Check out this Q&A with one of Bitsight’s data scientists to learn about what she does as a part of our data science team, her experience, and more.
Name: Jessica Louie
Job Title: Data Scientist
Location: Cambridge
What do you do at Bitsight? I work on exploratory projects that help Bitsight build new product features, gain insight into the data that drives our market, and scale operational processes.
How long have you worked at Bitsight?
10 months
What is your background?
I studied electrical and mechanical engineering as an undergraduate, and computational biology in graduate school. I did research on Turing patterns over networks of animal cells and studied complex network phenomena from theoretical physics like six-degrees-of-separation and early-bird-gets-the-worm. When I learned about Bitsight from a recruiter, I was really fascinated by our Discover product, which aggregates security risk by operating over networks of service providers.
What challenges you the most at Bitsight?
Working in a startup is very fast-paced. It is both rewarding and challenging to see results in 1-2 week timeframes.
What is the most important thing you've learned at Bitsight?
Because Bitsight is growing quickly, we have many new ideas, projects, and team members. The most important thing I have learned at Bitsight is to adapt quickly and how to empower other people to be productive.
What advice do you have for someone first getting into this field?
Start with a solid foundation in math, analytical and critical thinking, and scripting. Be curious and ask lots of questions of the data because there isn’t always a playbook for exactly what to do.
What are some other companies you admire from a data science perspective and why?
I admire the multiple Allen Institutes because they can focus on broader impacts.
Who is your biggest inspiration and why?
Rita Levi-Montalcini: As the longest-lived Nobel laureate, she made her prize-winning discoveries at home after being let go from her employment for religious reasons during World War II. Her persistence despite the absence of recognition and in the face of persecution is admirable. I also think it’s pretty cool that she used her backyard chickens for her experiments 🐣.
If you weren’t a data scientist, what would you like to be?
I think it would be fun to be a marine biologist because there are so many unknowns in the ocean; it’s like the vast unknowns of space except here on Earth.
What is the last place you traveled and what did you do there?
I most recently traveled to Cuba and learned about their culture. Next, I will travel to Nepal to help a grassroots hospital implement an electronic medical record system.
Want to join the Bitsight team?
Learn about data science careers and browse open job opportunities at Bitsight.