A day in the life of a junior data engineer at Neurotechnology

Are you curious to know what the working life of a data engineer is really like?

If you are then you've come to the right place. That's because today we're continuing our "day in the life" articles series with a look at the typical responsibilities and work of a Junior Data Engineer at Neurotechnology.

Neurotechnology has been operating for three decades in the dynamic and rapidly changing field of neural networks. The company provides algorithms and software development products for a huge range of services related to biometrics and computer vision. Its products include:

• AI-based image recognition,
• Biometric fingerprint, face, iris and palm print recognition,
• and AI-based stock ranking.
  

The company also boasts an engineering division that has developed an autonomous robot navigation kit, amongst other robotics projects. It is also currently working on developing brain-computer interface solutions.

As a Turing College hiring partner, Neurotechnology is actively involved in developing our curriculum and recruiting our successful graduates. So, we caught up with Mantas Kundrotas, R&D at Neurotechnology to discover more about the work of data engineers in their company, and what it takes to get hired by them.

The day to day work of a Junior Data Engineer at Neurotechnology

Imagine you have just started as a Junior Data Engineer at Neurotechnology. What has your working day got in store for you?

Well, as Mantas explains, there is going to be a lot of learning and professional development. "Typically, our Junior Data Engineers are not responsible for the complete task - they don't have to resolve an entire issue within a limited period of time," says Mantas.

"They might spend some of their time programming code together with their colleagues. And then they will spend maybe half of their day studying. This could include reading literature related to a task they're working on, doing online courses, or analysing our internal products and technologies."

"Their remaining time will be spent implementing the ideas they have discovered, collecting and analysing data, and training neural networks."

The core competencies a data engineer at Neurotechnology needs

Junior Data Engineers at Neurotechnology need to be critical thinkers, because they spend a lot of their time problem solving.

"Our Junior Data Engineers are responsible for solving a range of problems," explains Mantas Kundrotas. "These could be partly solved tasks related to object classification, detection or segmentation. These often require new solutions for specific product applications or some kind of improvement."

And Mantas has a clear vision of how this problem solving should be done: "Our Junior Data Engineers need to have an analytical approach. They should avoid trying "blind" solutions where they have thought deeply about the problem, and they should always be aiming to achieve the best result possible."

And what other skills do data engineers at Neurotechnology need? "They should be able to present ideas clearly, and discuss them with their teammates and colleagues - so communication skills are important," explains Mantas. "They should also have a strong work ethic, as they will need to be able to plan their work and keep on top of it."

In terms of technical skills, knowledge of programming and deep learning frameworks are a must, says Mantas. "They should have a good knowledge of a programming language, preferably Python. They also need knowledge of one or more deep learning frameworks, such as Tensorflow and Pytorch. And they need extensive knowledge of algorithms and data structures, machine learning, and data warehousing," explains Mantas Kundrotas.

That's quite the skill set. But if you want to work in cutting edge neural networks products, that's what it takes.

Great conditions for new data engineers at Neurotechnology

At Neurotechnology, the ability to work on groundbreaking projects, and to learn from seasoned data scientists who have been there and done it, is definitely a big plus according to Mantas Kundrotas. "You get to work in a company with an international scope that has been one of the major players in the biometrics market for more than 30 years."

And the benefits don't stop there. "Our employees get to work with talented people from all over the world in a friendly and supportive environment. We offer flexible working hours too, and there are attractive performance bonuses available as well."

How to get hired for a data engineer position at Neurotechnology

Working as a Junior Data Engineer at Neurotechnology definitely sounds attractive. So, how do you land a job there?

"Candidates need to show an interest in - or even a passion for - machine learning," says Mantas. "They should also show that they can think through a problem and solve it analytically, and be able to explain their decisions and thought-process so others can understand."

He also has some more practical tips for the job application process. "Of course, candidates should answer all of the technical questions we give them. We also expect them to present at least one of their machine learning projects. They will need to describe in a lot of detail what kind of issues appeared and how they solved them. Plus, they will need to be ready to answer the interviewers' questions on those projects," explains Mantas.

One great way to ensure you have the perfect machine learning project to showcase in your interview is by studying at Turing College. As learners progress through our remote, self-paced platform, they complete projects and build a portfolio. All of these projects are based on the real tasks data scientists complete.

Best of all, Hiring Partners like Neurotechnology play an active role in creating these projects, and the curriculum they are based on. So you know that what you are working on is 100% relevant.

So, if you like the sound of working as a Junior Data Engineer at Neurotechnology, why not think about applying to Turing College? It could be the start of an amazing career.