scalability.

Expert Engineer in Signal and Image Processing

TerraNIS SAS, Ramonville-Saint-Agne, FRANCE (2018-02 - 2019-12)

Feb 2018 - Dec 2019

  • Applied AI and machine learning techniques to satellite imagery for tasks including land use classification, change detection, field boundary delineation, biophysical parameter estimation, forest detection, and semantic classification.
  • Designed and implemented processing chains for Sentinel-2 data and developed anomaly detection methods for crop monitoring.

PostDoc Researcher

Toulouse Research Institute of Computer Science, IRIT, Toulouse, FRANCE (2016-10 - 2017-12)

Oct 2016 - Dec 2017

  • Applied machine learning techniques to satellite-derived data for agricultural applications, including anomaly detection and crop classification.
  • Served as a lab instructor for an advanced signal processing project, mentoring students in practical applications of signal and data analysis.

PhD Researcher and Lab Instructor

National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse, INPT, IRIT, ENSEEIHT, Toulouse, FRANCE (2013-09 - 2016-09)

Sep 2013 - Sep 2016

  • Applied Bayesian methods and cluster analysis techniques to task-related fMRI data to detect brain activity, estimate dynamics, and segment brain regions.
  • Served as a lab instructor for an advanced signal processing project.

Monitoring and Evaluation Officer

Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution, Gaza (2012-01 – 2013-09)

Jan 2012 - Sep 2013

  • Ensured successful execution and compliance with donor requirements of 16 projects funded by organizations including UNICEF, UNDP, Save the Children, and NRC.
  • Collected, analyzed, and interpreted quantitative and qualitative data to support project evaluation and decision-making.
  • Prepared detailed bilingual reports (English and Arabic) for donors, presenting findings and actionable insights.

Executive Manager and Network Engineer

Toot Information and Communication Technology, Gaza (2010-01 - 2010-06)

Jan 2010 - Jun 2010

  • Oversaw budgetary planning, business development, and operational strategies to drive growth.
  • Administered and installed wired and wireless network systems, ensuring reliable and efficient connectivity.

Education

  • Certified Professional Machine Learning Engineer, Google Cloud (2022-02)
  • Ph.D.: Medical Image Processing (Applied Math), National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse, France (2013-09 – 2016-09)
  • Master of Science: Electronic Systems Design Engineering, University of Science Malaysia (2010-06 – 2011-06)

Accomplishments

  • Authored and co-authored multiple scientific journal and conference papers (Google Scholar).
  • Winner of the MyEUSpace competition with Imaginearth team (2022).
  • Served as a PC member and reviewer for various conferences and journals.

Contact

Skills

  • ML/DL, Computer Vision, Python, Pytorch, Tensorflow, Keras, Scikit-learn, OpenCV
  • Data/Geodata Visualization
  • Docker, Kubernetes, Kubeflow, MLOps, Google Cloud Platform
  • FastAPI, Flask
  • STAC, QGIS, PostgreSQL, DuckDB
  • Git, Gitlab CI/CD, Github Actions
  • Linux, Windows, MacOS

Languages

  • English
  • French
  • Arabic