Rauf Aliev
Information Retrieval Specialist & Search Technology Expert
r.aliev@gmail.com | +1 571 342 84 92
I am a dedicated specialist in the field of Information Retrieval (IR) with extensive experience in designing, building, and optimizing complex search engine solutions. My work focuses on the intersection of theoretical IR principles and their practical application in large-scale systems, particularly in e-commerce and knowledge management. I am passionate about developing data-driven methodologies to systematically evaluate and enhance search relevance and the overall user experience.
Research Interests & Areas of Expertise
- Search Relevance and Ranking: Developing and fine-tuning ranking algorithms that incorporate textual relevance signals, business metrics, and user behavior data.
- Offline Evaluation & A/B Testing: Establishing rigorous, repeatable offline evaluation frameworks as a cost-effective and low-risk alternative to live A/B testing for search algorithm validation.
- Information Retrieval Metrics: Practical application and analysis of rank-aware metrics such as nDCG, MAP, and MRR to quantify search quality.
- LLMs for Search Evaluation: Utilizing Large Language Models (LLMs) to automate and scale the creation of ground-truth data (judgement lists) and to perform qualitative analysis of search results.
- Query Understanding and Analysis: Employing techniques for query clustering, typo-tolerance, and semantic analysis to better comprehend user intent.
Projects
Founder & Chief Architect, TestMySearch.com
TestMySearch is a comprehensive, engine-agnostic platform I created for search quality analysis and optimization. It provides a systematic, data-driven workflow for relevance engineers to evaluate and compare different search configurations. The platform operationalizes many of my core research interests.
Key Features:
- An integrated A/B testing platform for running thousands of queries against multiple search backends (e.g., Solr, Elasticsearch) in offline batch runs.
- Automated calculation and visualization of a wide array of IR metrics.
- A "Virtual Search Assessor" that leverages LLMs to evaluate document-to-query relevance and generate new test queries.
Author, Hybrismart.com
Hybrismart is a prominent blog and resource site focused on the SAP Commerce Cloud (formerly SAP Hybris Commerce) e-commerce platform. It offers articles and developer tools for individuals and businesses involved with the platform, covering topics such as platform architecture, data management, and development tools like plugins for IDEs, aiming to provide in-depth technical insights and support for SAP Commerce Cloud users.
I have more than 200 comprehensive articles published there (almost 100% of the content of the blog).
Selected Publications & Writings
I have authored numerous technical articles on search implementation and optimization. My work aims to bridge the gap between complex search concepts and real-world engineering challenges. A selection of my articles on implementing Apache Solr in enterprise environments can be found on my website, HybrisMartin.
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Topic: Apache Solr Search in SAP Hybris
A collection of deep-dive articles covering indexing strategies, relevance tuning, and performance optimization for Apache Solr.
Read the articles on hybrismart.com
Authored Books
I have authored several books that delve into the practical and theoretical aspects of search technology and recommender systems, aimed at fellow practitioners and engineers.
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Recommender Algorithms
A hands-on guide to the design, implementation, and evaluation of modern recommender systems.
Available on Amazon
Available on Barnes&Noble -
Beyond English: Architecting Search for a Global World
A comprehensive guide on building multilingual search applications, covering topics from language-specific text analysis to cross-lingual search strategies.
Available on Amazon -
Inside Apache Solr and Lucene
An in-depth exploration of the internal algorithms and data structures that power the Apache Solr and Lucene search platforms.
Available on Amazon
Available on Barnes&Noble
Available on Apple Books
Professional Links
For more details on my professional background and experience, please refer to my LinkedIn profile.