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I grew up in Spain where I studied civil and structural engineering specializing in bridges. I continued my education in Berlin, Germany where I worked as a project engineer, leading the design of railway bridges. During my time in Germany, I was offered a job opportunity to work on a $1 billion cable-stayed bridge in Corpus Christi, TX, and that's how I ended up in the US. I had never been in the US before and picked up a southern drawl to complement my Spanish-German accent. I also ate a lot of burgers! In this position, I worked on project planning and design coordination. This job allowed me to deepen my knowledge of geotechnical engineering and learn new bridge construction methods.     

After this, I decided to take a career break! My wife (and partner in crime) and I spent some time traveling and teaching standing acrobatics and acro yoga in different countries in both Europe and the US. It was extremely rewarding to teach people how to move and work together as a team. During my break, I started to think about a career switch. I taught myself how to code and started studying data science. About six months later, I started doing contract work developing web applications for data analytics in the e-commerce space. During this time, I was offered my full-time job as an analyst at a Fintech company and after about a year, I joined Kitu as a Database Engineer.    

I love to learn new things, be outdoors, and stay active in my free time. Some of my hobbies are juggling, rock climbing, and surfing. I love music and play the guitar and piano. I also have a seven-month-old daughter who has brought so much joy to my life!

2. What is your history with Kitu? 

I started working at Kitu in 2021. At that time, the database team was made up of only one person, Nico, who is currently our Software Architect, and they were looking to expand the team. I did not have much experience in database engineering at the time, but I was excited to get involved in clean tech and make a meaningful impact! 

3. What has been the most fascinating or interesting project you have been a part of recently?

On the database team, the work we do is multidisciplinary. We work on a variety of projects that involve developing and maintaining databases, internal tooling, data pipelines, reporting, and supporting products and operations.   

Recently, Kitu has been focusing on scaling and optimizing our apps to support more smart devices in a single environment. My team is working on re-architecting our database solutions to enable the efficient storage and retrieval of large amounts of data for both our transactional databases and data warehouses. It's a big project and we're in the exploratory phase which is exciting because we get to experiment with new concepts and technologies. I've also been containerizing some of our internal applications. This has helped me deepen my knowledge of Docker which I really enjoy working with.

4. How would you describe the company culture at Kitu?

Despite being a remote-first company, it has been easy for me to connect with my colleagues. People are very personable, approachable, and transparent. There is a good balance of flexibility and productivity. 

5. Do you have any advice for new professionals looking to enter the industry of the "electric ecosystem?" 

Given how new the electric ecosystem is, there is a lot of growth to come. Fast growth comes with fast change. Fast change requires maneuvering and course-correcting, adapting quickly. Because of this, it is important to stay up to date and evolve alongside with the industry. Maintaining a growth mindset and eagerness to continue learning is very important! 

6. What are your goals for the future of Kitu?

Our goal is to continue providing innovative solutions and to become a leader in the industry by providing cutting-edge technology. We believe that our work can make a significant impact on the world by reducing carbon emissions and promoting renewable energy sources. We are dedicated to creating a better future for all and are excited to be at the forefront of this important mission!   

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