Nafeea Afshin
Bengaluru
Summary
Product strategist with a focus on AI-driven platforms that address complex challenges at scale. Led 0-to-1 product development in research integrity, accessibility, and scientific content automation, achieving $120K ARR in three months and expanding a $6M+ client pipeline. Expertise in AI/ML applications, data-driven decision-making, and modular architecture design enables effective collaboration with cross-functional teams to deliver impactful features. Committed to enhancing AI platform management and driving innovation in high-growth ecosystems.
Overview
6
6
years of professional experience
Work History
Product Analyst (Acting Product Owner)
CACTUS COMMUNICATIONS
10.2024 - Current
- Led end-to-end strategy, technical design, and GTM execution for Paperpal Preflight’s AI Integrity Suite; designed a modular architecture (signal ingestion → fingerprint mapping → anomaly scoring → reviewer dashboard → publisher APIs); achieved 0.6% false-positive-free recall. Outperformed ImageTwin and Copyleaks on detection accuracy; enabled publisher-side cost savings of ~$500,000 annually in manual editorial review overheads.
- Drove end-to-end product strategy, development, and commercialization of ATLD, an AI-powered alt text and long description generation platform, expanding publisher adoption and contributing $120K ARR within 3 months. Developed a feature roadmap including OCR/metadata ingestion, description complexity scoring, adaptive tone models, and MathML parsing.
- Prioritized and shipped additional 15+ major features for the ATLD tool; balanced complexity against ROI. Expanded $6M+ in client pipeline (JAMA, Sage, Elsevier).
- Designed and deployed a low latency scientific multimedia automation pipeline integrating dynamic visual layering and audio synthesis; reduced publisher-side per-output production costs by ~$4,000 and content creation TAT from 3 weeks to under 2 days.
- Developed new research integrity checks for Paperpal Preflight (predatory journal detection, code availability verification, and LLM-based linguistic sanity checks).
- Conducted numerous competitive analyses across 20+ OCR extraction tools and AI detection systems for platform selection and refinement; improved content extraction rates of in-house products by >50% across legacy academic PDFs.
Senior Associate Editor
CACTUS COMMUNICATIONS
07.2020 - 09.2024
- Edited and reviewed over 5000 research manuscripts across Physical Sciences and Engineering Centers of Excellence.
- Trained and groomed 50+ in-house, contractual, and freelance editors/reviewers, with a 100% success rate.
- Developed and implemented a Reviewer Engagement Map (custom Google Site as a centralized platform) for internal review collaboration.
- Led editorial process optimizations through regular cross-team meetings; streamlined workflows by creating modular SOPs and visual aids.
- Ideated, organized, and hosted internal initiatives (Editage Unwind, AI Diwali) for a positive AI-driven culture across teams.
- Achieved 100% on-time delivery across 2022–23 and highest productivity (220%) during 2019–24 in the entire team.
- Monitored key accounts, implemented strategies to reduce client complaints, and contributed to continuous workflow improvements.
Associate Editor
CACTUS COMMUNICATIONS
02.2019 - 06.2020
- Reviewed and edited research manuscripts to ensure they meet international publication standards.
- Conducted live training sessions with ESL researchers on best practices for scientific writing and manuscript structure.
Education
Master of Computer Applications - Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
Amity University
Noida, UPBachelor of Journal and Mass Communication -
Amity University
Noida, UPBachelor of Engineering - Electrical and Electronics
Manav Bharti University
Sultanpur, HPSkills
- Product development and management
- Agile methodologies
- Prioritization frameworks
- Leadership in agile teams
- Strategic product planning
- Machine learning applications
- User experience design
- Competitive market analysis
- Feature prioritization techniques
- Technical documentation skills
- Market research expertise
- Client relationship management
- Workflow optimization strategies
- Team leadership skills
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Effective communication skills
- Project management methodologies
- Training and mentoring programs
- Research methodologies
- Data analytics proficiency
- Product information management strategies
- Consumer behavior insights
Websites
Awards
- Customer Experience Champion of the Year (2022)
- Customer Experience Champion of the Quarter (10/01/21 - 12/31/21)
- Editor of the Quarter (07/01/21 - 09/30/21, 01/01/20 - 03/31/20)
- Mentor of the Quarter (01/01/21 - 03/31/21)
Additional Information
Languages: English, Hindi, Assamese, Odia, Arabic
Hobbies: Medium Writer on AI (portfolio: nafeea3000.medium.com), Accessibility Advocate (webinars), Pro Bono Legal Writer
Leadership Experience
- Founder, Tech Book Club & Peer Product Circle, Cactus Labs, 2024-Present: Launched an internal learning platform at Cactus Labs, onboarding 30+ members across product, R&D, and engineering teams. Created over 20 mind maps and voice-narrated explainers on landmark AI papers (Attention Is All You Need, The AI Scientist) for cross-team adoption of technical concepts.
- Relevant Project: Built an RF Classifier to analyze the performance of 1200 employees. Improved resource allocation efficiency by 15% and supported personalized employee development strategies; project cited on RPubs in 2019 and published in AI Mind on Medium.
Affiliations
Founder, Tech Book Club, and Peer Product Circle – Cactus Labs (2024–Present); launched an internal learning platform at Cactus Labs, onboarding 30+ members across product, R&D, and engineering teams Created over 20 mind maps and voice-narrated explainers on landmark AI papers (Attention Is All You Need, The AI Scientist) for cross-team adoption of technical concepts.
· Relevant Project: Built an RF Classifier to analyze the performance of 1200 employees. Improved resource allocation efficiency by 15% and supported personalized employee development strategies; project cited on RPubs in 2019 and published in AI Mind on Medium.
Timeline
Product Analyst (Acting Product Owner)
CACTUS COMMUNICATIONS
10.2024 - Current
Senior Associate Editor
CACTUS COMMUNICATIONS
07.2020 - 09.2024
Associate Editor
CACTUS COMMUNICATIONS
02.2019 - 06.2020
Master of Computer Applications - Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
Amity University
Bachelor of Journal and Mass Communication -
Amity University
Bachelor of Engineering - Electrical and Electronics
Manav Bharti University
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