The 5 Hats đź‘’ A Data Scientist Wears At Shopify
The words “Data Scientist” and “Data Science” have become buzzwords over the past few years. From almost all companies jumping on board the big data train, to the rising popularity of data science programs and bootcamps, it seems that data scientists have taken over the “Cool Kids Table” at lunch. Here’s what Data Science looks like at Shopify.
First things first. What do data scientists do?
At Shopify, the Data Science and Engineering (DSE) team is often described as the brain 🧠of the organization. The DSE team helps make sense of Shopify’s massive datasets in order to ensure that our merchants, partners and Shopify make great decisions quickly. Making data-informed decisions is important to ensure the success of our merchants and their growth.
A unique thing about data science at Shopify is that each data scientist owns the entire stack of the data science process, from requirements gathering all the way to delivery. The work can vary from strategic discussions with stakeholders, writing high-quality data pipelines, providing insightful analysis of datasets and building ML models if required.
An amazing thing about the Shopify Internship program is that interns are given the same work as full-time employees. This meant that during my internship, I was able to participate in strategic discussions with stakeholders, build data pipelines, provide insightful analysis of data and create impactful dashboards that helped drive business decisions. 🚀
To be successful at Shopify, a data scientist has to fill many roles or “wear many hats”. Here are some of the hats that a data scientist wears:
đź‘’ Data Engineer
Data scientists at Shopify spend much of their time modeling data using Kimball-Ross Dimension Modeling techniques. This involves thinking about business needs and creating a data model using dimension and fact tables to efficiently answer business problems. They spend a lot of time building robust ETL pipelines . This is unique to Shopify, since in many other companies, data modelling and ETL pipeline building is handled exclusively by data engineers.
đź‘’ Business Intelligence Expert
Shopify Data Scientists spend time partnering with business stakeholders to answer key business questions and inform decisions that will have a high-impact on the company. Stakeholders ask for reports to help them understand business performance and help guide their decision making. Data from our data warehouse is queried and visually presented on dashboards. An example of a request could be a dashboard showing the performance of different marketing campaigns.
đź‘’ Strategic Partner
Data scientists also talk to stakeholders, gather requirements, write technical design documents and manage stakeholder expectations. They also think about KPIs so that they can understand if the business is going in the right direction.If things are going well, a data scientist can help stakeholders understand why. On the other hand, if things need improvement, a data scientist can help identify areas of opportunity
đź‘’ Storyteller
One of the coolest things about being a data scientist is storytelling. Making sense out of data and drawing it back to solve business problems is a data scientist’s bread and butter. This can be done using data visualization on dashboards, writing insightful posts and reports, or simply through emails or presentations. Because they often work with non-technical stakeholders, it is very important for a data scientist to have strong communication skills.
đź‘’ Domain Expert
Context is (almost) everything at Shopify. Analyzing data can only get you so far without understanding the domain you are working in. Some examples of domains are marketing, shipping, and sales. At Shopify, every Shopifolk is engaged and committed to the motto of Making Commerce Better for Everyone. Although Shopify has multiple data science teams, each data scientist is always improving their domain knowledge. Sharing insights and knowledge is highly recommended, and can be done via “Show and Tells”, pair programming or other team rituals.
Data Scientists at Shopify are constantly juggling different roles and making decisions quickly. They say that a year at Shopify is like 10 years anywhere else and this is exactly what I experienced. Over the last 4 months, I have grown and learnt so much. If this seems like something you would like to be a part of, do apply to our internship program. Shopify is hiring 2021 engineers in 2021. Come and join us in Making Commerce Better For Everyone! 🚀
Follow me on https://ca.linkedin.com/in/nidhikantak
