Daniela

Data Engineer

Data with real relevance

“Just over five years ago, I was asked to join DNB as a data engineer. Although I really liked my previous job, I felt it lacked a certain social relevance. At DNB, your work has real meaning, much more so than in a commercial environment. So then I had a very candid initial interview with a manager at DNB, in which he told me that I would get to use a tool that was new to me. I hadn't had any experience with it before, but he said: 'If you enjoy learning, join us and let's develop.' I immediately had a good feeling after the interview and the job seemed like an exciting challenge.

From data to dashboard

In our business intelligence (BI) team, we act as a support pillar the supervisors at DNB. We work at both the front end and the back end, which means we can take on various projects as a cross-functional team. By providing supervisors with faster and better insight into different data, we make their work easier. For example, we develop dashboards that allow supervisors to extract specific information from huge volumes of data with just a few clicks. In doing so, we are also working in line with DNB's digital ambition and strategy to become more data-driven.

Ongoing dialogue

When questions come in from the business, we always try to devise the right solution as a team in an agile way. Where can we find the data that is needed? How do we get at it? How can we collect all relevant data? And then we can get to work on back-end preparations, while maintaining an ongoing dialogue with the business. For example, when supervisors need insight into the risk scores of financial institutions, as a BI team we can provide in-depth understanding of automated risk scores and data marts for self-service BI. Supervisors can then work with the enriched data themselves.

If you know how to work with data, at DNB you get the opportunity to learn to work with all kinds of new tools.

A range of tools

In my previous job, I worked a lot with Microsoft stack, such as Power BI, but at DNB I got the chance to familiarise myself with the SAS tool as well. If you know how to work with data, at DNB you get the opportunity to learn to work with all kinds of new tools. So when I started at DNB, I took several training courses, including on financial supervision, to understand the business a bit better. Not only does this make it easier for me to talk to the supervisors, but now I also know how my work is relevant in the process as a whole. Since starting as a junior data engineer at DNB five years ago, I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience working with different tools. And still I keep learning. For example, we are currently migrating to the cloud, so we are now using even more Microsoft tools.

Developing and connecting

All those courses are incredibly instructive, but you only ever really learn when you use the tools in practice. So especially in the beginning, it was great that I could always turn to my experienced colleagues. Everyone is so helpful, and that has really boosted my learning curve. In addition, at DNB you are always given every opportunity to learn and continue to develop yourself, both professionally and personally.

For example, we recently celebrated International Women's Day, with a panel discussion on authentic leadership with top women from the financial sector. But we also have a network that connects international colleagues: DNB International. I myself am originally from Romania, and initiatives like these show that there is also a focus on diversity, inclusion and personal growth here. That makes DNB not only an organisation where I can continue to develop, but also one in which I feel at home.”