Interview with Tarik Purivatra
Huzeir Kurpejovic
Tarriq Purivatra is a data engineer who specializes in SPARK, SQL, and optimizing PySpark performance. He has worked for Ford Motor Companies and completed a fellowship with Insight Data Science. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a master’s degree and bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Currently, Purivatra works as a data engineer at Autodesk and lives in Toronto, Canada.
Can you describe your occupation, including your title, industry, duties, and the impact that your actions have in your field?
I work in data engineering, focusing on building and managing the systems that enable the collection, storage, processing, and analysis of extremely large datasets. It’s like working with Excel spreadsheets, only with hundreds of millions of rows that have to be merged together to power business applications. Regarding daily tasks, I use data engineering and software tools like Python, SPARK, Airflow, Docker, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, GitHub, Snowflake, and Hive. I build data pipelines, which consists of designing data flow and combining information from different tables to meet business needs. I write SPARK code to process data, use Hive or SQL engines to make sure it’s correct, and then test everything to ensure it works properly. I also create design documents and suggest ways we can improve our engineering workflow. There are always new tools being developed in my field, so my role is constantly evolving. It’s an interesting job, and there’s always something new to learn!
How did you get your start in your industry?
I studied mechanical engineering as an undergraduate and graduate student. In 2017, I worked in a coffee manufacturing plant, where I had an awesome internship that gave me a hands-on role in designing new machines for the assembly line. While there, I noticed that data informed every decision we made and learned to use SQL as well as how to curate data to justify design decisions and propose projects. My internship helped me realize how important and universally applicable data can be. During my time as an undergraduate and graduate student, I took various programming courses, giving me a solid foundation that I used to pivot to data engineering. After my Master of Applied Science degree, I partook in a fellowship with Insight Data Science. This four-month fellowship had me building a large-scale data engineering project while guided by leaders in the industry. Basically, I had to come up with a difficult data engineering problem and then solve it. With my experience as an intern, the programming classes I took as a university student, and my fellowship at Insight Data Science, I landed a job at Ford. From then on, I worked as a data engineer.
What steps have you taken over the years to advance in your industry?
In this field, you never stop learning, so there are always steps to take to ensure you’re at the forefront of new technology. I challenge myself to take on projects at work that will make me a better data engineer and steer me towards more modern technologies. When I worked at Ford, I took the time to master SQL since a lot of my work required this coding language. Additionally, I did my best to sneak some SPARK projects onto my plate, because I knew that SPARK was a key component of data engineering. This helped me get my job at Autodesk, where I mastered SPARK. Ultimately, finding out what the most important tools were in my field and prioritizing exposure to them helped me advance.
How has working in your industry strengthened your connection to the Bosnian/diaspora community?
I stay connected to the amazing Bosnian community by reaching out! Whenever I see people on LinkedIn or on Slack who have distinctly Bosnian names, I shoot them a message saying “Gdje si?” or “Šta ima?,” which is enough to get the conversation going. At Ford, I became friends with three other Bosnians, eventually starting a group chat, having monthly catch-up meetings, and even meeting them face-to-face at BAPA’s annual forum in Detroit! At Autodesk, I attended a department-wide presentation delivered by a really impressive product manager living in Germany. Sure enough, she was Bosnian. I reached out to her on LinkedIn, sharing how proud I was to see another Bosnian deliver such a great presentation at such a high level. It's always great to know there are people at work who share your culture and background, and it's even better when we lift each other up!
What aspects of your industry have you made more accessible to the Bosnian community?
I deeply care about helping others get into my industry. Throughout my journey as a data engineer, I’ve provided my blueprint to others, sharing my experiences with fellow Bosnians and explaining what I think is the most effective way to get into the industry. In addition, I’ve provided work referrals for my Bosnians colleagues, helping them land interviews for data engineering positions. Beyond that, I’ve provided resume feedback and led mock interviews for Bosnians seeking data engineering jobs. With the BH Futures Foundation, I’ve served as a mentor in different capacities.
What has been a memorable project for you, and what did it teach you?
Working on a new form of piracy detection with Autodesk was memorable to me since it was a totally novel project for the company and the data engineering industry as a whole. During this project, I became acquainted with a diverse set of stakeholders, with whom I had some disagreements. Working through those disagreements taught me valuable lessons about listening to others, openly communicating my own thoughts, and why it’s important for a project to feature a diverse collection of opinions from people with varying backgrounds.
What advice do you have for Bosnian-American professionals who want to join your industry and succeed like you?
In my industry, ability is key. If you're able to do the work of a data engineer, there's a good chance you’ll find a company willing to take you on. More specifically, when it comes to developing your ability, learn the tools and the languages of the field, especially Python and SPARK. If you’re a student, take relevant programming courses. Practice applying what you learn by building a data pipeline from start to finish, making sure you understand all the stages of a pipeline, including orchestration, ETL, data validation, and table creation. Create an Amazon Web Services or Azure account to play with the offerings there. Learn about the latest technologies and stay up-to-date on the latest trends by reading blogs from leading technology companies like Meta. Use large language models in your coding workflow without losing your ability to critically think and understand what's going on in the code. Additionally, reach out to people! The most important thing you can do to advance in this industry is to look for mentors. Get connected with data engineers to expand your network. A good way to do this is searching for alumni from your university on LinkedIn. I also recommend connecting with data engineers who work at your dream company and asking them if they'd be open to a quick coffee chat. Further, you can go on data engineering-related forums like Reddit to ask broader, more general questions. There's a wealth of knowledge and opportunities in this space! Another thing that I think is important is to have fun. It can be fun exploring new programming tools or new ways of using your existing tools to create something new. Take time out of your day to write a program that will make your job easier. This might mean diving into a challenge that you're not sure you can solve!
