Surya Poddutoori

AI Software Engineer @ Fieldguide

San Francisco Bay Area

About

Consistently delivered 0->1 high impact agentic products I build foundational systems that multiply impact across teams. From intelligent routing that preserves customer context to composable architectures that double deployment speed, I focus on infrastructure that lets everyone else do their best work. Previously researched VR navigation at UNC Chapel Hill https://suryacodes.com

Experience

  • AI Software Engineer at Fieldguide
    Apr 2026 - Present · 4 mos

    Agents

  • Software Engineer at The New York Times
    Jun 2021 - Apr 2026 · 4 yrs 11 mos

    Led $1.2M cost-saving migration from Zendesk to custom AWS customer care platform, architecting and implementing end-to-end solution for 30+ agents in 3 months. Recognized across the Times (Fearless Trailblazer) Launched the company’s first generative AI tool using retrieval-augmented generation with Node.js and Lambda. A/B tested chunking, embedding, and LLM tuning strategies to optimize responses, resulting in a 19% increase in customer containment and yearly cost savings of $200K. Recognized across the Times (Fearless Trailblazer) Spearheaded rule manager rebuild in Go using builder pattern, doubling speed of rule creation and A/B test rollouts for targeted retention campaigns Drove online cancellation system rollout replacing phone-based process, implemented 10+ React/Go save offer tests that boosted retention from 20% to 30% Enhanced engineering culture through company-wide presentations on best practices, rapid backlog processing methodology, and weekly tech discussions with 10+ developers

  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2 yrs)
    • Graduate Teaching Assistant
      Jan 2021 - May 2021 · 5 mos

      Guiding senior CS students in SDLC and AGILE to build client-driven, production ready applications.

    • VR Researcher
      May 2020 - May 2021 · 1 yr 1 mo

      Innovating navigational techniques in VR worlds to increase presence and immersion. Experimenting with advanced AI deterrents and rotational redirection with distractors using Unreal Engine and Oculus SDK. Conducting real-world studies to evaluate current designs and measure presence and sickness of VR users.

    • Applab Tutor
      Aug 2019 - May 2020 · 10 mos

      Manage and guide students to optimal resources in app-development. Teach students principles of React Native and other development frameworks.

  • Teaching Assistant at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
    Aug 2018 - Dec 2018 · 5 mos

    Mentored multiple students in understanding and implementing advanced concepts of OOP in Java. Improved student's attitudes towards Computer Science using real-world examples. Managed cohorts within a 300+ student class.

  • Personal Tutor at ACT/SAT Tutoring
    Aug 2016 - Oct 2018 · 2 yrs 3 mos

    Analyzed students’ key weaknesses and devised personal plans to achieve excellence. Improved mathematical and deep comprehension skills in high school students. Increased individuals SAT scores by 150 points.