QuantumBlack Voices

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   Listen to the podcast (duration: 40:56) >  Today we're talking to Jiri Klein, one of our data engineers in London. Jiri details his journey to data engineering, from his early passion in mathematics, to mechanical engineering and forensic data analysis. At each step, Jiri describes the skills he learned that have contributed to his current career in data engineering. Jiri provides a deep-dive on the role of a data engineer, and we go on to talk about how the role has changed as the industry has evolved from one-off analytics insights, to mature machine-learning products providing ongoing recommendations.

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   Listen to the podcast (duration: 28:14) >  Today we're talking to Farah Shair, a data engineer from our London office. Farah's story is fabulous inspiration for chasing your passions, and not being afraid to change direction to do so. Farah's journey from biochemisty, to theatre marketing, to data engineering demonstrates how a diverse background can generate a broad spectrum of transferrable skills. We talk about the remit of a data engineer at QuantumBlack, and discuss how her past experiences have supported her throughout her career and how everyone should be encouraged to harness both their strengths and personality at work. 

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Today we're talking to Viktoriia Oliinyk, a data scientist in our London office. We talk about Viktoriia's path to data science, and one of her recent projects at QuantumBlack.

We then do a deep-dive on the topic of fairness, and why every data scientist has a responsibility to identify and mitigate societal bias found in historical data. Viktoriia is also incredibly passionate about promoting the representation of women in data science and STEM industries, and we talk about the work she and QuantumBlack are doing to improve that representation.

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Today we're talking to Virjinia Alexieva. If you’re interested in the discipline of product management, you should listen to this episode. We talk about the importance of autonomy when building products, and the role leadership can play to make that a reality.

We do a deep-dive on the product Virjinia is building in QuantumBlack Labs, and discuss how OKRs keep our teams on track in a highly autonomous environment. Virjinia has aspirations to build her own company, and explains why the culture in QuantumBlack Labs and the support of McKinsey & Company creates a perfect testing ground for her to grow as a product manager.

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Today we're talking to Philip Pilgerstorfer. We talk about his path from econometrics to data science, the importance of correlation versus causation, and how MLOps is unlocking machine learning at scale.

Philip's belief is that "machine learning is eating the world". This might sound a little scary at first, but further reinforces why we need practitioners like Philip who can unpack this complex discipline, and shine a light on both its potential impact, as well as its limitations. Philip also gives us a deep dive on a real-world machine learning use case, and leverages this example to explain core concepts like causation and model deployment at scale.

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   Listen to the podcast (duration: 30:47) >  Today we're talking to Nikos Tsaousis. Nikos, in many ways, defined what it means to be a machine learning engineer at QuantumBlack. You'd never guess his background was in predicting bone fractures and building kareoke software - but his unconventional past has led to him delivering exceptional work across multiple industries, and building some of our most successful products internally. If you're curious about the role of a machine learning engineer - this interview is for you.

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Today we meet Thomas Essl. We talk about his experience working in start-up, agency, and big-tech environments as a designer, and the pros and cons of each.

We talk about the importance of inner sourcing, and how to scale technical assets like code as a reusable knowledge resource. Thomas also explains the importance of end-users when creating AI solutions - and how empathy for their role and needs is essential to ensuring the adoption of advanced analytics within an organization.

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Today we meet Software Engineer Merel Theisen. We talk about her unconventional path from liberal arts and sciences student to software engineering.

We talk about the importance of monitoring model performance when trying to predict house prices, and why a continual improvement mindset is important to maintain a diverse and inclusive working environment.

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Today we meet Zain Patel. We talk about the challenges associated with inner sourcing and ensuring quality code can be re-used across projects.

We talk about why experimentation and iteration are critical to building successful products - and we discuss the amplified value that can be gleaned from ensuring everyone is involved in creative problem solving - regardless of discipline.

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Today we meet Yetunde Dada, Product Manager, Engineer, and more recently, a finalist for young digital leader of the year.

We talk about her background in engineering. Her evolution into a product manager. And how her team's ultimate aim is to ensure their end-users have no reason not to use their product.

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