Soonho Kwon joined Upside in June of 2022 as a senior analytics engineer. Since then, he’s transitioned into his current role of Staff Analytics Engineer. See what he had to say about his experience.

Upside: Now that you’ve been here for more than two years and taken on new responsibilities, tell us about how your role has evolved.

Soonho: I first joined Upside as a traditional analytics engineer (AE), responsible for creating valuable datasets for the entire business. Since then, Upside provided many hands-on opportunities to grow my technical skills, especially around managing our team’s backend infrastructure. Now, as tech lead for the AE team, I’ve taken on more responsibilities in building and scaling out our data platform as well.

Upside: What do you love most about working with your team? 

Soonho: I love how open and collaborative my team is. We’re constantly looking for ways to work together on projects, and everyone values input from others. When we discuss an idea, people are willing to voice possible downsides and talk through concerns in a way that’s both respectful and honest. As a result, we learn from each other every day, while building products that we all believe in.

Upside: What advice would you give to someone starting in your field of work?

Soonho: I’d encourage them to focus less on learning about the myriad of tools available, and more on grasping core foundational principles. There are almost too many awesome products and tools that can help immensely with data engineering. Learning the fundamentals is the best way to maximize their usefulness.

Upside: Speaking of just starting out… tell us about your first job.

Soonho: I started my career as a consultant for an analytics software company, helping businesses quantify the impact of their initiatives using data. I learned through that job just how valuable data could be, as well as how important it is to maintain the accuracy and reliability of that data. It played a big role in my pivot into engineering, where I could focus more on developing the data (and surrounding infrastructure) to be as robust and valuable as possible.

Upside: Now for a fun one. What’s your favorite food? 

Soonho: I love drinking boba, and will sacrifice any other sugar intake for it. I get the same drink (orange passion fruit green tea) from the same boba shop so often that most employees know me, and at times will prepare my drink even before I order.

Upside: To close us out, what is the most powerful lesson you’ve ever learned personally? 

Soonho: Bill Gates is credited with saying, “People overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in 10 years.” 

In both professional and personal aspects, I’m learning to work consistently and patiently with that long-term view in mind.

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