Shiela Sandoval

I'm Shiela.

I'm a Data and Software Engineer with many hobbies.

Data Engineering

I build pipelines for data ingestion and analytics, mainly in Python, SQL, and NoSQL. I also create APIs and data apps.

Cloud Infrastructure

I deploy infra and apps in Google Cloud and AWS. I've done data infra migrations between cloud providers, as well as cloud resource optimisation.

Machine Learning

I build and deploy machine learning models and applications. I learn new ML techniques mostly through coding.

Tech for Good

I am most motivated by projects that aim to address societal problems, such as the impacts of climate change, ensuring health and safety, lack of educational opportunities, etc.

You can also find my work in these links:

A visual timeline of my work life

My career history isn't a straightforward profession in one particular area or technology. There were tech transitions due to consulting work in my early years, or just wild fascination with the problem spaces I was in at the time. And then there were side passions, like mountaineering, which took me down the path to geography, and then GIS and remote sensing. Although my tech experience is very varied, I've learned a wide array of tools and techniques to help me contribute to solutions that make a difference in people's lives.

The long story (a.k.a., "my CV")

2014: BSc. Computer Science

I grew up in a small town in the north of the Philippines, where my early years of education were devoted to biological and agricultural sciences. But then I learned to code at the age of 14. I took up Computer Science in college, got my Bachelor's Degree, then moved to Manila to work in a tech consultancy firm.

2014-2016 : Java Developer

I worked in Manila for a year and a half as an R&D Engineer who specialised in Java development. After some months of Japanese language training, I was sent off to client offices in Japan.

While in Japan, I was a Tech Lead for some time and trained junior developers in Java development. I also wrote inventory and banking software and technical documents for 3 different clients in construction machinery, precious metals trading, and anti-money laundering.

Tech Stack: Java Struts 1 & 2, PL/SQL, Asteria, Selenium, Subversion (an old version control system), and CVS (an even older version control system)

2017-early 2019 : AI Engineer

I started getting more interested in the developments in AI and chatbots, so I got reassigned to an applied AI role in Rakuten in Tokyo. There I worked on natural language processing with diverse teams. I learned to process Japanese and English conversation data and trained their first chatbots on various topics like entertainment, banking, sports, and even romance.

Tech Stack: IBM Watson, Python, Javascript (AngularJS)

And then I moved to the UK...

Late 2019 : AI Engineer

I joined a small AI-focused team in Accenture up in Newcastle (England), where I built machine learning classification models to help tech support teams triage tickets in near real-time. This relieved them of long triage queues and enabled them to focus on resolving high-priority problems.

Tech Stack: Python (Scikit-learn, Keras), AWS Sagemaker

2020-early 2021 : Analytics Engineer / Cloud Engineer

The pandemic forced my role to adapt. I trained myself in AWS and learned to deploy apps, models, and infrastructure into the cloud. I applied my new cloud knowledge on migrating high-security on-premise health services to cloud servers. After that, I built a cloud-based sales analytics pipeline for a major postal service, helping them gain valuable insights about seasonal trends from their data warehouse.

Tech Stack: Amazon Web Services, Python, Bash scripting, Oracle SQL, ElasticSearch, PowerBI, Terraform, Ansible, Linux

2021-mid 2022 : Data Engineer

By 2021 I decided to leave the consulting world behind to focus on longer-term tech-for-good projects. I joined BridgeU in London, with the goal of making international education more accessible to young students.

I wrote web scrapers and data pipelines to build a large catalogue of international universities and courses. I went on to extend our recommendation system infrastructure to Chinese servers to allow more students to discover education opportunities in China and abroad.

mid 2022-mid-2023 : Data Tech Lead

I later became the Data Tech Lead (later renamed "Data Chapter Lead") at BridgeU. My responsibilities grew into architectural design of the recommendation systems and data warehouse. I also trained the small Data Team in coding best practices, cloud deployments, and API design.

Tech Stack: Python, Google Cloud Platform, BigQuery, dbt, Apache Beam, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, AWS, Terraform, Ansible, Looker, CircleCI, FastAPI

Then space was calling me...

(no alien beacon, though)

mid 2023-mid2025: Spacecraft Software Engineer

With a strong desire to work in the space industry, I moved to Glasgow, Scotland, where there was a growing UK space industry. I joined Spire's Payload team which worked on instruments that perform GNSS Radio Occultation and Reflectometry on low-earth orbiting nanosatellites. I built automations on the payloads to collect valuable weather data for clients like NASA and EUMETSAT.

Tech Stack: Python, Bash, Linux, AWS, Grafana, Concourse CI, Jenkins, Terraform, Docker, PostgreSQL

mid-2025 - now: Computer Vision Software Engineer

As AI came to dominate the tech industry, I shifted my focus on finding productive ways to use the technology to help people. I now work in Protex AI as an Applied CV Software Engineer. I write software for IoT devices that run in high-risk warehouses and factories to detect potentially dangerous situations and ensure workplace safety.

Tech Stack: Python, AWS IoT Greengrass, Bash, Linux, Vision-based LLMs, GraphQL, Github Actions, Docker

My "Extra-curricular Activities"

Not an accurate portrayal - I drink rum.

I go on long hikes, walks, and runs. I love outdoor activities, especially anything involving mountains, snow, or trails.
I'm a big reader of books about space, nature, and history. I've set myself a soft rule to finish reading at least one book a month since mid-2021.
I do pencil portrait sketches of animals and friends.
I love cooking. But in general, I just love food.

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