Ali Heller

About Ali Heller

Senior UX Researcher and strategist with seven years at Meta and a Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology. I design the research and strategic infrastructure that translates human behavior into AI-powered content systems — working at the intersection of qualitative insight, machine learning, and content policy. I have led the development and deployment of large-scale content classifiers, contributed to LLM evaluation and prompt engineering for content policy applications, and driven cross-functional alignment across product, engineering, policy, and ML teams to deliver measurable improvements in platform safety for tens of millions of users. My work spans the full arc from problem definition and framework design to technical implementation and VP-level strategy.I specialize in the kind of research that sits at the boundary between qualitative insight and technical implementation: developing the conceptual frameworks that undergird classifiers, creating evaluation sets and golden sets for LLM fine-tuning, conducting precision calibration reviews, and ensuring that AI systems are anchored to real human behavior rather than abstract policy language. I have contributed to LLM prompt engineering, classifier auditing, and the development of new content policies — work that requires both deep domain expertise and the ability to communicate across research, engineering, and policy functions.My approach is grounded in a Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology (Washington University in St. Louis), which gives me an unusually robust toolkit for understanding how people navigate systems, make meaning, and respond to technology — particularly in high-stakes and cross-cultural contexts. Before Meta, I was an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland and a Campbell Fellow at the School for Advanced Research. My book, Fistula Politics: Birthing Injuries and the Quest for Continence in Niger (Rutgers University Press, 2018), reflects the same commitment to rigorous, human-centered inquiry that drives my industry work.Core strengths:*Research strategy and roadmap ownership at the VP-influence level*AI/ML collaboration: LLM evaluation, prompt engineering, classifier development, precision calibration*Content policy: framework design, guideline authorship, enforcement strategy*Qualitative and mixed-methods research at scale*Teen well-being, online safety, and age-appropriate content — seven years of specialized focus

Experience

1. Senior Researcher, Central Youth

   Meta

   Apr 2022 — Present · Seattle, WA, US

   I lead research and strategy at the intersection of teen safety, content policy, and AI/ML systems — serving as both a senior researcher and a cross-functional strategic lead.My work spans the full arc from problem definition to technical deployment: I develop the behavioral and conceptual frameworks that inform content classification, collaborate with ML engineers on model training and evaluation, create and review large-scale content evaluation sets, and contribute to LLM prompt engineering for content policy applications. I have driven the development of new platform-wide content policies for minors, working closely with policy and engineering teams to move from temporary enforcement mechanisms to permanent, classifier-backed systems.As a strategic lead, I own research roadmaps, drive cross-org prioritization, and translate findings into VP-level decisions. I have led rapid-response research efforts that resulted in significant, measurable reductions in harmful content exposure — including work that directly addressed high-profile external scrutiny of platform safety for teens. I also demonstrated that frameworks developed for teen safety generalize to broader user populations, leading to adoption across additional surfaces and user segments.

Education

• Washington University in St. Louis

  Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Anthropology

  2009 — 2015

• Washington University in St. Louis

  Master's degree, Anthropology

  2009 — 2011

• University of Arizona

  Bachelor of Arts (BA), International/Global Studies

  2002 — 2005