In this talk, Xia He-Bleinagel, Head of Data & Cloud at NOW GmbH, shares her remarkable journey from studying automotive engineering across Europe to leading modern data, cloud, and engineering teams in Germany. We dive into her transition from hands-on engineering to leadership, how she balanced family with career growth, and what it really takes to succeed in today’s cloud, data, and AI job market.

TIMECODES: 00:00 Studying Automotive Engineering Across Europe 08:15 How Andrew Ng Sparked a Machine Learning Journey 11:45 Import–Export Work as an Unexpected Career Boos t17:05 Balancing Family Life with Data Engineering Studies 20:50 From Data Engineer to Head of Data & Cloud 27:46 Building Data Teams & Tackling Tech Debt 30:56 Learning Leadership Through Coaching & Observation 34:17 Management vs. IC: Finding Your Best Fit 38:52 Boosting Developer Productivity with AI Tools 42:47 Succeeding in Germany’s Competitive Data Job Market 46:03 Fast-Track Your Cloud & Data Career 50:03 Mentorship & Supporting Working Moms in Tech 53:03 Cultural & Economic Factors Shaping Women’s Careers 57:13 Top Networking Groups for Women in Data 1:00:13 Turning Domain Expertise into a Data Career Advantage

Connect with Xia- Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/xia-he-bleinagel-51773585/ - Github - https://github.com/Data-Think-2021 - Website - https://datathinker.de/

Connect with DataTalks.Club: - Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.html - Subscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/r?cid=ZjhxaWRqbnEwamhzY3A4ODA5azFlZ2hzNjBAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ - Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-events - GitHub: https://github.com/DataTalksClub - LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/datatalks-club/ - Twitter - https://twitter.com/DataTalksClub - Website - https://datatalks.club/

In this talk, Anusha Akkina, co-founder of Auralytix, shares her journey from working as a Chartered Accountant and Auditor at Deloitte to building an AI-powered finance intelligence platform designed to augment, not replace, human decision-making. Together with host Alexey from DataTalks.Club, she explores how AI is transforming finance operations beyond spreadsheets—from tackling ERP limitations to creating real-time insights that drive strategic business outcomes.

TIMECODES: 00:00 Building trust in AI finance and introducing Auralytix 02:22 From accounting roots to auditing at Deloitte and Paraxel 08:20 Moving to Germany and pivoting into corporate finance 11:50 The data struggle in strategic finance and the need for change 13:23 How Auralytix was born: bridging AI and financial compliance 17:15 Why ERP systems fail finance teams and how spreadsheets fill the gap 24:31 The real cost of ERP rigidity and lessons from failed transformations 29:10 The hidden risks of spreadsheet dependency and knowledge loss 37:30 Experimenting with ChatGPT and coding the first AI finance prototype 43:34 Identifying finance’s biggest pain points through user research 47:24 Empowering finance teams with AI-driven, real-time decision insights 50:59 Developing an entrepreneurial mindset through strategy and learning 54:31 Essential resources and finding the right AI co-founder

Connect with Anusha - Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anusha-akkina-acma-cgma-56154547/ - Website - https://aurelytix.com/

Connect with DataTalks.Club: - Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.html - Subscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/r?cid=ZjhxaWRqbnEwamhzY3A4ODA5azFlZ2hzNjBAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ - Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-events - GitHub: https://github.com/DataTalksClub - LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/datatalks-club/ - Twitter - https://twitter.com/DataTalksClub - Website - https://datatalks.club/

In this talk, Hugo Bowne-Anderson, an independent data and AI consultant, educator, and host of the podcasts Vanishing Gradients and High Signal, shares his journey from academic research and curriculum design at DataCamp to advising teams at Netflix, Meta, and the US Air Force. Together, we explore how to build reliable, production-ready AI systems—from prompt evaluation and dataset design to embedding agents into everyday workflows.

You’ll learn about: How to structure teams and incentives for successful AI adoptionPractical prompting techniques for accurate timestamp and data generationBuilding and maintaining evaluation sets to avoid “prompt overfitting”- Cost-effective methods for LLM evaluation and monitoringTools and frameworks for debugging and observing AI behavior (Logfire, Braintrust, Phoenix Arise)The evolution of AI agents—from simple RAG systems to proactive, embedded assistantsHow to escape “proof of concept purgatory” and prioritize AI projects that drive business valueStep-by-step guidance for building reliable, evaluable AI agents This session is ideal for AI engineers, data scientists, ML product managers, and startup founders looking to move beyond experimentation into robust, scalable AI systems. Whether you’re optimizing RAG pipelines, evaluating prompts, or embedding AI into products, this talk offers actionable frameworks to guide you from concept to production.

LINKS Escaping POC Purgatory: Evaluation-Driven Development for AI Systems - https://www.oreilly.com/radar/escaping-poc-purgatory-evaluation-driven-development-for-ai-systems/Stop Building AI Agents - https://www.decodingai.com/p/stop-building-ai-agentsHow to Evaluate LLM Apps Before You Launch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=90fXJJQThSwGCaYv&v=TTr7zPLoTJI&feature=youtu.beMy Vanishing Gradients Substack - https://hugobowne.substack.com/Building LLM Applications for Data Scientists and Software Engineers https://maven.com/hugo-stefan/building-ai-apps-ds-and-swe-from-first-principles?promoCode=datatalksclub TIMECODES: 00:00 Introduction and Expertise 04:04 Transition to Freelance Consulting and Advising 08:49 Restructuring Teams and Incentivizing AI Adoption 12:22 Improving Prompting for Timestamp Generation 17:38 Evaluation Sets and Failure Analysis for Reliable Software 23:00 Evaluating Prompts: The Cost and Size of Gold Test Sets 27:38 Software Tools for Evaluation and Monitoring 33:14 Evolution of AI Tools: Proactivity and Embedded Agents 40:12 The Future of AI is Not Just Chat 44:38 Avoiding Proof of Concept Purgatory: Prioritizing RAG for Business Value 50:19 RAG vs. Agents: Complexity and Power Trade-Offs 56:21 Recommended Steps for Building Agents 59:57 Defining Memory in Multi-Turn Conversations

Connect with Hugo Twitter - https://x.com/hugobowneLinkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugo-bowne-anderson-045939a5/Github - https://github.com/hugobowneWebsite - https://hugobowne.github.io/ Connect with DataTalks.Club: Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.htmlSubscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/r?cid=ZjhxaWRqbnEwamhzY3A4ODA5azFlZ2hzNjBAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQCheck other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-eventsGitHub: https://github.com/DataTalksClub- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/datatalks-club/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/DataTalksClub - Website - https://datatalks.club/

In this talk, Sebastian, a bioinformatics researcher and software engineer, shares his inspiring journey from wet lab biotechnology to computational bioinformatics. Hosted by Data Talks Club, this session explores how data science, AI, and open-source tools are transforming modern biological research — from DNA sequencing to metagenomics and protein structure prediction.

You’ll learn about: - The difference between wet lab and dry lab workflows in biotechnology - How bioinformatics enables faster insights through data-driven modeling - The MCW2 Graph Project and its role in studying wastewater microbiomes - Using co-abundance networks and the CC Lasso algorithm to map microbial interactions - How AlphaFold revolutionized protein structure prediction - Building scientific knowledge graphs to integrate biological metadata - Open-source tools like VueGen and VueCore for automating reports and visualizations - The growing impact of AI and large language models (LLMs) in research and documentation - Key differences between R (BioConductor) and Python ecosystems for bioinformatics

This talk is ideal for data scientists, bioinformaticians, biotech researchers, and AI enthusiasts who want to understand how data science, AI, and biology intersect. Whether you work in genomics, computational biology, or scientific software, you’ll gain insights into real-world tools and workflows shaping the future of bioinformatics.

Links: - MicW2Graph: https://zenodo.org/records/12507444 - VueGen: https://github.com/Multiomics-Analytics-Group/vuegen - Awesome-Bioinformatics: https://github.com/danielecook/Awesome-Bioinformatics

TIMECODES00:00 Sebastian’s Journey into Bioinformatics06:02 From Wet Lab to Computational Biology08:23 Wet Lab vs Dry Lab Explained12:35 Bioinformatics as Data Science for Biology15:30 How DNA Sequencing Works19:29 MCW2 Graph and Wastewater Microbiomes23:10 Building Microbial Networks with CC Lasso26:54 Protein–Ligand Simulation Basics29:58 Predicting Protein Folding in 3D33:30 AlphaFold Revolution in Protein Prediction36:45 Inside the MCW2 Knowledge Graph39:54 VueGen: Automating Scientific Reports43:56 VueCore: Visualizing OMIX Data47:50 Using AI and LLMs in Bioinformatics50:25 R vs Python in Bioinformatics Tools53:17 Closing Thoughts from Ecuador Connect with Sebastian Twitter - https://twitter.com/sayalaruanoLinkedin - https://linkedin.com/in/sayalaruano Github - https://github.com/sayalaruanoWebsite - https://sayalaruano.github.io/ Connect with DataTalks.Club: Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.htmlSubscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/r?cid=ZjhxaWRqbnEwamhzY3A4ODA5azFlZ2hzNjBAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQCheck other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-eventsGitHub: https://github.com/DataTalksClubLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/datatalks-club/Twitter - https://twitter.com/DataTalksClub - Website - https://datatalks.club/

In this episode, we talked with Aishwarya Jadhav, a machine learning engineer whose career has spanned Morgan Stanley, Tesla, and now Waymo. Aishwarya shares her journey from big data in finance to applied AI in self-driving, gesture understanding, and computer vision. She discusses building an AI guide dog for the visually impaired, contributing to malaria mapping in Africa, and the challenges of deploying safe autonomous systems. We also explore the intersection of computer vision, NLP, and LLMs, and what it takes to break into the self-driving AI industry.TIMECODES00:51 Aishwarya’s career journey from finance to self-driving AI05:45 Building AI guide dog for the visually impaired12:03 Exploring LiDAR, radar, and Tesla’s camera-based approach16:24 Trust, regulation, and challenges in self-driving adoption19:39 Waymo, ride-hailing, and gesture recognition for traffic control24:18 Malaria mapping in Africa and AI for social good29:40 Deployment, safety, and testing in self-driving systems37:00 Transition from NLP to computer vision and deep learning43:37 Reinforcement learning, robotics, and self-driving constraints51:28 Testing processes, evaluations, and staged rollouts for autonomous driving52:53 Can multimodal LLMs be applied to self-driving?55:33 How to get started in self-driving AI careersConnect with Aishwarya- Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aishwaryajadhav8/Connect with DataTalks.Club:- Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.html- Subscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/r?cid=ZjhxaWRqbnEwamhzY3A4ODA5azFlZ2hzNjBAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ- Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-events- GitHub: https://github.com/DataTalksClub- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/datatalks-club/ - Twitter - https://twitter.com/DataTalksClub - Website - https://datatalks.club/

In this episode, we talked with Ranjitha Kulkarni, a machine learning engineer with a rich career spanning Microsoft, Dropbox, and now NeuBird AI. Ranjitha shares her journey into ML and NLP, her work building recommendation systems, early AI agents, and cutting-edge LLM-powered products. She offers insights into designing reliable AI systems in the new era of generative AI and agents, and how context engineering and dynamic planning shape the future of AI products.TIMECODES00:00 Career journey and early curiosity04:25 Speech recognition at Microsoft05:52 Recommendation systems and early agents at Dropbox07:44 Joining NewBird AI12:01 Defining agents and LLM orchestration16:11 Agent planning strategies18:23 Agent implementation approaches22:50 Context engineering essentials30:27 RAG evolution in agent systems37:39 RAG vs agent use cases40:30 Dynamic planning in AI assistants43:00 AI productivity tools at Dropbox46:00 Evaluating AI agents53:20 Reliable tool usage challenges58:17 Future of agents in engineering Connect with Ranjitha- Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranjitha-gurunath-kulkarniConnect with DataTalks.Club:- Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.html- Subscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/r?cid=ZjhxaWRqbnEwamhzY3A4ODA5azFlZ2hzNjBAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ- Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-events- GitHub: https://github.com/DataTalksClub- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/datatalks-club/ - Twitter - https://twitter.com/DataTalksClub - Website - https://datatalks.club/

In this episode, we talked with Abouzar Abbaspour, a data engineer whose career spans software engineering in Iran, building crowd and recommendation systems at a Dutch theme park, deploying large-scale ML models at Bol.com, and now working at Tesla. Abouzar shares how he bridged diverse industries, tackled real-world data challenges, and adapted to new roles while keeping a hands-on approach to machine learning and engineering.TIMECODES00:00 Career journey and early motivations06:17 Moving to Europe for data science12:18 Working with theme parks and crowd modeling18:29 Lessons from ride and visitor data23:06 Building recommendation systems at Efteling27:26 Joining Bol.com and the Dutch e-commerce industry32:49 Product and brand recommendation logic36:09 Experimenting with "Tinder for brands"40:26 Engagement metrics and product validation43:02 From ML engineering to data engineering roles52:04 Hands-on skills at Tesla and industry expectations57:43 Career growth, learning, and adviceConnect with AbouzarLinkedin -   / abouzar-abbaspour   Website - https://www.abouzar-abbaspour.com/ Connect with DataTalks.Club: Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.htmlSubscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/...Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-eventsGitHub: https://github.com/DataTalksClubLinkedIn -   / datatalks-club   Twitter -   / datatalksclub   Website - https://datatalks.club/

In this episode, we chat with Dashel Ruiz, whose journey spans semiconductors, machine learning, and teaching. Dashel shares how he transitioned from hardware to data science, navigated complex projects in diverse industries, and now combines technical expertise with a passion for teaching. Tune in to hear insights on building a career in data, mastering new technologies, and making an impact both in the lab and the classroom.

TIMECODES 00:00 Dashel's unique career path from music to semiconductors 06:16 The transition into data and software engineering at Microchip 11:44 Discovering machine learning to solve real problems in semiconductor manufacturing 20:40 How Dashel found and his experience with the Machine Learning Zoomcamp 29:33 The practical advantages of DataTalks.Club courses over other platforms 39:52 Overcoming challenges and the value of the learning community 48:10 Hands-on project experience: From image classification to Kaggle competitions 54:12 Staying motivated throughout the long-term course 59:55 The importance of deployment and full-stack ML skills 1:07:36 Closing thoughts on teaching and future courses

Connect with Dashel Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dashel-ruiz-perez-2b036172/ Connect with DataTalks.Club: Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.htmlSubscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/r?cid=ZjhxaWRqbnEwamhzY3A4ODA5azFlZ2hzNjBAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQCheck other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-eventsGitHub: https://github.com/DataTalksClubLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/datatalks-club/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/DataTalksClub Website - https://datatalks.club/

In this episode, we talk with Michael Lanham, an AI and software innovator with over two decades of experience spanning game development, fintech, oil and gas, and agricultural tech. Michael shares his journey from building neural network-based games and evolutionary algorithms to writing influential books on AI agents and deep learning. He offers insights into the evolving AI landscape, practical uses of AI agents, and the future of generative AI in gaming and beyond.

TIMECODES 00:00 Micheal Lanham’s career journey and AI agent books 05:45 Publishing journey: AR, Pokémon Go, sound design, and reinforcement learning 10:00 Evolution of AI: evolutionary algorithms, deep learning, and agents 13:33 Evolutionary algorithms in prompt engineering and LLMs 18:13 AI agent books second edition and practical applications 20:57 AI agent workflows: minimalism, task breakdown, and collaboration 26:25 Collaboration and orchestration among AI agents 31:24 Tools and reasoning servers for agent communication 35:17 AI agents in game development and generative AI impact 38:57 Future of generative AI in gaming and immersive content 41:42 Coding agents, new LLMs, and local deployment 45:40 AI model trends and data scientist career advice 53:36 Cognitive testing, evaluation, and monitoring in AI 58:50 Publishing details and closing remarks

Connect with Micheal Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/micheal-lanham-189693123/ Connect with DataTalks.Club: Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.htmlSubscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/...Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-eventsGitHub: https://github.com/DataTalksClubLinkedIn -   / datatalks-club   Twitter -   / datatalksclub   Website - https://datatalks.club/

In this episode, we talk with Daniel, an astrophysicist turned machine learning engineer and AI ambassador. Daniel shares his journey bridging astronomy and data science, how he leveraged live courses and public knowledge sharing to grow his skills, and his experiences working on cutting-edge radio astronomy projects and AI deployments. He also discusses practical advice for beginners in data and astronomy, and insights on career growth through community and continuous learning.TIMECODES00:00 Lunar eclipse story and Daniel’s astronomy career04:12 Electromagnetic spectrum and MEERKAT data explained10:39 Data analysis and positional cross-correlation challenges15:25 Physics behind radio star detection and observation limits16:35 Radio astronomy’s advantage and machine learning potential20:37 Radio astronomy progress and Daniel’s ML journey26:00 Python tools and experience with ZoomCamps31:26 Intel internship and exploring LLMs41:04 Sharing progress and course projects with orchestration tools44:49 Setting up Airflow 3.0 and building data pipelines47:39 AI startups, training resources, and NVIDIA courses50:20 Student access to education, NVIDIA experience, and beginner astronomy programs57:59 Skills, projects, and career advice for beginners59:19 Starting with data science or engineering1:00:07 Course sponsorship, data tools, and learning resourcesConnect with Daniel Linkedin -   / egbodaniel   Connect with DataTalks.Club: Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.htmlSubscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/...Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-eventsGitHub: https://github.com/DataTalksClubLinkedIn -   / datatalks-club   Twitter -   / datatalksclub   Website - https://datatalks.club/

In this episode, We talked with Pastor, a medical doctor who built a career in machine learning while studying medicine. Pastor shares how he balanced both fields, leveraged live courses and public sharing to grow his skills, and found opportunities through freelancing and mentoring.TIMECODES00:00 Pastor’s background and early programming journey06:05 Learning new tools and skills on the job while studying medicine11:44 Balancing medical studies with data science work and motivation13:48 Applying medical knowledge to data science and vice versa18:44 Starting freelance work on Upwork and overcoming language challenges24:03 Joining the machine learning engineering course and benefits of live cohorts27:41 Engaging with the course community and sharing progress publicly35:16 Using LinkedIn and social media for career growth and interview opportunities41:03 Building reputation, structuring learning, and leveraging course projects50:53 Volunteering and mentoring with DeepLearning.AI and Stanford Coding Place57:00 Managing time and staying productive while studying medicine and machine learningConnect with Pastor Twitter - https://x.com/PastorSotoB1Linkedin -   / pastorsoto  Github - https://github.com/sotoblancoWebsite - https://substack.com/@pastorsotoConnect with DataTalks.Club: Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.htmlSubscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/...Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-eventsGitHub: https://github.com/DataTalksClubLinkedIn -   / datatalks-club   Twitter -   / datatalksclub   Website - https://datatalks.club/

Struggling with data trust issues, dashboard drama, or constant pipeline firefighting? In this deep‑dive interview, Lior Barak shows you how to shift from a reactive “fix‑it” culture to a mindful, impact‑driven practice rooted in Zen/Wabi‑Sabi principles. You’ll learn: Why 97 % of CEOs say they use data, but only 24 % call themselves data‑driven The traffic‑light dashboard pattern (green / yellow / red) that instantly tells execs whether numbers are safe to use A practical rule for balancing maintenance, rollout, and innovation—and avoiding team burnout How to quantify ROI on data products, kill failing legacy systems, and handle ad‑hoc exec requests without derailing roadmaps Turning “imperfect” data into business value with mindful communication, root‑cause logs, and automated incident review loops

🕒 TIMECODES 00:00 Community and mindful data strategy 04:06 Career journey and product management insights 08:03 Wabi-sabi data and the trust crisis 11:47 AI, data imperfection, and trust challenges 20:05 Trust crisis examples and root cause analysis 25:06 Regaining trust through mindful data management 30:47 Traffic light system and effective communication 37:41 Communication gaps and team workload balance 39:58 Maintenance stress and embracing Zen mindset 49:29 Accepting imperfection and measuring impact 56:19 Legacy systems and managing executive requests 01:00:23 Role guidance and closing reflections

🔗 Connect with Lior LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/liorbarak Website - https://cookingdata.substack.com/ Cooking Data newsletter: https://cookingdata.substack.com/ Product product lifecycle manager: https://app--data-product-lifecycle-manager-c81b10bb.base44.app/

🔗 Connect with DataTalks.Club Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.html Subscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/r?cid=ZjhxaWRqbnEwamhzY3A4ODA5azFlZ2hzNjBAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-events GitHub: https://github.com/DataTalksClub LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/datatalks-club/ Twitter - https://x.com/DataTalksClub Website - https://datatalks.club/

🔗 Connect with Alexey Twitter - https://x.com/Al_Grigor Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/agrigorev/

In this episode, we talk with Orell about his journey from electrical engineering to freelancing in data engineering. Exploring lessons from startup life, working with messy industrial data, the realities of freelancing, and how to stay up to date with new tools.

Topics covered: Why Orel left a PhD and a simulation‑focused start‑up after Covid hitWhat he learned trying (and failing) to commercialise medical‑imaging simulationsThe first freelance project and the long, quiet months that followedHow he now finds clients, keeps projects small and delivers value quicklyTypical work he does for industrial companies: parsing messy machine logs, building simple pipelines, adding structure laterFavorite everyday tools (Python, DuckDB, a bit of C++) and the habit of blocking time for learningAdvice for anyone thinking about freelancing: cash runway, networking, and focusing on problems rather than “perfect” tech choices A practical conversation for listeners who are curious about moving from research or permanent roles into freelance data engineering.

🕒 TIMECODES 0:00 Orel’s career and move to freelancing 9:04 Startup experience and data engineering lessons 16:05 Academia vs. startups and starting freelancing 25:33 Early freelancing challenges and networking 34:22 Freelance data engineering and messy industrial data 43:27 Staying practical, learning tools, and growth 50:33 Freelancing challenges and client acquisition 58:37 Tools, problem-solving, and manual work

🔗 CONNECT WITH ORELL Twitter - https://bsky.app/profile/orgarten.bsk... LinkedIn - / ogarten
Github - https://github.com/orgarten Website - https://orellgarten.com

🔗 CONNECT WITH DataTalksClub Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.html Subscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/... Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-events GitHub: https://github.com/DataTalksClub LinkedIn - / datatalks-club
Twitter - / datatalksclub
Website - https://datatalks.club/

🔗 CONNECT WITH ALEXEY Connect with Alexey Twitter - / al_grigor
Linkedin - / agrigorev

In this podcast episode, we talked with Will Russell about From Hackathons to Developer Advocacy.

About the Speaker: Will Russell is a Developer Advocate at Kestra, known for his videos on workflow orchestration. Previously, Will built open source education programs to help up and coming developers make their first contributions in open source. With a passion for developer education, Will creates technical video content and documentation that makes technologies more approachable for developers. In this episode, we sit down with Will—developer advocate, content creator, and passionate community builder. We’ll hear about his unique path through tech, the lessons he’s learned, and his approach to making complex topics accessible and engaging. Whether you’re curious about open source, hackathons, or what it’s like to bridge the gap between developers and the broader tech community, this conversation is full of insights and inspiration.

🕒 TIMECODES 0:00 Introduction, career journeys, and video setup and workflow 10:41 From hackathons to open source: Early experiences and learning 16:04 Becoming a hackathon organizer and the value of soft skills 23:18 How to organize a hackathon, memorable projects, and creativity 33:39 Major League Hacking: Building community and scaling student programs 41:16 Mentorship, development environments, and onboarding in open source 49:14 Developer advocacy, content strategy, and video tips 57:16 Will’s current projects and future plans for content creation

🔗 CONNECT WITH DataTalksClub Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.html Subscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/r?cid=ZjhxaWRqbnEwamhzY3A4ODA5azFlZ2hzNjBAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-events LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/datatalks-club/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/DataTalksClub Website - https://datatalks.club/

🔗 CONNECT WITH WILL LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wrussell1999/ Twitter - https://x.com/wrussell1999 GitHub - https://github.com/wrussell1999 Website - https://wrussell.co.uk/

In this podcast episode, we talked with Eddy Zulkifly about From Supply Chain Management to Digital Warehousing and FinOps

About the Speaker: Eddy Zulkifly is a Staff Data Engineer at Kinaxis, building robust data platforms across Google Cloud, Azure, and AWS. With a decade of experience in data, he actively shares his expertise as a Mentor on ADPList and Teaching Assistant at Uplimit. Previously, he was a Senior Data Engineer at Home Depot, specializing in e-commerce and supply chain analytics. Currently pursuing a Master’s in Analytics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Eddy is also passionate about open-source data projects and enjoys watching/exploring the analytics behind the Fantasy Premier League.

In this episode, we dive into the world of data engineering and FinOps with Eddy Zulkifly, Staff Data Engineer at Kinaxis. Eddy shares his unconventional career journey—from optimizing physical warehouses with Excel to building digital data platforms in the cloud.

🕒 TIMECODES 0:00 Eddy’s career journey: From supply chain to data engineering 8:18 Tools & learning: Excel, Docker, and transitioning to data engineering 21:57 Physical vs. digital warehousing: Analogies and key differences 31:40 Introduction to FinOps: Cloud cost optimization and vendor negotiations 40:18 Resources for FinOps: Certifications and the FinOps Foundation 45:12 Standardizing cloud cost reporting across AWS/GCP/Azure 50:04 Eddy’s master’s degree and closing thoughts

🔗 CONNECT WITH EDDY Twitter - https://x.com/eddarief Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddyzulkifly/ Github: https://github.com/eyzyly/eyzyly ADPList: https://adplist.org/mentors/eddy-zulkifly

🔗 CONNECT WITH DataTalksClub Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.html Subscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/r?cid=ZjhxaWRqbnEwamhzY3A4ODA5azFlZ2hzNjBAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ

Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-events LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/datatalks-club/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/DataTalksClub Website - https://datatalks.club/

In this podcast episode, we talked with Bartosz Mikulski about Data Intensive AI.

About the Speaker: Bartosz is an AI and data engineer. He specializes in moving AI projects from the good-enough-for-a-demo phase to production by building a testing infrastructure and fixing the issues detected by tests. On top of that, he teaches programmers and non-programmers how to use AI. He contributed one chapter to the book 97 Things Every Data Engineer Should Know, and he was a speaker at several conferences, including Data Natives, Berlin Buzzwords, and Global AI Developer Days. 

In this episode, we discuss Bartosz’s career journey, the importance of testing in data pipelines, and how AI tools like ChatGPT and Cursor are transforming development workflows. From prompt engineering to building Chrome extensions with AI, we dive into practical use cases, tools, and insights for anyone working in data-intensive AI projects. Whether you’re a data engineer, AI enthusiast, or just curious about the future of AI in tech, this episode offers valuable takeaways and real-world experiences.

0:00 Introduction to Bartosz and his background 4:00 Bartosz’s career journey from Java development to AI engineering 9:05 The importance of testing in data engineering 11:19 How to create tests for data pipelines 13:14 Tools and approaches for testing data pipelines 17:10 Choosing Spark for data engineering projects 19:05 The connection between data engineering and AI tools 21:39 Use cases of AI in data engineering and MLOps 25:13 Prompt engineering techniques and best practices 31:45 Prompt compression and caching in AI models 33:35 Thoughts on DeepSeek and open-source AI models 35:54 Using AI for lead classification and LinkedIn automation 41:04 Building Chrome extensions with AI integration 43:51 Comparing Cursor and GitHub Copilot for coding 47:11 Using ChatGPT and Perplexity for AI-assisted tasks 52:09 Hosting static websites and using AI for development 54:27 How blogging helps attract clients and share knowledge 58:15 Using AI to assist with writing and content creation

🔗 CONNECT WITH Bartosz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikulskibartosz/ Github: https://github.com/mikulskibartosz Website: https://mikulskibartosz.name/blog/

🔗 CONNECT WITH DataTalksClub Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.html Subscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/r?cid=ZjhxaWRqbnEwamhzY3A4ODA5azFlZ2hzNjBAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-events LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/datatalks-club/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/DataTalksClub Website - https://datatalks.club/

In this podcast episode, we talked with Nemanja Radojkovic about MLOps in Corporations and Startups.

About the Speaker: Nemanja Radojkovic is Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Euroclear.

In this event,we’re diving into the world of MLOps, comparing life in startups versus big corporations. Joining us again is Nemanja, a seasoned machine learning engineer with experience spanning Fortune 500 companies and agile startups. We explore the challenges of scaling MLOps on a shoestring budget, the trade-offs between corporate stability and startup agility, and practical advice for engineers deciding between these two career paths. Whether you’re navigating legacy frameworks or experimenting with cutting-edge tools.

1:00 MLOps in corporations versus startups 6:03 The agility and pace of startups 7:54 MLOps on a shoestring budget 12:54 Cloud solutions for startups 15:06 Challenges of cloud complexity versus on-premise 19:19 Selecting tools and avoiding vendor lock-in 22:22 Choosing between a startup and a corporation 27:30 Flexibility and risks in startups 29:37 Bureaucracy and processes in corporations 33:17 The role of frameworks in corporations 34:32 Advantages of large teams in corporations 40:01 Challenges of technical debt in startups 43:12 Career advice for junior data scientists 44:10 Tools and frameworks for MLOps projects 49:00 Balancing new and old technologies in skill development 55:43 Data engineering challenges and reliability in LLMs 57:09 On-premise vs. cloud solutions in data-sensitive industries 59:29 Alternatives like Dask for distributed systems

🔗 CONNECT WITH NEMANJA LinkedIn -   / radojkovic   Github - https://github.com/baskervilski

🔗 CONNECT WITH DataTalksClub Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.html Subscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/... Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-events  LinkedIn -   / datatalks-club    Twitter -   / datatalksclub    Website - https://datatalks.club/ 

In this podcast episode, we talked with Adrian Brudaru about ​the past, present and future of data engineering.

About the speaker: Adrian Brudaru studied economics in Romania but soon got bored with how creative the industry was, and chose to go instead for the more factual side. He ended up in Berlin at the age of 25 and started a role as a business analyst. At the age of 30, he had enough of startups and decided to join a corporation, but quickly found out that it did not provide the challenge he wanted. As going back to startups was not a desirable option either, he decided to postpone his decision by taking freelance work and has never looked back since. Five years later, he co-founded a company in the data space to try new things. This company is also looking to release open source tools to help democratize data engineering.

0:00 Introduction to DataTalks.Club 1:05 Discussing trends in data engineering with Adrian 2:03 Adrian's background and journey into data engineering 5:04 Growth and updates on Adrian's company, DLT Hub 9:05 Challenges and specialization in data engineering today 13:00 Opportunities for data engineers entering the field 15:00 The "Modern Data Stack" and its evolution 17:25 Emerging trends: AI integration and Iceberg technology 27:40 DuckDB and the emergence of portable, cost-effective data stacks 32:14 The rise and impact of dbt in data engineering 34:08 Alternatives to dbt: SQLMesh and others 35:25 Workflow orchestration tools: Airflow, Dagster, Prefect, and GitHub Actions 37:20 Audience questions: Career focus in data roles and AI engineering overlaps 39:00 The role of semantics in data and AI workflows 41:11 Focusing on learning concepts over tools when entering the field 45:15 Transitioning from backend to data engineering: challenges and opportunities 47:48 Current state of the data engineering job market in Europe and beyond 49:05 Introduction to Apache Iceberg, Delta, and Hudi file formats 50:40 Suitability of these formats for batch and streaming workloads 52:29 Tools for streaming: Kafka, SQS, and related trends 58:07 Building AI agents and enabling intelligent data applications 59:09Closing discussion on the place of tools like DBT in the ecosystem

🔗 CONNECT WITH ADRIAN BRUDARU Linkedin -  / data-team   Website - https://adrian.brudaru.com/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH DataTalksClub Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.html Subscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/... Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-events LinkedIn -  /datatalks-club   Twitter -  /datatalksclub   Website - https://datatalks.club/

In this podcast episode, we talked with Andrey Cheptsov about ​The future of AI infrastructure.

About the Speaker: Andrey Cheptsov is the founder and CEO of dstack, an open-source alternative to Kubernetes and Slurm, built to simplify the orchestration of AI infrastructure. Before dstack, Andrey worked at JetBrains for over a decade helping different teams make the best developer tools. During the event, the guest, Andrey Cheptsov, founder and CEO of dstack, discussed the complexities of AI infrastructure. We explore topics like the challenges of using Kubernetes for AI workloads, the need to rethink container orchestration, and the future of hybrid and cloud-only infrastructures. Andrey also shares insights into the role of on-premise and bare-metal solutions, edge computing, and federated learning. 00:00 Andrey's Career Journey: From JetBrains to DStack 5:00 The Motivation Behind DStack 7:00 Challenges in Machine Learning Infrastructure 10:00 Transitioning from Cloud to On-Prem Solutions 14:30 Reflections on OpenAI's Evolution 17:30 Open Source vs Proprietary Models: A Balanced Perspective 21:01 Monolithic vs. Decentralized AI businesses 22:05 The role of privacy and control in AI for industries like banking and healthcare 30:00 Challenges in training large AI models: GPUs and distributed systems 37:03 DeepSpeed's efficient training approach vs. brute force methods 39:00 Challenges for small and medium businesses: hosting and fine-tuning models 47:01 Managing Kubernetes challenges for AI teams 52:00 Hybrid vs. cloud-only infrastructure 56:03 On-premise vs. bare-metal solutions 58:05 Exploring edge computing and its challenges

🔗 CONNECT WITH ANDREY CHEPTSOV Twitter -  / andrey_cheptsov   Linkedin -  / andrey-cheptsov   GitHub - https://github.com/dstackai/dstack/ Website - https://dstack.ai/

🔗 CONNECT WITH DataTalksClub Join DataTalks.Club:⁠⁠⁠https://datatalks.club/slack.html⁠⁠⁠ Our events:⁠⁠⁠https://datatalks.club/events.html⁠⁠⁠ Datalike Substack -⁠⁠⁠https://datalike.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠  / datatalks-club  ⁠

In this podcast episode, we talked with Tamara Atanasoska about ​building fair AI systems.

About the Speaker:​Tamara works on ML explainability, interpretability and fairness as Open Source Software Engineer at probable. She is a maintainer of fairlearn, contributor to scikit-learn and skops. Tamara has both computer science/ software engineering and a computational linguistics(NLP) background.During the event, the guest discussed their career journey from software engineering to open-source contributions, focusing on explainability in AI through Scikit-learn and Fairlearn. They explored fairness in AI, including challenges in credit loans, hiring, and decision-making, and emphasized the importance of tools, human judgment, and collaboration. The guest also shared their involvement with PyLadies and encouraged contributions to Fairlearn. 00:00 Introduction to the event and the community 01:51 Topic introduction: Linguistic fairness and socio-technical perspectives in AI 02:37 Guest introduction: Tamara’s background and career 03:18 Tamara’s career journey: Software engineering, music tech, and computational linguistics 09:53 Tamara’s background in language and computer science 14:52 Exploring fairness in AI and its impact on society 21:20 Fairness in AI models26:21 Automating fairness analysis in models 32:32 Balancing technical and domain expertise in decision-making 37:13 The role of humans in the loop for fairness 40:02 Joining Probable and working on open-source projects 46:20 Scopes library and its integration with Hugging Face 50:48 PyLadies and community involvement 55:41 The ethos of Scikit-learn and Fairlearn

🔗 CONNECT WITH TAMARA ATANASOSKA Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamaraatanasoska GitHub- https://github.com/TamaraAtanasoska

🔗 CONNECT WITH DataTalksClub Join DataTalks.Club:⁠⁠https://datatalks.club/slack.html⁠⁠ Our events:⁠⁠https://datatalks.club/events.html⁠⁠ Datalike Substack -⁠⁠https://datalike.substack.com/⁠⁠ LinkedIn:⁠⁠  / datatalks-club  

In this podcast episode, we talked with Isabella Bicalho about Career advice, learning, and featuring women in ML and AI.

About the Speaker:

Isabella is a Machine Learning Engineer and Data Scientist with three years of hands-on AI development experience. She draws upon her early computational research expertise to develop ML solutions. While contributing to open-source projects, she runs a newsletter dedicated to showcasing women's accomplishments in data science.

During this event, the guest discussed her transition into machine learning, her freelance work in AI, and the growing AI scene in France. She shared insights on freelancing versus full-time work, the value of open-source contributions, and developing both technical and soft skills. The conversation also covered career advice, mentorship, and her Substack series on women in data science, emphasizing leadership, motivation, and career opportunities in tech.

0:00 Introduction 1:23 Background of Isabella Bicalho 2:02 Transition to machine learning 4:03 Study and work experience 5:00 Living in France and language learning 6:03 Internship experience 8:45 Focus areas of Inria 9:37 AI development in France 10:37 Current freelance work 11:03 Freelancing in machine learning 13:31 Moving from research to freelancing 14:03 Freelance vs. full-time data science 17:00 Finding first freelance client 18:00 Involvement in open-source projects 20:17 Passion for open-source and teamwork 23:52 Starting new projects 25:03 Community project experience 26:02 Teaching and learning 29:04 Contributing to open-source projects 32:05 Open-source tools vs. projects 33:32 Importance of community-driven projects 34:03 Learning resources 36:07 Green space segmentation project 39:02 Developing technical and soft skills 40:31 Gaining insights from industry experts 41:15 Understanding data science roles 41:31 Project challenges and team dynamics 42:05 Turnover in open-source projects 43:05 Managing expectations in open-source work 44:50 Mentorship in projects 46:17 Role of AI tools in learning 47:59 Overcoming learning challenges 48:52 Discussion on substack 49:01 Interview series on women in data 50:15 Insights from women in data science 51:20 Impactful stories from substack 53:01 Leadership challenges in projects 54:19 Career advice and opportunities 56:07 Motivating others to step out of comfort zone 57:06 Contacting for substack story sharing 58:00 Closing remarks and connections

🔗 CONNECT WITH ISABELLA BICALHO Github: github https://github.com/bellabf LinkedIn:   / isabella-frazeto  

🔗 CONNECT WITH DataTalksClub Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html Datalike Substack - https://datalike.substack.com/ LinkedIn:   / datatalks-club  

In this podcast episode, we talked with Guillaume Lemaître about navigating scikit-learn and imbalanced-learn.

🔗 CONNECT WITH Guillaume Lemaître LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/guillaume-lemaitre-b9404939/ Twitter - https://x.com/glemaitre58 Github - https://github.com/glemaitre Website - https://glemaitre.github.io/

🔗 CONNECT WITH DataTalksClub Join the community - https://datatalks-club.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-2hu0sjeic-ESN7uHt~aVWc8tD3PefSlA#/shared-invite/email Subscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/r?cid=ZjhxaWRqbnEwamhzY3A4ODA5azFlZ2hzNjBAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-events LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/datatalks-club/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/DataTalksClub Website - https://datatalks.club/

🔗 CONNECT WITH ALEXEY Twitter - https://twitter.com/Al_Grigor Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/agrigorev/

🎙 ABOUT THE PODCAST At DataTalksClub, we organize live podcasts that feature a diverse range of guests from the data field. Each podcast is a free-form conversation guided by a prepared set of questions, designed to learn about the guests’ career trajectories, life experiences, and practical advice. These insightful discussions draw on the expertise of data practitioners from various backgrounds.

We stream the podcasts on YouTube, where each session is also recorded and published on our channel, complete with timestamps, a transcript, and important links.

You can access all the podcast episodes here - https://datatalks.club/podcast.html

📚Check our free online courses ML Engineering course - http://mlzoomcamp.com Data Engineering course - https://github.com/DataTalksClub/data-engineering-zoomcamp MLOps course - https://github.com/DataTalksClub/mlops-zoomcamp Analytics in Stock Markets - https://github.com/DataTalksClub/stock-markets-analytics-zoomcamp LLM course - https://github.com/DataTalksClub/llm-zoomcamp Read about all our courses in one place - https://datatalks.club/blog/guide-to-free-online-courses-at-datatalks-club.html

👋🏼 GET IN TOUCH If you want to support our community, use this link - https://github.com/sponsors/alexeygrigorev

If you're a company and want to support us, contact at [email protected]

Links:

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/frontline100/ Ba Linh Le's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ba-linh-le-/ Sabrina's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabina-firtala/ Twitter: https://x.com/frontline_100?mx=2 Website: https://www.frontline100.com/

Free LLM course: https://github.com/DataTalksClub/llm-zoomcamp

Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html

We stream the podcasts on YouTube, where each session is also recorded and published on our channel, complete with timestamps, a transcript, and important links.

You can access all the podcast episodes here - https://datatalks.club/podcast.html

📚Check our free online courses ML Engineering course - http://mlzoomcamp.com Data Engineering course - https://github.com/DataTalksClub/data-engineering-zoomcamp MLOps course - https://github.com/DataTalksClub/mlops-zoomcamp Analytics in Stock Markets - https://github.com/DataTalksClub/stock-markets-analytics-zoomcamp LLM course - https://github.com/DataTalksClub/llm-zoomcamp Read about all our courses in one place - https://datatalks.club/blog/guide-to-free-online-courses-at-datatalks-club.html

👋🏼 GET IN TOUCH If you want to support our community, use this link - https://github.com/sponsors/alexeygrigorev

If you’re a company, support us at [email protected]

We talked about:

Erum's Background Omdena Academy and Erum’s Role There Omdena’s Community and Projects Course Development and Structure at Omdena Academy Student and Instructor Engagement Engagement and Motivation The Role of Teaching in Community Building The Importance of Communities for Career Building Advice for Aspiring Instructors and Freelancers DS and ML Talent Market Saturation Resources for Learning AI and Community Building Erum’s Resource Recommendations

Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erum-afzal-64827b24/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Erum55449739

Free Data Engineering course: https://github.com/DataTalksClub/data-engineering-zoomcamp

Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html