In my role at Itron, I occasionally interview candidates we may be looking to hire. When it’s time for me to see if the candidate has any questions, one of the most common questions I’m asked is what I like the most about working at Itron. Even though I’m expecting this question, I usually hesitate a moment before answering. Not because I don’t have a good answer, but because I usually have at least three or four ideas running through my head at the same time, and it can be difficult to know where to start.

The first answer I usually give is Itron’s mission. As a senior principal data scientist, I’m fortunate that my technical skills are transferable across a range of domains, and throughout my career I’ve considered roles at several companies. I feel so fortunate to be at Itron and to be working on the team and product that I am. My work as the data science lead on the Distributed Energy Resource Optimizer (DER Optimizer) product is challenging yet fulfilling and allows me to do my part in furthering Itron’s mission to create a more resourceful world. Our current focus with DERO is on helping utility companies manage the ever-increasing number of electric vehicles (EVs) charging on the grid. EVs are a net-positive for the environment, but they can create difficulties with the electric grid’s reliability. How do we mitigate this? There are lots of ways, but my niche is using data science and machine learning to help our utility customers make better decisions.

The second answer I usually give is the people. The types of people that Itron attracts and retains are amazing. It still blows my mind how many people have been here for two or more decades. People are here because they believe in the mission, and the culture that flows from that mission is top-notch. I work with incredibly smart colleagues, from whom I learn something new almost every day. People at Itron tend to be generous with their time and their knowledge, they are accountable for their mistakes and they share credit for successes with the whole team.

The third answer I might give is the work. It challenges me, frustrates me and pushes me out of my comfort zone. But when that Python code my team and I agonized over for months finally runs, pushing out machine learning inferences from our data science cloud environment to the application and providing our customers with insights only we can provide – the satisfaction makes up for all of it.

The final answer I give our candidates is that we work hard, but we work sustainably. Expectations are high at Itron! We set ambitious goals and our product engineering teams are generally small. However, Itron leadership knows the value of sustainability – and that extends to the sustainability of our work. Our iFlex policy gives me the opportunity to see my colleagues in person once or twice a week, to learn a bit more about their lives than we might over Teams meetings, and to learn to trust them more. On the other days, I can work from home and have time to get in some truly deep work – whether that’s writing code or analyzing the latest anomaly in our EV data – tasks that are harder to do in a noisy office. Even though I’m working hard, it’s sustainable, and I have time to focus on my health. When I’m in the office, I can get in a good workout in the beautiful on-site gym, and when I’m home, I can get in a dozen miles on the bike trail or indoor trainer. I also have time to focus on my family. My three beautiful children between ages 9 and 12 are very busy, but I’m able to attend their baseball games, their wrestling matches, their band concerts and more. And when I need a week or two to get away and recharge, I can.

All these reasons are why I’ve worked at Itron for six of the last nine years. The first two years were at a company called Comverge, which Itron acquired in 2017. A year after the acquisition, I took an opportunity to work with a cybersecurity startup. It was a great experience that taught me a lot, but when an old manager recruited me to come back to Itron in 2021 to help build a brand-new product from the ground up, I jumped at the chance. I’m so glad I did.

Meet Our People

Meet Our People is an Itron series highlighting the amazing humans who contribute to our company’s purpose to create a more resourceful world and help make Itron a great place to work. Profile content is written by each individual and authentic to their personal employee experience.

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