RAMAN A. SHAH, PH.D.

As an independent data scientist, I improve operations by measuring them. I work primarily with governments and social enterprises to massage internal processes, reveal statistical clarity, and grow technical capacity.

I'm formally educated in hard science. I earned a Bachelor's in chemistry from Caltech and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from The University of Chicago. Between these degrees, I completed a two-year commitment with Teach For America, teaching high school mathematics on the Southwest Side of Chicago.

I've worn many hats since then: software engineer at an analytics startup, computational scientist managing an academic research group, and principal data scientist in Capital One's model risk office. My passions are to build things and to help people grow. I quit my day job in 2018 to live these values even more fully and haven't looked back.

At its best, my work happens at the interface of the human and technical, threading a needle between a frontline worker and an operational leader. The staffing is constrained, the world fast-changing, and the technology a mix of old and new systems with rough edges where they meet. The worker, holding the world together with vital institutional knowledge, is exhausted. The leader, forced to take risks without timely information, is flying blind.

Instead of hawking yet another packaged software solution to add to the mix, I craft small-scale custom repairs to workflows alongside existing teams and existing technology. Unlocking the decision-making tweaks waiting within an organization takes a certain alchemy of clean code, correct math, and common sense. The best changes have a low profile at first glance but have deep human consequences. Between technical exposure and newfound breathing room from automation and process improvement, the worker feels empowered, recognizing the germ of a transformation in their skillset. The leader feels a quiet new confidence in their operational decision-making. Complexity melts away, revealing a game- changing clarity of thought.

It never gets old.

I live in Rhode Island; remote-first since long before the pandemic, I work everywhere. Away from the desk, you may find me baking sourdough, turning wrenches, birdwatching, or playing the violin.