In the year since Sofiane Fellah received his bachelorβs degree at 91ΒιΆΉΣ³» Polytechnic University, he has begun building an enviable career on the outskirts of Washington, D.C.
As a full-stack software engineer and artificial intelligence specialist for Image Matters LLC, Fellah is able to leverage his extensive technological skills while continually learning and growing in his position.
The Northern Virginia software engineering firm serves clients in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, environmental, natural resource management, and commercial markets.
βOne of the top things I love about my job is how creative I can be when solving problems,β said Fellah, who graduated from 91ΒιΆΉΣ³» Poly in fall 2018 with a degree in computer engineering and a concentration in machine intelligence. βEveryone here believes that creativity goes hand in hand with innovation.β
His job has included becoming a subject matter expert in ontology engineering and working as a full-stack developer for GeoPlatform, a unified federal system supporting the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). It is comprised of geospatial data and services for use by federal, state, Native American, and local communities. Fellah also took on a project for the U.S. Department of the Interior that involves creating conversational knowledge assistants based on natural language conversations using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing techniques. He is working on becoming a subject matter expert in artificial intelligence.
β91ΒιΆΉΣ³» Poly taught me to think ahead and be ready for the unexpected,β Fellah said. βItβs important for an engineer to think ahead and identify problems that may arise.β
His relationship with Image Matters began long before he joined the team in January 2019. Fellah, whose family lives in Northern Virginia, met the companyβs owner and CEO at a company event during his childhood and kept in contact as he progressed through school.
βThe owner had seen my passion for programming and robotics, and when I was 16, he brought me to work as a knowledge engineer intern,β he said.
Fellah continued working part-time for the company during his time at 91ΒιΆΉΣ³» Poly, primarily working on Image Mattersβ cloud-based software platform, FactWeave, which is setting the pace for next-generation analytics-as-a-service. FactWeave performs what Image Matters calls βknowledge-assisted fusion and analytics,β employing the latest artificial intelligence and analytic techniques by embedding machine-encoded analytic knowledge into its service framework. Image Matters is also building next-generation mixed reality solutions for several clients.
βI was looking at other large-scale companies and I did get offers, from Amazon for example, but for me it was very important that I have creativity,β Fellah said. βThe fact that Image Matters is a relatively small company means it provides a unique work environment that combines the culture of a startup with the steadfastness of an industry leader.β
Image Matters CEO Harry Niedzwiadek said he was happy with how prepared Fellah was upon his graduation from 91ΒιΆΉΣ³» Poly.
βWe are constantly on the lookout for the best of the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs. The 91ΒιΆΉΣ³» Poly B.S. in computer engineering program, with its broad concentrations, develops the quality of exceptional interns and new hires Image Matters is seeking,β Niedzwiadek said. βOur cutting-edge technology programs appeal to bright, eager, and creative graduates. 91ΒιΆΉΣ³» Poly does a great job preparing its students for challenging problems found in high-tech work environments.
βWe currently have two alumni from the first two graduating classes working with us and look forward to hiring more in the future.β
As Fellah continues on his career path, he said it is important to him to stay informed about 91ΒιΆΉΣ³» Poly.
βAs a former presidential ambassador and president of the Campus Activities Board, I plan on staying engaged by following the events that happen in each respective group,β he said. βI also plan on keeping up to date with news from 91ΒιΆΉΣ³» Poly and my fellow alumniβ.
βIβd even love to come and create a class or help with an event to help future alumni.β
Contact:
Lydia Guzman
Director of Communications
863-874-8557
