Biography

Dr Sanjeetha Pennada is an experienced researcher, academic and technical educator specialising in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, Computer Vision, Robotics and Intelligent Autonomous Systems. Awarded three gold medals for academic excellence, she has built a career combining research, technical innovation, teaching and academic leadership.

Before joining QA, she was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Sheffield, where she focused on the reliability, safety and evaluation of AI-enabled autonomous systems, contributing to research, tools and peer-reviewed publications in this field. She also holds a PhD focused on intelligent robotic inspection technologies, applying computer vision and deep learning to real-world engineering challenges.

Alongside her research career, Sanjeetha has held teaching and academic leadership roles in the UK and internationally, with experience in curriculum development, mentoring and research supervision. At QA, she combines her research expertise and passion for education to help professionals develop practical Data and AI skills and confidently apply emerging technologies in the workplace.

Area of specialism

  • Artificial intelligence and machine Llearning
  • Data science and data analytics
  • Deep Learning and Neural Networks
  • Computer vision and image processing
  • Python programming
  • Statistical analysis and probability
  • AI model testing, validation and evaluation
  • AI safety and reliability
  • Autonomous systems and robotics
  • Research methods and experimental design
  • Technical teaching, training and curriculum development

Academic qualifications

  • PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Robotics, Infrastructure Inspection, AI/ML, Deep Learning, Neural Networks, Image Processing)
  • Master’s Degree in Embedded Systems
  • Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering           

Professional qualifications

  • Postgraduate Certificate in Research and Professional Development (PGCert)    

Career history   

Senior Technical Learning Specialist in Data & AI | QA Ltd, UK
October 2026 – Present

Postdoctoral Research Associate | University of Sheffield, UK
January 2024 – September 2026

Teaching Staff – Statistics and Probability | University of Strathclyde, UK
September 2022 – January 2023

Demonstrator and Tutor | University of Strathclyde, UK
September 2021 – November 2021

Assistant Professor and Head of the Electronics Department | Unity Degree College, India
June 2019 – February 2020

Teaching Assistant | GITAM Deemed University, India
August 2016 – May 2017

Memberships

IEEE membership (March 24, 2027)

Authorship

Author profile and written articles

Professional/Academic Links

Academic/Research Contributions

  • Programme Committe Member for IEEE/ACM International Conference on Software Engineering (Tools Track) since 2025.
  • Peer-reviewer for Automation in Construction journal, Elsevier
  • Peer-reviewer for Empirical Software Engineering Journal, Springer
  • Peer-reviewer for Computers and Geosciences journal, Science Direct
  • Peer-reviewer for Data in Brief, Elsevier

Achievements/Awards

  • ANOMALY CAPTURE SYSTEM AND PROCESS - Two patents (US Patent and Trademark Office and UK Intellectual Property Office)
  • President Gold Medal Winner - Academic Excellence - Masters in Embedded Systems
  • Gold Medal - Academic Excellence - 12th class - Indian Council of Agricultural Research, India
  • Gold Medal - Academic Excellence - 10th class - Indian Council of Agricultural Research, India
  • Student Excellence Award Studentship, University of Strathclyde, UK
  • University of Sheffield’s FAIR and Software Awards (2025/2026) within the Engineering category (runner-up).