Dr. Vincent Li

Data and AI/ML Lead

Vinceli.org

Programa

Biography

Dr. Vincent Li is an applied machine learning and search scientist with a focus on building AI systems that solve real-world problems. He is currently the Head of Data and AI/ML at Programa, where he leads a multidisciplinary team across data engineering, analytics, and machine learning to power smart tools for interior designers and suppliers.

Previously, Vincent held impactful roles at Canva, SEEK, and Coles, where he worked on large-scale search, recommendation, and analytics systems. At Coles, he led the redevelopment of the search engine for Australia’s largest supermarket using modern AI and ranking techniques. His experience spans the entire machine learning lifecycle—from data platform and model deployment to experimentation and impact measurement.

Vincent holds a PhD in Computer Science from RMIT University, where he researched AI methods for ranking and search. He is the organizer of the Melbourne Search & Recommendation Meetup and frequently speaks at conferences and universities about applied AI, MLOps, and product-focused machine learning.

Interests

Artificial Intelligence
Computational Linguistics
Information Retrieval
Recommender Systems
Ranking Problems

Education

PhD in Computer Science, 2016
RMIT University
Master with Honor in Computing, 2014
Australian National University
BSc in Software Engineering, 2007
Soochow University

Skills

R

70%

Python

70%

Statistics

80%

Machine Learning

60%

Search

60%

Photography

20%

Experience

Head of Data and AI/ML

Programa

Jan 2024 – Present Melbourne

Leading the data and AI/ML function to build the infrastructure, analytics, and machine learning systems behind the world’s largest interior design product database. Responsibilities include:

Building AI-powered product discovery and search systems
Leading a team across data engineering, analytics, and ML
Driving AI vision and strategy across multiple product verticals

Founder & Principal Consultant

Aperios Lab

Jan 2023 – Dec 2023 Melbourne

Ran a boutique consulting practice focused on AI and search. Responsibilities included:

Helping startups and enterprises design and evaluate search and recommendation systems
Providing strategic and technical guidance on data platforms, MLOps, and productized ML
Delivering end-to-end solutions and workshops on applied AI topics

Senior Data Scientist

Canva

Mar 2022 – Jan 2023 Sydney

Responsibilities include:

Online and offline evaluation for search and recommendation systems
Applying state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to search relevance
Enhancing the data platform for search and recommendation tracking and analysis

Search Science Consultant

Coles Ltd

Aug 2020 – Feb 2022 Melbourne

Responsibilities include:

Building AI-powered search engines for retail applications
Applying machine learning and AI to improve search, matching, and user satisfaction
Designing and running scientific search evaluation frameworks