ENGINEER OF INTELLIGENCE
ADTECH ARCHITECT | APPLIED AI
Lavan
Sornarajah
▼ SIGNAL_BELOW ▼
I am driven by a fascination with how systems process
information, whether that is a
biological signal or a
programmatic bid.
With a background grounded in neuroscience, I have always viewed technology through a scientific lens, looking for the signal in the noise.
I have always been an engineer of intelligence; the medium just shifted from wetware to software.
With a background grounded in neuroscience, I have always viewed technology through a scientific lens, looking for the signal in the noise.
I have always been an engineer of intelligence; the medium just shifted from wetware to software.
// SYSTEM_LABS
[ EXPERIMENTAL_PROTOCOLS ]
Side quests and rabbit holes. Tools built for curiosity, utility, and the occasional deep dive.
AGENTIC STACK
EXPERIMENTAL
3D knowledge graph of the adtech agentic stack. Control plane, data plane, execution plane.
EXPLORE →
EMBED THYSELF
EXPERIMENTAL
AI-powered bookshelf scanner. Detect spines, enrich metadata, explore your library as vectors.
EXPLORE →
SIGMA AGENT
EXPERIMENTAL
CRT terminal sequence you probably shouldn't run. Trust issues optional.
EXPLORE →
// PROJECT_LOGS
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The "Sigma" Strategy
Recruited to deploy the UK Go to Market strategy for Sigma, MiQ's AI powered unified intelligence platform spanning TV, Commerce, and Context.
- Autonomous Intelligence: Architected a FastAPI microservice to orchestrate 30+ parallel API calls. Engineered a custom "Domain Specific Language" (DSL) to harmonise fragmented ACR and YouTube signals into a unified schema and agentic analysis. Resulting in slashing strategy generation time from 4 hours to 2 minutes.
- Cortext: Applied Attentional Gating and Dual Coding neuroscience principles to build a Multimodal Analysis Engine. Used Google Gemini & Meta's Segment Anything Model (SAM) to measure brand & product pixel density and combined with emotive triggers to produce pre-campaign creative scores.
- Measurement Planning: Engineered a conversational agent that acts as a "Complexity Abstraction Layer." Users upload media plans/RFPs, and the agent parses variables to recommend optimal solutions, effectively "solving" the measurement type, and vendor capability matrix in minutes.
Async Microservices
Agentic Workflows
Computer Vision
Meta SAM / Gemini
Neuro-Symbolic AI
Gold Standard & "NORI"
Leading the industry through the post-cookie transition while building internal automation tools that secured official endorsement from the UK Government (GCS).
- Compliance Agent: Built a "Core + Composable" agentic platform using OpenAI multimodal models to ingest diverse evidence types ([app-]ads.txt, bidstream logs, sellers.json etc.) along with tool access to validation scripts, TCF GVL and TAG registries. Reduced audit times by 95%, creating a fully auditable, Human in the Loop supply chain system.
- Enterprise RAG (NORI): Architected an enterprise knowledge retrieval system using Agentic routing to query complex datasets from technical industry standards (IAB Tech Lab, Prebid, UID).
- Synthetic Alignment: Engineered a pipeline generating synthetic Q&A pairs during document and codebase indexing. Ensures AI systems understands intent ("How do I fix error X?") rather than just semantic keyword matching. Built custom retriever using Parent-Child chunk strategy for vector search to ensure high data generation fidelity.
Advanced RAG (Parent-Child)
Agentic Routing
Human-in-the-Loop (HITL)
LangGraph
Synthetic Data Eval
Vector Embeddings & Search
The Attention Economy
Instrumental in moving the industry from "Verification" (Did it load?) to "Attention" (Did they look?). Commercialised programmatic products bridging biological eye-tracking data with programmatic buying logic (demand) and curated inventory (supply).
- Commercial Impact: Secured two Innovate UK grants by co-pitching the fusion of AI and behavioural science.
- Validation: Ran successful pilots for GSK and Haleon, proving that buying for Attention drives measurable Brand and Sales Lift over proxy metrics.
- Product Solutions: Developed automated workflows for custom bidding algorithms for DSPs and high attention inventory curation data sets for supply platforms.
Attention Algorithms
Biological Signal Processing
Behavioral AI
Programmatic Curation
The Exit & Investment
Bootstrapped a managed service trading desk from zero to profitability and strategic exit after 9 years.
- The Build: Developed custom algorithms and advanced ID management solutions for multi-DSP orchestration across The Trade Desk, DV360, and MediaMath.
- The Pivot: Orchestrated a profitable exit and leveraged capital to become the largest external investor in Avocet Systems (Lumen), correctly identifying Attention Metrics as the next major industry currency.
Multi-DSP Orchestration
Identity Graph (UID)
Real-Time Bidding (RTB)
High-Volume Log Analysis
Head of Tech Partnerships
Cadreon
2011 - 2012
Head of Data
Profero
2010 - 2011
Analytics Consultant
lastminute.com
2009 - 2010
Search / Analytics
BLM Quantum
2007 - 2009
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Lavan Sornarajah
AdTech | Product Strategy | Applied AI |
Ex-Founder
London, UK | [email protected]
Profile
I am driven by a fascination with how systems process
information, whether that is a biological signal or a
programmatic bid. With a background grounded in
neuroscience, I have always viewed technology through a
scientific lens, looking for the signal in the noise.
I have always been an engineer of intelligence; the
medium just shifted from wetware to software.
Today, I apply that rigour to AdTech. I don't just
discuss AI strategy; I actively prototype and deploy the
agentic systems that execute it. My focus is on bridging
the gap between technical complexity while translating
raw capability into practical tools for the business.
Applied Experience
Product Marketing Lead (AI Commercialisation & Tooling)
MiQ (MediaIQ) | London, UK
| 2025 - Present
Commercial Strategy:
Launched the exclusive "Sigma Champions" pilot with 3
strategic agency partners. Designed the "Give/Get"
partnership model to secure direct product feedback and
validate the roadmap. Built narrative for UK Commerce
launch with agency partners.
Technical Innovation:
Architected an autonomous intelligence layer. Deployed a
FastAPI microservice (AsyncIO) to orchestrate 30+
parallel API calls. Engineered a "Domain Specific
Language" (DSL) pattern to harmonise fragmented signals
(ACR, BARB, YouTube) into a unified schema for AI
powered analysis.
Impact: Slashed strategy
generation time from 4 hours to 2 minutes, allowing
commercial teams to scale complex narratives on-demand.
Measurement Planning:
Engineered a conversational agent that acts as a
"Complexity Abstraction Layer." Users upload media
plans/RFPs, and the agent parses variables to recommend
optimal solutions, effectively "solving" the measurement
type, and vendor capability matrix in seconds.
Democratised expert-level planning, enabling
non-specialists to confidently suggest sophisticated
measurement solutions.
Innovation Pilot: Applied
neuroscience principles to build "Sigma Cortext". Wrote
logic to measure product/brand pixel density using
Gemini and SAM, coupled with "Attentional Gating" and
"Dual Coding" to build predictive creative scores.
Advertising Technology Consultant | Technical Lead
IAB UK | London, UK | 2023
- Present
Gold Standard Agentic Platform:
Built a unified platform using OpenAI Vision and File
APIs to ingest diverse evidence types ([app-]ads.txt,
bidstream logs, sellers.json etc.) along with tool
access to validation scripts, TCF GVL and TAG
registries.
Impact: Reduced audit times
by 95%. The rigour of this platform gave the UK
Government (GCS) the confidence to officially endorse
the standard in Nov 2025.
NORI Knowledge Base:
Architected a multimodal knowledge retrieval system
using Agentic routing to query complex datasets from
technical industry standards (IAB Tech Lab, Prebid, UID
etc.). Engineered a pipeline generating synthetic Q&A
pairs to ensure the system understands intent rather
than just keyword matching.
Industry Leadership: Led
"Post-Cookie" workstreams, advising agencies on
addressability using Project Rearc framework and
liaising with UK CMA for Chrome Privacy Sandbox
proposals.
Product Marketing Consultant (Attention Economics)
Lumen Research | London, UK
| 2021 - 2022
Commercialised the first programmable Attention
products, bridging eye-tracking data (biology) with
programmatic buying (tech).
Secured two Innovate UK grants co-pitching the fusion of
AI and behavioural science.
Ran pilots for GSK and Haleon, proving that buying for
Attention rather than proxy metrics drives measurable
Brand and Sales Lift.
Director & Co-Founder
Audience Trading Platform |
London, UK | 2012 - 2021
Bootstrapped a managed service trading desk from zero to
profitability and strategic exit.
Developed custom algorithms, a proprietary data
management platform, and advanced ID management
solutions across The Trade Desk, DV360, and MediaMath.
The Exit: Orchestrated a
profitable exit. Leveraged capital to become the largest
external investor in Avocet (Lumen), identifying
Attention Metrics as the next major currency.
Previous Roles
Head of Tech Partnerships, Cadreon
(2011–2012):
Launched IPG's EMEA trading desk.
Head of Data, Profero (2010–2011):
Founded the agency's data practice. Built dynamic
creative systems for Marks & Spencer.
Analytics Consultant, lastminute.com
(2009–2010):
Early behavioural targeting.
Search Manager, BLM Quantum (2007–2009):
Managed performance campaigns.
Technical Toolkit
AI: Agentic Workflows
(LangGraph), Tracing (LangSmith), Prompt Optimisation
(DSPy), Multi-Modal RAG.
AdTech: OpenRTB,
VAST/VPAID, Prebid.js, UID 2.0, Privacy Sandbox.
Cloud/Data: AWS, GCP,
BigQuery, Tableau, Python (Pandas, Pydantic).
Education & Scientific Background
Master of Science in Neuroscience
| University of British Columbia | 2004-2007
Thesis: NMDA receptor desensitization regulated by
direct binding to PDZ1-2 domains of PSD-95.
Bachelor of Science in Honours Biochemistry
| University of British Columbia | 2000-2004
Thesis: Huntingtin interaction protein HIP-1
colocalization with actin cytoskeleton.
Awards & Distinctions
UBC Graduate Scholarship:
Dept of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine (2004-2007)
Brain and Behaviour Scholarship:
Faculty of Medicine (2004)
Dean's Honour List:
University of British Columbia (2004)
Selected Publications
"Regulation of NMDA receptor desensitization by
subcellular localization and PSD-95
interactions". Journal of Neurophysiology (2008).
"MAGUK-family proteins regulate the
glycine-independent desensitization of NMDA
receptor". Society for Neuroscience Poster (2007).