The International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is an American information technology company. IBM’s headquarters are in New York however, there are operations in over 170 countries around the world. The company produces and sells computer hardware, middleware, and software as well as providing consulting and hosting services.
An interesting part of IBM’s business is that they currently hold the record for the most U.S. patents generated by a business; a record they’ve held for the past 27 years! Inventions that come from this company include floppy disks, ATM’s, and magnetic stripe cards.
In 2018 IBM launched its Data Science Elite Team and recently the team has tripled in size with almost 100 data scientists working on more than 130 projects. The Elite team operates separately from the company’s services group and works with software customers. Most often the Data Science Elite Team is responsible for evaluating IBM software and other products post-sale.
IBM’s Data Science Elite Team uses artificial implementations that are based on methodology through enterprise deployments to help software customers increase the speed of machine learning. The client is then left with a blueprint to follow that includes the design thinking and information on the business.
Does working on a team like IBM’s Data Science Elite Team sound like something that interests you? Here’s a breakdown of what they look for in recruits.
The first thing to know is that the job involves a lot of travel, with about 75% of the work being on the road.
15 percent of the team hires have been internal candidates which leaves a lot of room for external recruits. As of right now the team is comprised of one quarter highly experienced individuals, one quarter early professionals, and the reminder at mid-career.
The most important and basic requirement is a deep understanding and expertise of Python. No matter what role is being filled, there must be a high knowledge of the programming language. Furthermore, to become a member of the Elite Team you must complete a coding challenge. Once that is passed there is a video conference with senior members of the team in which another coding session takes place.
Not only will a candidate need technical expertise, but they’ll also have to be able to work with and handle client relationships. While IBM does not exactly interview for soft skills they are looking for candidates who have a strong presence and great communication skills. A candidate going through the interview process should expect to answer questions about problem solving that can highlight their thought solution process.