Rafael Pinto about Data Analytics at Owlin
Spotlight on the People of Owlin
At Owlin, we couldn’t do what we do without the incredible contributions of our team. In our interview series, the People of Owlin, we spotlight the individuals behind the company, diving into their daily work, backgrounds, and visions for the future. In this edition: Rafael Pinto, our Data Analyst, shares about his journey, his passion for data quality and automation, and how he’s helping shape the future of our platform through continuous learning and collaboration. Let’s get to know him!
Could you tell a bit about your background and what led you to data analytics?
“Sure! I moved here around five years ago to study Computer Science, and during my university studies, I started working as a teaching assistant for statistics courses. That sparked my interest in data. After graduating, I completed an internship at a company that worked with linked data, which wasn’t particularly impactful for me in the long term, but it definitely drew me deeper into the data world.
After that, I worked for a software agency, where I primarily focused on data science and analytics across various projects. It was interesting, but since it was an agency, projects were short-term and for many different clients, and I realized I preferred working on a single product over time—building something more meaningful and seeing it evolve.”
What made you decide to join Owlin, and how did you find the onboarding experience?
“Honestly, when I first interviewed with Owlin, I didn’t have a full understanding of the product yet, but after some conversations, I thought the idea was super cool and innovative, mixing AI and data analytics, which are areas I’m passionate about. I was looking for a product-focused company where I could grow, and Owlin felt like the right fit.
As for the onboarding, it was quick and very hands-on, which I appreciated. Within about a week, I was already doing real work, which was refreshing compared to companies where onboarding can take months. It made me feel more integrated right away.”
How has it been working at Owlin so far? Have you noticed any cultural differences—either at the company or just in how people work together—that felt new or different to you?
“It’s been great so far. One thing that stood out to me compared to my previous experience is how open and welcoming people are here. Although it’s a Dutch company, everyone speaks English, and the culture feels incredibly inclusive. It’s a huge contrast to my last job, where I felt a bit isolated because of the language barrier.
Moving from Brazil to here, there were some broader cultural shocks too, like how people are much more reserved here compared to the warmth and openness back home, but after five years, I’m pretty used to it. I do appreciate the straightforwardness of the Dutch working culture, especially here at Owlin, where collaboration feels very natural and direct.”
As a Data Analyst, what are your responsibilities within the team so far?
“My main responsibility is to ensure we deliver accurate and high-quality results to clients, whether that’s through the dashboard, API, or other outputs. That includes quality assurance of the data, maintaining and improving the platform’s taxonomy, automating internal processes, and developing scripts to make manual work more efficient. It’s a good mix of operational tasks and process improvements.”
What kind of projects have you worked on since joining Owlin?
“The biggest project I’ve worked on so far was reorganizing the cybersecurity lens. The goal was to break down a broad category into more specific subtopics that provide better insights for our clients. It involved analyzing a lot of news data, creating tailored queries for each subject, and refining our search taxonomy.
I also worked on fixing issues with our platform’s taxonomy setup and contributed to improving some internal processes, like creating scripts to automate repetitive tasks in the dashboard.”
What tools, platforms, or programming languages are you using most in your current work?
“It depends on the task, but generally, I’m using Python a lot, mainly within Jupyter Notebooks for data exploration and analysis. I also use tools like ChatGPT and other LLMs to assist with language-related queries or expanding keyword sets for search optimization.
Beyond coding, I interact with our internal APIs to pull and verify data, and I’m constantly working with internal dashboards and spreadsheets for taxonomy management and quality control.”
How have you found the collaboration with other teams, like engineering or product, so far?
“Collaboration has been smooth. Even though I don’t work daily with the engineering team, when I need their help, such as setting up API endpoints or syncing dashboard data with the backend, they are super responsive and easy to work with. There’s very little hierarchy in communication, so if I have an issue, I can simply message whoever I need to. It feels very collaborative and solution-oriented, which I appreciate.”
Have there been any early challenges or learning curves you’ve had to overcome in your first months?
“Definitely. The first few weeks were intense because there was a lot of new terminology and internal language that I needed to get used to—terms and backend concepts. It was crucial to learn those quickly in order to do my job properly.
At first, I struggled with absorbing everything, but over time, the learning curve smoothed out. Once I understood the platform and product better, it became more exciting, especially when I started automating processes and reducing manual tasks.”
What are you most excited about as you continue to grow into your role at Owlin?
“I’m really excited about moving towards more automation and being able to focus more on the quality and depth of our data rather than repetitive manual tasks. Once we further roll out the scores and enhance automation—especially in areas like screening and monitoring—I’ll be able to spend more time analyzing the data itself, auditing sources, refining the taxonomy, and working more closely with APIs.
I’m also looking forward to helping streamline our internal processes, like better sharing of tools and improving collaboration, so that the team can work even more efficiently. I think as those improvements happen, the role will become even more dynamic and impactful, and I’m excited to keep growing with it.”
If you could instantly master one new skill or tool that would help you in your role, what would it be and why?
“One area I’m aiming to grow in is third-party risk management. Understanding that field better would help me anticipate customer needs more accurately and improve the way we deliver value through our product. It’s definitely something I want to dive deeper into moving forward.”
