Max Sklar

  1. Data
  2. Bayesian inference
  3. Causality
  4. Type theory
  5. NumPy
  6. Advisor

Machine Learning Engineer, Data Scientist, Functional Programming

Max is a software engineer and new product developer by trade, with a focus on machine learning, Bayesian inference, content discovery, and prototyping.

The bulk of his work as a machine learning engineer was at Foursquare, where he built Foursquare City Guide’s critically acclaimed 10-point venue rating system and the Marsbot app. More recently he led the development of a causality model for foursquare’s Ad Attribution product, and now works at Foursquare’s innovation lab.

Max has spoken at a var…

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Max Sklar

Work

Experience

  • Foursquare

    Foursquare

    Engineering and Innovation Labs Advisor

    Jun 2019 - Oct 2021

    In 2019, I joined the Labs team headed by the former CEO to build experimental products based off of Foursquare’s location technology. I built the server stack and provided product leadership for Marsbot for Airpods, which plays sounds at the precise moment users walk by certain locations.

  • Foursquare

    Foursquare

    Machine Learning Engineer

    May 2011 - Feb 2019

    My work at Foursquare included the core recommendation algorithm, internationalization, sentiment analysis, natural language processing, tip ranking, statistical voting algorithms, and ad attribution. I built the first version of venue ratings in 2012, which is based on a machine learning algorithm I wrote and deployed myself. In 2013, I kicked off Foursquare’s NLP pipeline, and contributed to Foursquare’s taste graph. In 2015, I began work as the technical architect of Marsbot, a new place recommendation system with a natural language interface. In addition to the technical design, I worked closely with the product and executive teams to define where Marsbot fits in our app ecosystem and in the marketplace. In 2017 I formulated and developed Foursquare’s proprietary attribution algorithm, which used a causality model to calculate ad effectiveness at getting customers into real world locations. It launched in 2018. In addition to technical leadership, I was also involved in training the sales team. According to leading members of the Foursquare management team, this effort contributed to negotiations in Foursquare’s $150M acquisition of Placed in 2019.

  • NYU, Stern School of Business

    NYU, Stern School of Business

    Adjunct Instructor

    Sep 2010 - Dec 2012

    Official LinkedIn page of New York University