…this site
Writing forces sharper understanding. Writing is a great way to put pressure on your thinking: it’s hard to summarize something you don’t sharply understand. By trying to explain an idea, you’ll naturally try multiple framings, flesh out its edges, and see new connections.
Andy’s thinking is the core driver behind this site. It’s a place for me to share ideas and things I’ve worked on, and in the process of doing so, build a better understanding of the underlying principles or technologies at play.
…me
As I was studying Chemical Engineering at Queen’s University, I started pursuing a career back home in Calgary, Alberta in the Oil & Gas industry. During one summer, I got thrown into the world of data science when I started trying to make money by using Python to optimize daily fantasy sports lineups. After the oil price crashed, I realized I should probably look for work in another industry. With a new found passion for all things data, I started my career working for Capital One in Toronto as a Data Scientist. For close to three years, I worked on operational monitoring across the business, credit risk analysis, OCR applications, data infrastructure, and productionizing credit risk models. Looking to get data science experience in another industry, I started working for Shopify. Currently, I lead a full stack data science team responsible for building ETL pipelines, doing product analytics, experimentation & causal inference, and building new data products to make it easier for merchants on Shopify to sell internationally and manage taxes.
If you’re interested in working in data at Shopify, or just trying to break into data science, I’d love to chat. Shoot me a message on Twitter or LinkedIn.