About Me

I’m Prashaan Pillay — a PhD candidate, published AI researcher, and software engineer with 12+ years of experience across full-stack development, iGaming, computer graphics, and AI engineering.

My story begins in Durban, South Africa, and now unfolds in Tallinn, Estonia, where I’ve spent more than a decade building production systems for the iGaming industry while pursuing fundamental AI research. When the code is quiet, you’ll usually find me deep in fantasy worlds, especially those shaped by Patrick Rothfuss, Rowling, and Tolkien. I’m also a devoted foodie, always chasing bold, spice-rich flavors, and a curious traveler who loves finding new places and hidden gems.

Prashaan Pillay

What I Focus On

  • Neural Architecture Search (NAS) — designing algorithms that automate the discovery of optimal deep learning architectures
  • Computer Vision — published research in image recognition, object detection, and visual representation learning
  • Meta-heuristics & Evolutionary Computation — applying population-based optimisation to hard ML and engineering problems
  • Full-stack software engineering spanning web platforms, data pipelines, and distributed systems, backed by 12+ years of production experience
  • iGaming platform engineering — recommendation systems, real-time analytics, rewards, and high-throughput game engine development
  • Clean code advocacy — readable, testable, and maintainable systems

Core Skills

  • Python, TypeScript, C#, Java, and shell scripting
  • Deep learning, NAS frameworks, evolutionary algorithms, and computer vision pipelines
  • Full-stack: React, Next.js, Node.js, .NET, PostgreSQL, Redis, Docker, Kubernetes
  • Cloud platforms: AWS and Azure — compute, storage, and managed services
  • Data science & engineering: ETL pipelines, feature stores, model serving, and MLOps
  • Computer graphics: WebGL, PixiJS, shader programming, and real-time rendering
  • iGaming domain: game math, RNG auditing, bonus engines, payment integrations, and compliance tooling

Find Me Online

  • LinkedIn

    Professional experience, publications, and career milestones

  • GitHub

    Open-source projects, research code, and side experiments

  • Email

    Get in touch for research collaborations and engineering enquiries

For current priorities and what I’m actively building, visit my .