Michał Gdak

AI R&D Director and Warsaw Site Lead @ Snowflake

Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland

About

With over a decade in advanced engineering and AI, I currently lead Snowflake’s AI efforts in Poland, focusing on transformative technologies like Document AI and Cortex Functions. My career path includes serving as Head of Engineering, Research, and Product at Applica, a startup where I was instrumental in developing innovative document extraction solutions. Applica’s success led to its acquisition by Snowflake in 2022, where my work on TILT, one of the first multimodal transformers for document understanding, set a global benchmark. In my role at Snowflake, I hold a patent in document extraction and processing technologies, and my team’s contributions span from Document AI to the Cortex Functions suite, enabling data-driven AI advancements at scale. My background encompasses a blend of product strategy, research, and hands-on engineering, with a passion for applying AI to solve complex data challenges. Core Areas: - AI & Machine Learning Leadership - Document Extraction & NLP - Product Development & Engineering Strategy - IP Creation & Applied Research in AI

Experience

  • Snowflake (Hybrid)
    • Director of Engineering, AI, R&D
      Feb 2025 - Present · 1 yr 6 mos

    • Senior Manager AI Research And Development
      Oct 2022 - Feb 2025 · 2 yrs 5 mos

  • Head of AI Research & Product at Applica
    Mar 2020 - Sep 2022 · 2 yrs 7 mos

    Acquired by Snowflake

  • Manager | Digital Lead at EY
    Nov 2017 - Feb 2020 · 2 yrs 4 mos

  • Alior Bank S.A. (1 yr 8 mos)
    • Digital Banking Director
      Apr 2017 - Oct 2017 · 7 mos

    • Digital Banking Manager
      Mar 2016 - Mar 2017 · 1 yr 1 mo

  • eCommerce Product Manager at Liberty Global
    Sep 2015 - Feb 2016 · 6 mos