Meet Roger Taylor, Data Engineering Manager at Populi. He helps manage our data pipelines every step of the way, from ingestion to customer delivery. Roger’s your man if you’re looking to jam to Icelandic alternative rock or need a solid plan for a zombie apocalypse.

Q: What’s your role at Populi, and what does an average day look like for you?

A: I’m the Data Engineering Manager here at Populi, and my job is to ensure that Populi’s data pipelines, from upstream ingestion and analytics to UI and customer delivery, run consistently, include the appropriate QA/validation checks, maintain their lineage, and employ the appropriate data governance.  

Q: What’s your favorite thing about working for Populi?

A: Being the stupidest person in the room. Populi has assembled some of the smartest individuals in their respective fields, and I love learning something new every day from each of them. The bonus with this group is that they are also open, friendly, and know how to laugh and appreciate you as much as you are appreciating them.

Q:  What do you think is the most important benefit of the detailed healthcare analytics and insights that Populi provides?

A: When I think of healthcare data—big, messy and disparate—and the tools we have for analytics, I relate it to modern cell phone cameras. Anyone can point a phone at a subject, click a few buttons and get a decent picture. Give the same phone camera to an artist, have them point it at anything, click a few buttons and it’s a masterpiece. The difference? The artist understands the little and big things that go into making a picture look spectacular while the rest of us are just happy to capture the moment. To me, Populi is the artist when it comes to healthcare analytics and insights. We’re doing more than throwing technology at the problem. We’ve gathered the right artists who understand the little and big things to create the masterpiece that will not only capture the moment, but also highlight what you didn’t see and explain why it’s important. 

Q: Why should someone join your team at Populi?

A: As data engineers, we’re always looking for ways to stay on the forefront as it pertains to systems and processes that optimize the movement of large sets of data. This is one of the main objectives for our team. If this interests you, and you’re a curious person who loves to solve problems, then this is the team, and Populi is the place for you.

Q: How do you like to spend your free time?

A: I’m a dad of one son and two daughters. My free time is their time. 

Q: What is your all-time favorite Halloween candy?

A: Multi-flavored Tootsie Rolls (not the original).

Q: What’s the best concert you’ve been to?

A: February 13th, 2006, Columbus Ohio, Sigur Rós.

Q: What’s your game plan in a zombie apocalypse?

A: Head to a Walmart Super Center in the country. You have food, gas, weapons, a mechanic’s garage, very few enter/exit points, lots of things to use to barricade those entrances, an accessible but tall enough roof, and depending on the day and time, a small community to help protect it.