Joining the Dataiku Team: What Is It Like?

As Dataiku grows, we’re trying really hard to hold on to the traits that make us a great place to work, including an inclusive family atmosphere and our fun company culture.

To this end, we take hiring and onboarding new employees very seriously so that we can maintain connections and knowledge acquisition across teams and offices. Though our headquarters are in New York City, all new employees go through a week of orientation and training at our office in Paris (since it was the first Dataiku location, it's tradition!). 

We asked Taylor, our new Digital Marketing Manager, what her experience at onboarding was like and what she learned.

I walked into the office with a blend of excitement and hesitation, not knowing what I’d discover. There were people bustling about, speaking various languages, engaging in animated conversation, drinking espresso. I set my bag down and looked up to find the faces of my new colleagues, an array of dining benches, a foosball table, and...what...is...that??? My eyes fell upon a cornucopia, bounty, plethora (I can’t decide on the noun - take your pick) of pastries, baguettes, fruit, croissants, sweet spreads… the best Paris has to offer. I knew right then and there: I’m really going to like this place.

The day officially started when we were greeted by Sonia Chabbi, The Queen of Happiness, for an office tour. She was affable, knowledgeable, and efficient. Fluttering from person to person, she somehow knew everyone’s name and a timely joke to pair with our introduction. There were 16 other new Dataikers in my onboarding cohort, and she helped us all feel comfortable and welcomed.

After more pastries and caffeine than I could wrap my head around, we engaged in interactive discussions around the company history, vision, competitive landscape, differentiation, target audience, and much more. There were a bunch of questions, and dialogue was encouraged between the presenters and us new hires. The tone that Sonia set was maintained by each new speaker, making us all fully aware that it wasn’t just her, it was the culture.

The next day provided introductions to each department: who they are, what they do, and how we can best work with them within our individual roles. We had new hires across teams, roles, and continents. So it was encouraging to see that this collaboration wasn’t just the result of onboarding, but is part of the way things work here.

We rounded out the week by taking a deep dive into our software with live, guided tutorials. Everyone was impressed by the power and capabilities of the platform, engineers and marketers alike. After getting our hands dirty, we held an internal Kaggle competition in small collaborative teams. It turns out that a point-and-click marketing professional can really use and understand data science and Dataiku: my team tied for first!

Overall, I feel like the onboarding week gave me a great look into Dataiku’s energy, team dynamics, and platform. They’ve equipped me to succeed, and the support and learning doesn’t just end once onboarding is over. There are systems in place designed to ensure that growth is more than just rhetoric. After onboarding, we have a month-long program of activities to make sure we actually understand the concepts introduced in onboarding. And on top of that, there are internal learning sessions held every Friday on various topics throughout the company.

Another new Dataiker, Gus Cavanaugh, captured it best, “I feel energized and connected to the founders’ vision and Dataiku’s goals since onboarding, but I have more than just a link to the slides and the foggy memories of a slick presentation to ensure I'm ready to succeed. I have concrete support and resources that will help me—and us—grow.”