Data Science Hiring and Interview Process at Kyndryl
American multinational IT infrastructure services provider Kyndryl was created as a spin-off of IBM’s infrastructure services business. Kyndryl outsources the management of enterprises’ IT infrastructure – IBM or otherwise. Kyndryl provides data modernization, data engineering and data science expertise. In July, 2022, IBM and Kyndryl signed a 10-year contract with Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) to create the ‘Airport in a Box’ platform that is expected to transform the end-to-end travel experience for passengers at the Bengaluru airport. In February last year, Kyndryl collaborated with one of the leading Brazilian pharmacy chains, RaiaDrogasil, to enhance IT efficiency across more than 2,500 drugstores by implementing ServiceNow technology. Many of these projects also leverage AI and analytics solutions to manage workloads seamlessly. Throwing light on multiple use cases across industries, Naveen Kamat, executive director and CTO of data and AI services at Kyndryl, said that the company aims to simplify clients’ struggles with acquiring the right data foundation. “We provide services around data modernization, helping clients get to that right, scalable, robust data foundation because many clients struggle with data silos and legacy data platforms,” he added, saying that companies need to have data access. They need to be able to discover what data sources exist within the enterprise. He said that many AI use cases now require real-or near-real-time data. That requires a different architecture. Besides this, Kyndrl offers data engineering and integration alongside advanced analytics and AI solutions. On expansion mode Kyndryl said that it promotes diverse and equity-inclusive hiring. Currently, the company is in expansion mode and open to hiring candidates across all levels. It is on the lookout for talent in deep data engineering and ML operations from among those who have worked on projects across various domains and levels. It is also looking for people for complex projects like the BFSI domain who can do credit risk scoring, fraud detection, and detecting financial crime or money laundering, among others. Additionally, the company is looking for senior members, like principal data scientists, who can lead teams and provide thought leadership in emerging areas. “For example, if you take sustainability, it is a new area which is becoming relevant for enterprises globally. It represents a whole different set of possibilities regarding use cases and sustainability goals. So, (we are) looking at various levels where we can have thought leadership,” Kamat said. He also said that the pandemic has proved that we can work with talents across different locations. The firm is happy to bring together the best of every field, especially in a hybrid situation. Interview process Anyone interviewing for Kyndryl should have a deep conceptual understanding of the various machine learning and deep learning topics like Python PySpark and hands-on experience working on such projects. Depending on the requirement, Kyndryl uses different vendor solutions like the MongoDB. There is a growing need for full-stack developers. Kyndryl uses case studies to check the candidate’s problem-solving capabilities during the interview process and see how they tackle challenges pertaining to issues like data imbalance, insufficiency, lack of adequate signal in the data and so on. For hiring at senior levels, it checks for thought leadership and the ability to provide guidance, their ability to engage with senior clients and also how they would lead a new technology domain. Dos and Don’ts Be honest and transparent about your skills and past experiences. Don’t pretend to be something you are not. “I would advise candidates to be themselves in terms of what they have done and achieved, because there are opportunities at all levels and it is important to find the right person for the right role. It also becomes easier for the interviewer to have a meaningful conversation when there is honesty and transparency on both sides,” said Kamath. Expectations Candidates for the data science team should be capable of pushing themselves beyond their comfort zones when necessary. They may have worked in a certain field or domain of data science, but with Kyndryl, the use cases and requirements may be very different across multiple areas. There are both learning and unlearning phases in the process. Candidates should be prepared to capitalise on new opportunities, take bigger risks, adopt a fail-fast strategy, and deliver breakthrough results. So, the trajectory for growth is huge. Kamat also said that most of the work and projects revolve around cloud and hyper scaler platforms like AWS, Microsoft Azure and GCP. “So, there is a lot of focus around supporting certifications, providing training around data, analytics, and AI,” he said. Kamat added that they recently partnered with Cloudera, Teradata and other players in the space to upskill employees on the latest technologies. Further, he said, in the AI and analytics space as well, they provide training from deep machine learning algorithms, including predictive algorithms, and recommendation engines, alongside forecasting, visual analytics, image analytics, audio analytics, and graph technologies, etc. Work culture & opportunity for innovation Kyndryl says that it focuses on innovation, which is implemented in a client-centric fashion. Working on solving big, real-world problems that need a lot of technical skill and prestigious clientele on a worldwide scale presents a huge opportunity for creativity and leadership. “We are also looking at contributing to this whole notion of a purpose economy, where the work is for the larger social good – something that’s critical to be an employer of choice,” said the CTO. The motto of Kyndryl is to be “restless to create impact, empathetic towards colleagues and partners and devoted to client success”. It strives to deliver more than what it is committed for social good and innovation. “We’ve come up from IBM, but think like a startup. We have the enterprise legacy of years of knowledge and a US$ 19B scale. So, it’s the best of both worlds that can make innovations come true,” said Rony Thomas, the communication head at Kyndryl. Click here to apply at Kyndryl.
Kyndryl is expanding its data science team on all levels
Kyndryl is expanding its data science team on all levels
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["AI", "machine learning", "ML", "deep learning", "data science", "analytics", "Aim", "RAG", "fraud detection", "AWS"]
Shritama (she/her) is a technology journalist at AIM who is passionate to explore generative AI with a special focus on big techs, database, healthcare, DE&amp;I, hiring in tech and more.