Email copied to clipboard!
AAHIL SHAIKH

Hi, I'm
Aahil Shaikh

Ambitious Computer Engineering student passionate about Software Engineering, Robotics, and AI/ML.

View Resume

Experience

SJSU Robotics Team

Autonomous Navigation and Mapping Lead
Sep 2025 - Present
  • Implemented the autonomous navigation and mapping stack using ROS2 and stereo-camera SLAM to achieve precise localization for the Mars rover.
  • Achieved robust rover position estimation and created highly accurate environmental maps by fusing SLAM, GPS, and wheel odometry data with an extended Kalman filter.
  • Architected and developed a comprehensive Gazebo simulation environment to test and validate the navigation stack and other core rover subsystems.

Palo Alto Networks

Part-time, R&D Software Engineering Intern
Aug 2025 - Present
  • Enabled the development of robust malware detection and prevention mechanisms by reverse-engineering sophisticated malware families using YARA rules and static/dynamic analysis.

Palo Alto Networks

R&D Software Engineering Intern
May 2025 - Aug 2025
  • Engineered a production firewall feature for inline, real-time blocking of malicious AI models, achieving 100% detection coverage with zero false positives.
  • Filed a U.S./global patent for malicious AI model detection, slated for production deployment in early 2026.
  • Architected a data curation pipeline where the core LLM classifier (built with Gemini API) achieved 100% precision/recall, creating a high-quality ground truth dataset managed with GCP Cloud SQL and Cloud Storage.
  • Developed and optimized the core detection algorithm for high-throughput, low-latency performance in resource-constrained firewall environments.

Palo Alto Networks

R&D Software Engineering Intern
May 2024 - Sep 2024
  • Developed an advanced threat intelligence system, initially detecting 6 specific malware families, which has since become a backbone tool for the team.
  • Slashed production rule creation time from days to minutes by engineering a Python tool that automated malware fingerprinting and analysis.
  • Processed millions of logs to automatically identify and fingerprint new malware families using ML clustering (TF-IDF, DBSCAN) and association rule mining.

VEX Robotics Competition

Founder and Head Mentor
Nov 2023 - May 2024
  • Founded and mentored two rookie robotics teams, guiding them to win 13 awards, winning the State Championships, and qualifying for the World Championship.
  • Taught engineering design and hardware/software principles, fostering teamwork and enthusiasm.

FRC Team 1403 Cougar Robotics

Software Programming Captain
Sep 2020 - Jun 2023
  • Led development of new robot technologies, including the creation of omnidirectional drivetrain and 3 degree of freedom arm using inverse kinematics, vision processing, and object recognition.
  • Extensively used Java for robot programming and learned robot control and electrical systems.
  • Won the 2023 Montgomery district event, placed highly in other competitions, advanced to the 2023 FIRST World Championship, and increased team percentile ranking globally by 23%.

PROJECTS

Manara Project Screenshot

Manara

Current Project

A RAG-based agentic search engine using a custom framework to synthesize verifiable insights and mitigate hallucinations.

  • Flask
  • Python
  • React
  • HuggingFace
  • Google GenAI SDK
Ghost Trainer Screenshot

Ghost Trainer

1st @ WWPHacks 2023

A fitness app that motivates individuals to enhance their health by generating their own virtual opponent.

  • Flutter
  • OpenStreetMap
  • GPS
  • Catmull-Rom
Unbounded Project Screenshot

Unbounded

Created a procedurally generated dungeon RPG using a custom Java algorithm for real-time dungeon generation. I also integrated unit testing to automate code deployment and evaluation. The project utilized Perlin/Open Simplex noise and cellular automata to produce realistic, dynamic terrain.

  • Java
  • JUnit5
  • Perlin Noise
Wildfire Predictor Screenshot

Wildfire Predictor

2nd @ MontyHacks 2022

A ML app using a linear regression model to forecast wildfires with 95% accuracy using realtime API data.

  • Flutter
  • APIs
  • Flask
  • Python
  • NumPy
Verita Health Screenshot

Verita Health

3rd @ MontyHacks 2021

A centralized dashboard to aggregate medical reports from any source, offering a comprehensive view of your health.

  • Flutter
  • Firebase

SKILLS

Languages

  • Python
  • Java
  • C++
  • JavaScript
  • HTML/CSS
  • MATLAB

Libraries

  • NumPy
  • Pandas
  • SciKit Learn
  • ThreeJS
  • Flask
  • TensorFlow
  • LangChain
  • React Native
  • Google GenAI SDK

Technologies

  • Git
  • Linux
  • Google Cloud Platform
  • Vertex AI
  • HuggingFace
  • Vector Databases
  • Docker

EDUCATION

San José State University

B.S. Computer Engineering
Aug 2025 - May 2027 (Expected)
Activities: University Rover Challenge - Intelligent Systems Team

DeAnza & Foothill College

Transfer Coursework
Sep 2024 - May 2025
GPA:3.95

Rutgers University

Electrical and Computer Engineering
Sep 2023 - May 2024
GPA:3.906

Top 7% selected by the dean to join the Rutgers School of Engineering Honors Academy.

UC Berkeley

Pre-College Summer Session
Jul 2022 - Aug 2023
Course: CS61BL: Data Structures & Programming Methodologies

Self-Directed Learning

Independent Study & Research
Jan 2021 - Dec 2022
Focus Areas: Python, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Data Cleaning

AWARDS

A showcase of achievements and honors received for academic excellence and competitive success.

U.S. Patent Pending

Malicious AI Model Detection

WWPHacks 1st Place

2023

MontyHacks 2nd Place

2022

MontyHacks 3rd Place

2021

VEX Robotics NJ State Champion

2024

VEX Robotics World Qualifier

2024

Rutgers Eng. Honors Academy

2023

DeAnza College Dean's List

3x Recipient

Rutgers University Dean's List

2x Recipient

GET IN TOUCH

LinkedIn GitHub

© 2025 Aahil Shaikh. All Rights Reserved.