A Day In the Life of Lead Data Engineer Sai Kiran Karumuri

Meet one of Centerfield’s “All-Star” award recipients, Lead Data Engineer Sai Kiran Karumuri.

Sai joined the Centerfield family in 2017 and empowers colleagues across the company today. Working on the Data Warehouse team, he sees firsthand how data plays a crucial role in delivering valuable insights. Sai takes a customer-centered approach to continually improving Centerfield’s customer experience.

Q: Tell me about yourself and what your role is like at Centerfield?
A: As a data engineer, I’m responsible for building and maintaining our data systems, which collect billions of pieces of data each year and power our technology platform, Dugout. Most of our software engineering projects require interaction with our data warehouse, and I engage with these teams and support their needs. Recently, I was the recipient of Centerfield’s “All-Star” award, which is presented quarterly to Centerfielders who exhibit outstanding performance and character. This has further motivated me to set higher goals.

Q: What’s the coolest thing you are working on right now, and why?
A: There are a few cool projects that I’m leading currently to help save time and effort for our sales agents. One such implementation is creating a contest where agents can compete among themselves to win different rewards based on their performance. Another exciting project is to work on measuring the effectiveness of our agent training program. We measure their performance before and after training by measuring it against their KPIs.

Q: What are your favorite things about Centerfield? 
A: Centerfield’s culture and environment are exceptional! It’s incredibly motivating and gratifying to be a part of a company that recognizes and appreciates people’s hard work. It’s also exciting to be surrounded by a team of super talented and energetic colleagues. The work we do is often challenging and fun and helps me grow as an engineer. Centerfield also frequently hosts company-wide happy hours and culture events! The Casino Night is my all-time favorite to date.

Q: Any advice for people wanting to do what you do?
A: Most of the time, analyzing the data by reverse engineering to know the root cause solves many of the data issues. So I would say that having that analytical mindset will help you understand and solve many data anomalies. Understand and accept that data never lies!

Q: What is your favorite WFH tip?
A: Working from home often means it can be challenging to create healthy boundaries and to allow yourself to unplug. It’s really important to have a morning and evening routine that signifies the start and end of your workday. For example, I start my workday with a coffee cup in the morning and end it by physically leaving my station and going for a relaxing, socially-distanced evening stroll.