Data science operations associate

What we do Telesense is an early stage startup based in the Silicon Valley that is revolutionizing the grain industry. We apply data science methods to improve operational efficiency throughout the grain supply chain- reducing energy costs, grain spoilage, and time and money spent on managing grain. We are currently at a crucial stage in our development, where we need to prove out the tools we have developed so far, and rapidly gather the data that will help us transform the industry.

Job overview 
The data science operations associate will work with the Data Science (DS) team to evaluate customer sensor data and identify points of interest. The associate will also communicate findings and collect feedback from customers. These activities will help in validating algorithms being developed by the data science team to provide insights to our customers.
Responsibilities and duties

• Follow processes outlined by the DS team to get information from the Telesense system and report findings
• Analyze sensor data using the Telesense UI and flag points of concern, such as hotspots
• Generate insights from data evaluation, e.g., spatial differences in readings, trends, etc.,
• Use phone, text, and/or email o to convey important findings from the DS team to the customer (findings which may not be displayed in the UI) o to get any information requested by the DS team from the customer o to work with operations, hardware and sales teams to set up DS experiments at customer/pilot sites
• Use Hubspot to keep track of communication with customers Desirable qualifications
• Basic knowledge of how different grain storage units work (e.g., bunkers, bins, piles)
• Familiarity with industry terminology, e.g, fans, roof exhausters, aeration ducts
• Experience in talking to grain industry stakeholders (e.g., farmers, elevator staff, etc.,)
• Ability to understand air flow from an aeration layout, and basic concepts of heat transfer
• Experience with visual data analysis and extracting trends from data
• Ability to run queries is a plus

The ideal candidate will be able to pick up technical concepts regarding data and grain quickly. The candidate should be comfortable with routine customer interaction through phone, text, and email. Example workflow: The associate goes through the data from every storage unit and notes down points of interest, if any. These are then reviewed by the DS team. The DS team confirms findings that the customer should be made aware of. Findings may need to be confirmed with the customer, e.g., if a hotspot is suspected, the DS team would need to confirm if the customer observes spoiled grain while unloading. Unloading might be several months after the hotspot has been detected, so the associate must keep on top of maintaining communication with the customer through this time, so the opportunity for confirmation is not missed. Confirmation could include asking for photos or videos of the spoiled grain and getting a sense of where in the storage unit the spoilage was.

Example DS tasks:

• Determine if there any rising temperature trends
• Determine if there are any spatial differences (e.g., one side of a bunker is warmer than the other)
• Compare grain conditions to weather data Position type: (Part time/contract)