“We are looking for people who are eager to learn continuously with a stack that evolves regularly and who have a strong team spirit, willing to help others to progress”
Can you tell me more about your Background?
I have always had a singular interest in the world of finance but it was only after studying financial mathematics for a few years that I got introduced to the wonders of Data Science. AlphaGo defeating the best Go player in the world, autonomous cars beginning to drive themselves, it was a truly inspiring time which got me interested in these topics and their applications to business. A summer school in an English university dealing with analytics and data science later convinced me to finally switch from finance to data science.
I spent a year as a Data Analyst intern at WarnerMedia where my missions were focused on analyzing media performances which left me feeling hungry for more. Wishing to expand my skills and knowledge in Data, I decided to study machine learning algorithms and the programming aspects around big data more specifically. I thus enrolled in an engineering school where after an internship at Solocal, my training as a Data Scientist was complete. This path eventually led me to Mytraffic, which gave me the opportunity to thrive in my first position as a Data Scientist.
Why did you decide to join Mytraffic?
I first heard about MyTraffic and its SaaS platform from a friend of mine who was doing his end-of-studies internship there and who held it in very high regard. I immediately realized that this product could be a game changer for physical businesses. It was only later that I found out there was an open position in the company when the CTO contacted me on Talent.io’s platform. Having mainly past experiences in large organizations, I wanted to move to a smaller and growing company with a fast-paced environment. Promising companies such as MyTraffic were naturally more appealing to me and it is without a shred of a doubt that I decided to join them.
The ever-changing technical and organizational environment offered me the challenge I was looking for. Furthermore, the impressive annual growth of the company, the absence of major competitors in Europe coupled with the ambition to become THE european leader in flow analysis confirmed that I had made the right decision.
Can you describe us, with simple words, your role as a Data Scientist at Mytraffic?
My role as a Data Scientist at MyTraffic is to produce new analyses and to perfect existing ones. I essentially work on designing algorithms in order to model and estimate key figures such as the vehicle or pedestrian flow, the dwelling time, etc. It is achieved by turning the numerous available data sources, such as the raw geolocation data, into aggregated and anonymous statistics. A significant part of my time is dedicated to digging into specific topics or studying new ones as Mytraffic knows Data Scientists as being constantly up to date to produce qualitative content. In addition, as a member of the tech team, I actively take part in the recruitment of new Data Scientists as the team is constantly growing.
What are the main challenges for the Mytraffic tech team today?
The multiplicity of data sources is currently the major challenge we have to face. Several millions events are received everyday from numerous providers: we are actually dealing with BIG DATA. Moreover, we are treating mostly unlabeled data which can be a little unsettling at first, as Data Scientists are usually more versed in supervised learning. Working in the MyTraffic tech team means you need to be able to think out of the box, investigate the data exhaustively, read research papers and implement rich and complex models in order to address this challenge.
What makes you happy in your Data Scientist Position at Mytraffic since almost 2 years?
This position being my first professional experience, I have a rather singular bond with it. For 2 years, I have been able to acquire a vast knowledge of the data science field and to quickly improve my skills by working on various topics. Mytraffic being a small entity, I find a lot of satisfaction in witnessing the direct impact of my work on the customers, giving a real meaning to my job. Plus, the technical subjects, sometimes very challenging, allow me to keep learning. Continuously developing my skills as a Data Scientist happens to be one of my motivational levers, one that is shared by a number of colleagues. Being part of a team composed of various profiles, I also have the opportunity to work in a very collaborative environment, in close contact with the product managers as well as other data scientists or engineers.
Can you tell me more about your development since you joined Mytraffic ?
Joining Mytraffic, I had the opportunity to largely develop my technical skills within the team. Especially in Python programming and PySpark! The peer review processes in place within the team helped a lot there, since comments on the code are a very good way to learn and improve. In addition, Data Scientists work closely with Data Engineers in the industrialisation phase or even implement the designed algorithm in certain cases when the opportunity arises. Also, I feel that I have improved on more human aspects in terms of personal development and hope that I will continue to do so. This is mainly thanks to the feedback culture established in the company.
Can you share your biggest success at Mytraffic?
One of the greatest successes of my team, relates to the complex problem of estimating the vehicle flows eagerly expected by our customers to choose their new locations. In this project we succeeded in using raw geolocation data to design a sophisticated and cutting-edge algorithm after several months of research and iterations including path reconstruction in order to obtain conclusive results.
What qualities does a Data Scientist need to have at Mytraffic to be successful?
A key quality we expect from a Data Scientist is his/her ability to be proactive and to be a force for bringing forward proposals, since he/she will work autonomously on his/her topics. He/she must be able to develop his business appetency in order to put himself/herself in the customer’s shoes and be rigorous to pay attention to details. Finally, we are looking for people who are eager to learn continuously with a stack that evolves regularly and who have a strong team spirit, willing to help others to progress.
What makes the Data Scientist position special at Mytraffic?
Data Scientists at Mytraffic put a strong emphasis on the interpretability of the models they produce. The company has a fervent customer-centric approach to the market and thus requires all analyses to be transparent and intelligible by everyone. Not relying on blackbox algorithms allows our approach to be challenged and improves customer trust in our product. Data scientists are therefore fully incorporated in the customer satisfaction process.
On a more technical note, we have the privilege of working with very cutting edge tools and technical stack. We work in an environment that enables us to quickly develop our software skills while processing large amounts of data.
How would you sum-up your Mytraffic experience in one sentence?
It is above all very enriching subjects and brainstorming, which allows me to grow and become a crucial asset for the company. The entrepreneurial culture of mytraffic attracts unique talents that combine to achieve great things, such as the polygon flow algorithm that was the result of such a meeting of talents and gave birth to a state-of-the-art product.
Among the 6 Mytraffic values, which one speaks to you the most and why?
Of the 6 values, working as a team with EMPATHY is the one that resonates most with me. We work very regularly in collaborative mode, we are available to give feedback, challenge proposed approaches and brainstorm together, do peer code reviews as well as peer-programming and this to increase the overall productivity of the team.
If you could speak to future Mytraffic candidates, what would you say?
MyTraffic is an ideal collaborative environment that aims for excellence on technical aspects and is a great opportunity to evolve and learn in a fast-paced context. If you also play chess or ping pong, you will thrive in our offices !
