What does a data engineer actually do?

Digitization is changing our working world. This creates new professions and job descriptions. But what is behind the designations? We want to make that tangible in “And what are you doing?” Today: Felix Steinle, data engineer at the consulting firm Publicis Sapient.

BASIC thinking: Hello Felix, you work as a data engineer Publicis sapient. Describe to us in four sentences how you explain your job to new friends.

As a consulting company for digital business transformation, Publicis Sapient opens up new value creation and growth potential for its clients by optimizing existing digital platforms, services and products or developing them from scratch.

In my current project for a renowned international airline, I am working as a data engineer, even though my background is in the areas of data science and machine learning operations.

As a data engineer, you are the first instance where structured and unstructured raw data from software, a system or a company converge.

My job is to check this data, prepare it and convert it into relevant information so that it can then be used by data scientists or business analysts.

Everyday work as a data engineer

What does a normal day look like in your job?

As a data engineer, you usually work in agile project structures. My working day usually starts around 8:30 a.m. with the daily standup meeting. As part of this, we as a team discuss the upcoming tasks of the current project phase, the so-called “sprint”, and coordinate our tasks.

I then work through my tasks within the framework of defined “user stories”. This includes various coordination appointments with project participants on the customer side and internally. I spend a large part of my working time programming. A game of table tennis on our table in the office always helps me to clear my head in between.

And what do you start the day with?

The best way for me to start the day is with a good cup of coffee, whether in the home office or in the office. We also have breakfast together at regular intervals in our Munich office, and I’m happy to be a part of it. Before the daily standup meeting, I structure my tasks and plan what I want to achieve on the day.

The tasks of a data engineer

What tasks are in your area?

My role at Publicis Sapient is anchored in the Data & Artificial Intelligence team. We are an interdisciplinary team of experts who cover a wide range of topics such as data strategy, data engineering, data science or machine learning operations. I have acquired my knowledge in the field of data engineering through continuous training and hands-on experience from past projects. My area of ​​responsibility varies depending on the project.

In my current project, we are developing software together with our customer that improves operational processes through the use of numerical optimization methods. As part of this, I am responsible for the generation of data pipelines and so-called ETL processes, ie the extraction, transformation and loading of data.

In detail, this includes preparing data that reaches a system in various ways and in different formats and making it available via a platform in a target system. Other important aspects of my job are the continuous monitoring of the implemented processes as well as data protection and data security.

My job requires a strong technical understanding. One often works in cloud environments such as Microsoft Azure or the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) with the help of programming languages ​​such as Python or SQL. In addition, knowledge in the development of microservices, common database technologies and ETL tools are very relevant. In the GCP context, this means, for example, using the data processing service Dataflow or Cloud Composer to automate workflows.

But experience in dealing with data warehouse solutions such as BigQuery and components for implementing scalable container applications such as Cloud Run is also of great importance. In addition to the technical aspect, the communicative dimension is also of great importance. Frequent coordination appointments or feedback meetings require distinctive skills in order to optimally understand and implement the customer’s goals.

Integration into the corporate structure

How is your position integrated into the company structure? Say: Who do you report to and with whom do you work?

At Publicis Sapient we help companies to be digital leaders by combining our SPEED skills – Strategy, Product, Experience, Engineering and Data. As a consultant at eye level, a good relationship with our customers is of central importance.

Therefore, customer contacts play a decisive role for me. It is important to me to collect and give feedback regularly to continuously ensure that expectations are met. I work most closely with the core project team on a daily basis and report to the project management on the customer side.

At the same time, I report to the management team at Publicis Sapient. As a data team, we work closely and intensively together internally. This sometimes takes the form of personal offsite meetings and various virtual formats in which we exchange our project experiences and discuss best practices.

I really appreciate that Publicis Sapient lives a system of flat hierarchies. The company has established a structure that assigns a people manager to each employee. In this constellation, we work out goals together that I want to achieve in my job. We evaluate at regular intervals how I am developing in relation to my defined goals. This is to ensure that every employee can develop their full potential.

Fun and gratitude at work

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I am particularly impressed by the diversity of the work. I am challenged to find solutions to highly complex problems on a daily basis and to continuously deal with new technologies. My job is an ongoing learning curve. I also get exciting insights into many different industries and get to know a wide variety of companies.

What are you particularly grateful for?

It is often said that data is the new oil. But it takes data engineers and data scientists to make them usable. I am grateful to be part of this progressive field that has a significant impact on the future of our society.

We help organizations to raise their data treasure and make it usable. We improve business processes, customer experiences and business models. Everyone benefits from this.

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