“I try to identify customers’ needs and develop programs to implement them,” Romita Banerjee said.
Save continues to expand as we bring on more teammates to ensure the functionality and flow of Save’s products are at the top of their game.
To help with the development of Save’s technical functionality, the team has added Software Developer Romita Banerjee. Romita started her Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Houston and has worked on impressive projects, including one report presented during an artificial intelligence conference in Los Angeles. Save highlights her in this month’s employee feature to share insight into her work at Save and how she helps our customers.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Can you give explain your education and professional journey before arriving at Save?
While growing up, my dad and uncle had a small IT business so, I’ve always had a keen interest in the field. Therefore, after majoring in statistics as my undergrad, I decided to get a master’s in computer applications. Afterward, I worked for Tata Consultancy Service (TCS), a software consulting company, for a couple of years as a software engineer.
During this time, my husband and I started discussing higher studies to further complement our skillsets. He chose to do an MBA and I was accepted into the MS program at Florida State University’s Department of Computer Science. While pursuing this program, I became very interested in artificial intelligence/machine learning and was fortunate enough to be offered and accepted into the Ph.D. program.
Although it was a rewarding experience, I decided to transfer to the University of Houston to be closer to family and continue my Ph.D. Transferring was a good move for me because I gained a variety of experience as well as working on some of the coolest projects. My team and I published three papers in reputed journals including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). I got an opportunity to represent the University of Houston and presented one of my team’s papers at an IEEE conference in Los Angeles. I also had the opportunity to teach ML/AI courses in the undergrad computer science program at the University of Houston.
Can you describe one of the cool projects you’ve worked on while getting your Ph.D.?
Sure. My research project at the University of Houston focused on ‘Sentiment Analysis.’ Our team was working on developing a data model framework to analyze a tweet and assign one of the following sentiments to it: positive, negative, or neutral. These assigned sentiments were then aggregated for a geographical area to measure the emotional well-being of the population in that area, how they feel about a certain issue, and track the behavior over a period of time.
What attracted you to joining the Save team?
There are three main reasons. First, I enjoyed my time talking to and meeting the Save team during the interview process. I felt that the culture would be the right fit for me.
Second, while interacting with the team, I understood that I would get a chance to not only apply my skillset but also get an opportunity to develop new ones.
Third, I am not a finance expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I thought the underlying business idea was cool and I wanted to be part of a team that is building something big.
How would you describe what you do to someone who isn’t familiar with it?
I would say that as a software developer, my job responsibilities include designing, developing, and maintaining the system software. I try to identify customers’ needs and develop programs to implement them.
Through your role, how do you help Save customers?
At a high level, I’d say there are two ways.
First, we are always looking to improve and discover new ways to make our customer experience better. In that respect, I help develop new features that our customers are looking for or features we believe will help our customers excel.
Second, I help ensure our platform is available for our customers whenever they need which includes resolution of any issues that may come up.
What do you look forward to learning while at Save and how do you feel your expertise will help propel Save forward?
I am really looking forward to learning new technologies as well as improving on my existing skillsets. In addition, I have always wanted to learn broader aspects of a company’s operations outside of my role and I think I’ll get an opportunity to do that at Save because of its relatively smaller size.
As an international Houstonian, what do you love most about the city and why?
First, I love the cultural diversity of the city. It allows me to learn about different cultures, try various cuisines and meet people from different backgrounds. Also, it might come as a surprise to most but, I like Houston’s weather. It’s very similar to where I grew so I didn’t have to adjust much as other internationals. Plus, it reminds me of home.
