Supporting product teams with data insights as a Data Scientist
Time for talent with Ivan Aguilar
Today we’re inviting into the spotlight Ivan Aguilar – a key part of our Data Science & Analytics Team! Read more about his story below & don’t miss out on his advice for those aspiring to work in data science or analytics 🙌
Tactile: Hi Ivan, could you tell us a bit about what you do at Tactile?
Ivan: I work as a Data Scientist for the games team. My job mainly consists of supporting Product Managers and Level Designers with data insights, helping them to create and monitor experiments, interpret results, find signals to support/reject player behaviour hypothesis, and a bit of everything data related.
Tactile: What was your journey to becoming a Data Scientist?
Ivan: I studied computer science and had the luck of immediately getting involved with data analysis jobs early on in my career. Afterwards, I did a lot of data analytics consulting, which allowed me to try a lot of different industries and work cultures. More recently, I completed a master’s degree in data science which complemented well my previous experiences.
Tactile: What do you like the most about the team you’re working with?
Ivan: They are all very friendly and cooperative, but also open and honest when there are differing opinions. The team is diverse which makes it possible to have a well rounded view on any topic we work with.
Tactile: What is the most motivating part of your job?
Ivan: The most motivating for me is learning the logic behind things and then understanding how data can help you modify, predict or explain those things. It is like constantly solving puzzles. Having those “aha” moments when solving the data puzzle is very enjoyable. At times, even if you don’t get to a definitive solution or answer, the journey is an enriching experience.
Tactile: For people who would like to start their career, what do you think are the most important qualities that every data person should have?
Ivan: There are some basic things that are quite useful, such as a background that can provide exposure to programming and math concepts. On the more subjective side, I think is good to have a certain degree of discipline when approaching problem-solving, a constant self-assessment of your work to keep facts checked and an open mind to learn new things.
Tactile: When you’re not at work, you are …
Ivan: Taking photographs with my analog cameras, playing some version of Zelda and listening to music obsessively.
