When we think about the magic behind smart machines, data management and machine learning (ML) play important roles. The talented individuals who bring that magic to life are often working behind the scenes, making sure that data is efficiently captured, stored, and made smarter.
I had the opportunity to sit down with our dynamic Data/ML team, a fun, diverse, and growing (yes, we’re hiring!) group of professionals who are shaping the future of robotics and smart machines. If you’re interested in learning about their journey and insights, dive in and get to know the minds behind the screens.
Meet the Data & ML Team:
Alexa, as the Lead Engineer of the Data/ML team, tell us a bit more about what your team is responsible for.
Alexa: Our team works on managing the whole lifecycle of data retrieved from smart machines—from collecting highly varied information to uploading it to the Viam cloud.
We also built APIs for smart data filtering, tools for labeling, infrastructure for ML training, and deployment of trained models for uses like object detection in our Vision Service.
In short, our solutions can make it seamless for an app user to retrieve and actually use this stored data in interesting ways.
Sounds like a lot of cool, interesting challenges to tackle! We’d love to learn more about some of your journeys to Viam.
Alexa: Before joining Viam, I worked in big tech for 8 years, specializing in ML robotics research in the latter years. In these large organizations, we had the internal resources to build machine learning infrastructure and training. However, I recognized a significant gap in the open-source community for easily implementing this on smart machines. Making this more accessible is why I ultimately joined Viam as an Engineer.
Steven: I’ve been in software engineering for about 5 years, with 1.5 of those years at Viam. I took a non-traditional route to get here. After studying Philosophy and Chemistry, I decided to attend a 3-month coding bootcamp. There, I was hired first as a teaching assistant and later as a lecturer for the Software Engineering program.
Devin: I joined Viam in January after working at MongoDB for over 4 years building data products. Fun fact: MongoDB and Viam were founded by the same person! I've almost exclusively worked in the data space, so joining the Data/ML team was a natural fit.
Tahiya: I came to Viam after receiving my PhD in ML/robotics. I'm deeply passionate about making robotics more accessible to everyone and was drawn to working in a fast-paced environment where I could feel an immediate sense of impact.
Aaron: I've been in engineering for just over 4 years and have spent the past 2 with Viam, having moved from the Bay Area. I have a background in backend and data engineering, so it's been incredible to address the same set of problems, but within the exciting fields of robotics and smart machines.
Natalia: I’m the Product Manager (PM) for the Data/ML team and have been the PM since the team was formed!
What do you enjoy most about working on the Data/ML team?
Steven: We’ve got a great team dynamic that emphasizes rigorous engineering practice while also being super relaxed. Our team deals with interesting problems that span a wide range of problems in ML, data storage, database optimization, API design, UI/UX and more, but we always make time to chill and joke around during the work day.
Devin: We are small enough that everything we work on here feels critical. In just a month or two you can own a project that lays the foundation for huge features that are core to our product. The fact that we’re building software for devices also makes my impact feel more tangible—when I solve a problem, I immediately witness the impact of that work in action.
Aaron: The team is super collaborative. It feels like everybody goes out of their way to help each other out and work towards a common goal. Since the team works with ML so much, I've also been able to learn about and work on the data management problems involved in ML workflows, which has been a really cool experience.
Natalia: I love working with this team. Everyone is so smart, fun, and thoughtful. They get things done, think things through, and ask me great questions. It's also awesome working on a team that so clearly will change how we think about smart machines.
It sounds like you all work very closely together! Tell me more about what projects or features you’re currently working on.
Tahiya: Currently, I'm developing a framework that lets you run a machine learning model in the browser after training it on Viam. This lets you preview the model’s performance on different images and test it live before deploying it to your robot.
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Aaron: I'm working on building out a querying system for robot sensor data. This will let users query for and export data across all of their robots.
Katherine: I recently completed a project that allows users to selectively capture and store specific data. For instance, if someone wants to save only pictures of their cat from a camera feed, they can set up a modular "filter" component that screens out non-cat images. After setting this filter, they can easily integrate it with the Data Management Service to store their preferred data.
Watch below to see this feature in action:
How does the Data/ML team collaborate with other departments within Viam?
Alexa: We collaborate with other Viam teams a ton! When adjusting our APIs, we coordinate with the SDK, Documentation, and Developer Advocacy teams. We partner with the Fleet Management team on cloud storage, Modular Registry, internal alerting, and permissions. Recently, we assisted the SLAM team with data replay, cloud operations, and map deployment for robots.
Steven: As a frontend engineer, I regularly interact with the team in charge of our application, Fleet Management. I also work with other teams who need help with the frontend, recently including SLAM—consulting with them to integrate their newest features into our frontend.
Outside of the day to day, what does the team do for team building?
Katherine: Everyone on the team loves good food! We usually go out to dinner once a quarter and blow our entire fun budget on a fancy meal. Just last quarter, we went to a burrata-making class at Murray’s!
What makes working at Viam unique?
Aaron: There are literally smart devices and robots everywhere.
Devin: Because our product is software that operates on hardware, most people at the company are specialized in one of those two things, but usually not both. Building hardware can be really fun and creative, and can require a lot of in-person collaboration. Because of this, Viam has a strong in-office culture (still flexible though!), and it often feels like we’re just hanging out at work rather than doing a job.
Katherine: I haven't worked at any other place where so many people with different knowledge bases work so closely together. Part of that is the nature of robotics, which is a mixing pot of perspectives (hardware, backend, frontend, ML, big data, design, etc) but I think the collaborative and open-minded environment here adds a lot to that.
What type of smart machine do you hope someone builds using Viam that could change the world or make it more fun?
Tahiya: I think about climate change every day and there are tons of processes that can be improved by smart machines. For example, there are some reports that on average 14 to 18 percent of total daily treated potable water is lost through leaks. If we could use robots to improve the water infrastructure, which is really costly and requires manual labor right now, that would be cool. I'm sure there are unenumerable possibilities.
Alexa: I'm also especially interested in climate change mitigation. That could be a vertical farming system, a farming system that only irrigates when necessary, a robot that sorts recyclables from non-recyclables, or an adaptation of Simone Giertz's Chargela which autonomously charges electric vehicles.
Outside of coding up some pretty cool stuff, what do you do for fun (bonus points if you’ve done it with colleagues)?
Tahiya: I love seeing live music, riding my bike, going to museums, and cooking for my friends (including Cristina, Viam’s very own Head of Brand Design).
Steven: I often catch live music by local artists; just the other day, I joined Gautham and Tahiya for a show. Apart from that, our office nights filled with pizza and games like Magic: The Gathering are always a highlight for me.
Natalia: Using our Viam education budget, I took an improv class with some colleagues, which was so much fun! For our final class performance, other Viam employees even came to the venue to support us.
Inspired by the revolutionary features and capabilities they've brought to life? Dive into our comprehensive documentation to explore how you can harness them on your own smart machines. And, if you're keen to contribute to join hands with our dynamic team, check out our open positions here. Let's shape the future of smart machines together!
