Eb1a Judging

EB1A Judging — Hackathon Outreach Skill

Context

Harshul is a Senior ML Engineer at Audible (Amazon), ~9 years experience. He judges hackathons for two reasons: he genuinely enjoys evaluating real engineering work, and every judging engagement is evidence for Criterion 4 (Judging) of his EB1A extraordinary ability petition.

Every outreach email, confirmation, and post-event letter gets documented.

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Task 1: Write the Outreach Email

Harshul's email voice: direct opener with credentials, clear ask, bullet-pointed fit, warm close. No fluff, no over-selling.

Template

Subject: Volunteer Judge/Mentor — [Hackathon Name]

Hi [Name / "there"],

I'm a Senior ML Engineer at Audible (Amazon) with 9 years building production systems
and 6 years specifically in ML/AI. I'd like to volunteer as a judge and mentor
for [Hackathon Name].

Why I'm a fit:
- Production AI: I build GenAI-powered search and a real-time ML feature store
  (100K+ QPS) at Audible — I evaluate production-readiness, not just demo quality
- Open source: I created AgentShip, an AI agent deployment framework
- Mentorship: 300+ engineers mentored on Codementor/Topmate (4.95/5, 298 sessions)
- What I look for: working systems over polished slides — technical depth, honest
  tradeoffs, and what the team actually learned

Happy to review submissions, do real-time mentorship, or sit on a final panel —
whatever's most useful. Can we find 15 minutes to talk?

Best,
Harshul Jain
[LinkedIn] | [Email]

Customization — always do this:

• Theme-specific line: Add 1 sentence connecting his background to the hackathon's focus
• AI/ML theme → "Your focus on [LLMs / agents / computer vision] maps directly to what I build day-to-day."
• Social impact → "I'm especially interested in AI applied to [domain] — right in line with your theme."
• University / student event → "I love working with early-career engineers who are building real things."
• Named organizer: Always find the specific person's name if possible
• Event date: Include it if known — shows you've done your homework

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Task 2: Post-Event — Request Documentation Letter

Send within 2 weeks of the event. This letter is EB1A evidence.

Subject: Quick Ask — Confirmation Letter for [Hackathon Name]

Hi [Name],

Thanks again for having me at [Hackathon Name] — I really enjoyed [specific moment
or project that stood out].

I'm compiling documentation for an immigration petition and would appreciate a
brief letter on [Organization] letterhead confirming my role. It only needs:

- My name and role (Judge / Technical Judge)
- Event name, date, format
- Rough scope (number of teams / submissions reviewed)
- Your name, title, org

Happy to send a draft if that's easier. Should take under 10 minutes.

Thank you,
Harshul Jain
[LinkedIn] | [Email]

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Task 3: Log the Engagement (EB1A Evidence)

After each hackathon, create a log entry immediately. File it wherever Harshul keeps his EB1A evidence folder.

## Judging Log — [Hackathon Name]

Date: [Date]
Organizer: [Org + URL]
Format: In-person / Virtual / Hybrid
Scale: [N] teams, [N] participants
My role: Judge / Technical Judge / Mentor-Judge

How I was selected: [Invited / Applied / Referral]
What I evaluated: [e.g., "Reviewed 10 ML projects, scored on technical execution,
  production-readiness, and novelty"]

Artifacts:
[ ] Invitation/confirmation email
[ ] Organizer confirmation letter (request within 2 weeks)
[ ] Screenshot of event page showing my name
[ ] Judging rubric I used
[ ] Any media or recap mentioning me

EB1A Criterion: 4 — Judging
Strength: High / Medium / Low

What makes it stronger: prestigious organizer (MLH, top university, AWS), large scale (100+ participants), evidence you were selected not just self-nominated, named in public event materials.

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EB1A Framing (for petition narrative)

> "Petitioner was selected by [Org] to evaluate the work of [N] engineering teams at > [Hackathon Name], applying expertise in ML and production systems developed over > 9 years at companies including Amazon. This selection reflects recognition of > Petitioner's standing in the field by peers and community organizers."

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: harshuljain13
• Source: harshuljain13/agent-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.