A Day in the Life of a Pendulum Data Engineer

What it means to be an engineer varies greatly depending on where you choose to work. At Pendulum, we pride ourselves on putting data into action for the global good. Today, our technical teams span mission-critical deployments in national security, health, and commerce. 

In this first instalment of our Life at Pendulum series, Jean Githae, a Data Engineer at Pendulum, shares her experience in the role. Jean works on our Predict\People pod – where she collaborates with product managers, machine learning engineers, and other teams to provide healthcare-focused solutions to commercial and government clients. 

What does a Data Engineer do at Pendulum? 

I’m essentially the first port of call for anything data-related. I initially started at Pendulum as a data analyst – where my scope of work was mainly explorative, alongside building and maintaining data pipelines for our live deployments. Over time, we’ve scaled as a business, and our requirements have grown substantially – and now that has evolved into much more of an engineering role.  

Today, I think of myself as a ‘data evangelist’. Whenever we start a new deployment, I’ll look at the data landscape; I’ll investigate what data types we have available to us, and sit down with clients and partners to discuss everything relating to their systems, cataloging, and documentation. At Pendulum, each product pod will have an engineer devoted to it. 

We then find the most efficient way of securely ingesting those sources and set up the foundation for our machine-learning teams to begin their exploratory work and start building models. 

What is the technical culture like there? 

We’re constantly looking forward. We’ve never been tied down by rigid ways of working – and the team is always willing to embrace new tools and technologies. Pendulum is not a place you’ll hear: “That’s the  way we’ve always done things.” We’re constantly looking for the next best solution for the work we do – which you don’t always see at other organizations. 

Pendulum is not a place you’ll hear: “That’s the way we’ve always done things.”

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Personally, I’m forever impressed by how intelligent the people here are. You have conversations with colleagues that really do blow you away. There’s a culture where everyone is encouraged to share their ideas – and as much as we’re a remote-first company, you never struggle to find your voice or to be heard in the room. 

Is Pendulum a company where you feel like you are making a difference?

What I love about working here is our product teams have never sat in a silo – because our core products are ML-centered, everyone is involved at that enterprise decision-making level. 

I think our recent product market fit (PMF) trials are a really good example of that. Everyone has played a part in shaping them. We involve our technical teams at every stage in the process, and that has been so important when it comes to the organizational direction we take. 

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We also interact and iterate directly with customer tech teams, which makes a huge difference in how we work and in our ability to see the value and outcome of what you’re working on. 

How far do you see the impact of your work? 

Working on our Predict\People pod that goes without saying. What we build and develop there directly impacts caregivers and patients in communities across the world – and there’s something incredibly rewarding about being a part of that. 

“What we build and develop there directly impacts caregivers and patients in communities across the world.”

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It aligns very closely with my personal beliefs in using tech for societal good – it's part of why I joined Pendulum. I saw AI and machine learning starting to emerge from academic environments, and I really believed they could solve the same problems I encountered every day. 

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What does your day as a Data Engineer look like? 

10:00 AM 

‍I’m based in Nairobi, Kenya, which is usually several hours ahead of the East Coast. That means I prefer to start the day a little later so I can connect with US and European colleagues in the afternoon. It’s Tuesday, so I go into our office just outside the city center – as that’s when most people come in. I like to take the extra time in the morning to read or catch up on some admin. 

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10:30 AM

I start the day by checking in on our ongoing pipelines, as they often run overnight. I touch base on these with a few colleagues before starting my code reviews. The morning here is usually relatively quiet, so it provides a good chance to really dig into them. This is also when I address any feedback on my pull requests. I find the code review cycle is one of the most enjoyable parts of my job; as they are always a good learning experience and really get you thinking.

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11:15 AM

Once I’m done with code reviews, I usually begin my main task of the day. Today, I’m writing new code. In our current pod sprint, we’re working on building out our internal dashboard, so I’m writing out the code and tests for that. This was an action item that came out of our company-wide Dev Week around a month back – where we agreed it would improve our ways of working across our different pods. 

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1:45 PM

I head out for lunch with William, another engineer based in Nairobi. Our co-working space has a cafe on the top floor, so we go upstairs and eat there. Nairobi has pretty great weather all year round, so the rooftop spot is the perfect space to get away from the screen.

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3:00 PM

At this point, our colleagues in the US typically come online, so our afternoons are usually more geared towards meetings and catching up with them. First, I have our weekly Sprint meeting with the rest of the Predict\People pod, where we decide on upcoming priorities and assign tasks for the next fortnight. After that, I also touch base with my manager for our weekly one-on-one. 

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5:30 PM 

After getting a few more ideas during our team sprint, I spend a little more time iterating on the internal dashboard I’ve been working on – before heading home for the evening once the rush-hour traffic has eased off. 

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While every day as an engineer can look very different, Jean’s perspective shows the variety, flexibility, and agility a career at Pendulum can offer.

Visit our careers page to learn more about our engineering culture or to apply for a role. 

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