Title: Senior Data Engineer
Company: Netflix
Location: Snoqualmie, Washington, United States
Preetam Kumar Ojha, Senior Data Engineer at Netflix, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Engineers for dedication, achievements, and leadership in Technology.
With a distinguished career spanning over 15 years in the technology sector, Mr. Ojha is celebrated for his expertise in building scalable data platforms for artificial intelligence (AI) systems, large language models and machine learning models. His journey began in Orissa, India, where an early passion for mathematics and computers was nurtured by family influences and advanced educational opportunities. Inspired by an uncle working in computer networks and guided by a rigorous academic environment, Mr. Ojha developed a keen interest in networking and cryptography during his formative years. This foundation led him to pursue higher education and a professional path defined by technical innovation and scientific rigor.
Since 2023, Mr. Ojha has served as a senior data engineer at Netflix in Los Gatos, California. In this role, he codes and programs systems that underpin data platforms for AI and machine learning initiatives. He collaborates with technical program managers and research scientists across the organization and manages a team of external consultants dedicated to enhancing Netflix’s data infrastructure. Mr. Ojha’s work is distinguished by an emphasis on the quality of data pipelines and the scientific underpinnings of machine learning, qualities that set him apart from many peers in the field. Recognized by his manager for these unique skills, he was quickly aligned with Netflix’s AI team to engage in advanced research.
Before joining Netflix, Mr. Ojha spent over five years at Meta in Menlo Park, California, where he held the position of senior data engineer from 2017 to 2023. At Meta, he played a pivotal role in addressing complex challenges at scale. One of his most notable achievements occurred in 2018 when he developed an efficient system to ensure user privacy within Facebook’s search feature, a system used daily by approximately two billion users generating around three billion searches per day. Tasked with ensuring that deleted searches were removed from all relevant systems, Mr. Ojha engineered solutions capable of sifting through trillions of data points. This accomplishment stands as one of his proudest contributions to the field of data engineering.
Mr. Ojha’s tenure at Meta also included significant work on Reality Labs’ operating system development and extensive efforts to improve data quality using advanced statistical methods, such as principal component analysis. Recruited to Meta from Intuit Inc., based in San Diego County, California, he spent 2014 to 2017 as a data engineer contributing to TurboTax as both a machine learning engineer and data engineer. Among Mr. Ojha’s major accomplishments were building patented machine learning models that help users determine whether to take standard deductions or itemize and assess eligibility for tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit. These innovations have helped millions save time and money during tax preparation.
Among his earlier experiences, Mr. Ojha served as a software engineer co-op at Intuit Inc. in 2013, following an internship with SAP SE in Potsdam, Germany, in 2012. During his internship, he collaborated on a research paper with Massachusetts Institute of Technology colleagues while studying at Northeastern University, implementing complex mathematical solutions within pioneering in-memory database systems.
Mr. Ojha began his professional career at Tata Consultancy Services Limited in India from 2008 to 2011, where he worked as an Oracle Applications r12 database administrator and assistant systems engineer. These roles provided foundational experience in managing large-scale enterprise systems before he relocated to the U.S. to advance his education.
Highly educated, Mr. Ojha holds a Bachelor of Technology in computer science engineering from Silicon Institute of Technology, earned in 2008, and a Master of Science in computer science with a specialization in machine learning and networks from Northeastern University, acquired in 2013. Memberships with leading professional organizations such as ACM Inc. and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers reflect Mr. Ojha’s commitment to staying at the forefront of technological advancements while engaging with industry peers.
Beyond his professional pursuits, Mr. Ojha is committed to civic engagement as a supporter and donor to children’s education initiatives through charitable organizations based in India. These efforts reflect his dedication to giving back to society.
Throughout his career, Mr. Ojha has earned recognition for his innovative contributions to technology and engineering. He is credited as a contributor on projects such as the Intuit Codecella Team and the Intuit CTOF Innovation Contest Team. His patents include methods for identifying users who benefit from itemized deductions, applying analytics models to determine eligibility for earned income tax credits, analyzing social media with trained intelligent systems, determining influence within social networks and enhancing direct marketing opportunities through intelligent systems.
In 2025, Mr. Ojha authored ‘Hierarchical Robust PCA for Scalable Data Quality Monitoring in Multi-level Aggregation Pipelines,’ published on arXiv and IEEE Techarxiv. This publication was a culmination of years of dedicated research into scalable monitoring techniques for large-scale data pipelines.
Among numerous accolades received throughout his career, Mr. Ojha received the CTOF 2013 Solar System Award in Technology Track for Innovation from Intuit Inc. and various internal awards from Meta recognizing outstanding performance and innovation. He attributes much of his success to personal qualities instilled by his parents, both scientists, who fostered scientific reasoning, creativity and curiosity from an early age. Mentors and teachers further reinforced Mr. Ojha’s values, such as a strong work ethic, meeting deadlines and leveraging technology for societal benefit.
Mr. Ojha distinguishes himself through a rare combination of engineering skill and scientific acumen within statistics and machine learning, attributes acknowledged by colleagues at both Meta and Netflix. He prioritizes not only well-engineered solutions but also rigorous attention to data quality throughout complex transformation pipelines involving tens of thousands of logging points from consumer devices.
Looking ahead, Mr. Ojha plans to launch a new business focused on leveraging technology, and particularly AI, to improve people’s lives through innovative solutions designed for broad societal impact. Eager for the future, he continues to inspire peers through ongoing research, mentorship and visionary leadership within the global technology community.
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