Hi, I'm Nikhil.
I run the human-data and evaluation programs that make AI models better.
AI Program Manager at Mercor — a Forbes AI 50 company that supplies data and evaluations to leading AI labs. I take fast-moving, loosely-defined goals and turn them into structured programs, coordinated expert teams, and delivered results.
AI Program Manager @ Mercor · Bangalore, India · Remote
About
A little about me
I'm an AI Program Manager (Senior Technical Program Manager) at Mercor, working on applied AI. I own human-data, model-training, and evaluation programs that serve leading AI labs — turning research goals into clear plans, coordinated teams, and delivered outcomes.
My strength is bringing structure to ambiguity: defining the problem, standing up the process to solve it, and coordinating 500+ domain experts and cross-functional partners to deliver.
I'm also a heavy AI power-user — Cursor and LLMs are central to how I plan and work. Earlier I delivered enterprise ERP/CTRM programs at iRely and started out at OpenText. BE in Information Technology, Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bangalore.
Where I work
Currently at Mercor
Mercor is the data and evaluation backbone of frontier AI — a two-sided marketplace connecting the world's leading AI labs with top domain experts for model training, evaluation, and red-teaming. It's one of the fastest-growing AI companies in history.
My role: I run the human-data and evaluation programs that directly serve these labs.
★ Trusted by the world's top AI labs and 6 of the 7 “Magnificent 7” — including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta.
◆ Backed by Felicis, Benchmark, and General Catalyst, with investors including Peter Thiel and Jack Dorsey.
Resume
Experience & skills
AI Program Manager · Senior Technical Program Manager · Mercor (Forbes AI 50)
Jun 2025 — PresentRemote — Bangalore, India
- Own human-data, model-training, and evaluation programs end to end for leading AI labs.
- Turn loosely-defined research goals into structured programs, coordinating 500+ experts and cross-functional teams.
- Built operational systems now used as the company-wide standard as the org scaled.
- Promoted twice in under a year (TPM → TPM-2 → Senior TPM).
Business Consultant · iRely
Sep 2023 — Jun 2025Bengaluru, India
- Owned CTRM implementations end-to-end for global clients, from requirements to go-live.
- Delivered 50+ demos and trainings and coordinated 100+ cross-functional meetings, reducing development rework by 20%.
R&D Software Intern · OpenText
Feb 2023 — Aug 2023Bengaluru, India
- Supported network compliance and monitoring products in an agile team.
- Drove testing across 20+ REST APIs while maintaining a 95% on-time delivery rate.
Let's talk
Book a session with me
Book a 1:1 session with me on Topmate — for AI program management, breaking into frontier AI, LLM training & strategy, or career advice. Ask me anything, free.
30 min video call
15 min video call
Ask me anything · replies in ~2 days
“I had a great conversation with Nikhil. He was very approachable, insightful and had a strong understanding of project management and the role demands for.”
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