Could you tell us about your journey to UCLA?
It has always been a dream of mine to pursue academics in the United States, both for the quality of education and the culture of innovation. In 2020, after completing my bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics at Politecnico di Torino online due to the Covid pandemic, I realized how the world was progressing towards even more digitalization and felt like an upcoming technological revolution was near. I wanted to deepen my understanding of data-driven technologies and their real-world applications and when I came across the newly introduced MEng program in Data Science and Machine Learning at UCLA - home of key figures that contributed to the development of the internet - it immediately felt like the perfect next step. I applied, I got in, and that moment marked the beginning of a new chapter in my journey: my Bruin Life.
Could you speak about your career and how it has progressed since graduating from UCLA?
After graduating, I joined Horizon Surgical Systems, a startup with an ambitious mission: to automate cataract surgery using robotics and AI. I was one of the first AI engineers, contributing to the development of computer vision systems that assist with precision tasks. As the company grew, I progressed to Senior AI Engineer, leading complex projects and tackling new challenges every day.
In the last year, I've returned to Nais as a consultant, which feels like coming full circle. It has been incredibly rewarding to see Fluxstorm - the project I contributed to in its early days - now mature and fully operational. My current role is to integrate the new wave of generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) directly into the platform's core. The goal is to enhance Fluxstorm to automate report analysis, generate summaries for SOC analysts, and even suggest response playbooks in natural language, making cybersecurity not just reactive, but predictive and interactive.
How have you navigated cultural differences between your home country, your time at UCLA, and your current professional environment in the U.S. and beyond?
Coming from Italy, where the culture can be a bit more traditional, moving abroad was definitely an adjustment at first. At UCLA, I was suddenly surrounded by people from all over the world, each bringing different perspectives, ideas, and ways of solving problems. That environment taught me how diversity fuels creativity and how much you can learn simply by listening and collaborating with others. In the professional world, I’ve had the opportunity to work with teams across both the U.S. and Europe, and that’s helped me appreciate the strengths of each culture. The U.S. tends to move fast, encouraging experimentation and quick iteration, while Europe often values structure, precision, and long-term thinking. Learning to balance those approaches - and adapt depending on the context - has been one of the most valuable lessons in my career.