I wanted to dance. Kathak classical Indian style, to be precise. This was my childhood dream, college focus, and life goal. Growing up, I won numerous awards at state, national, and international levels in this art form.
But what if something ever happened to my health that impacted my ability to dance? Studying computers thus became my backup plan. Our CEO Josh Schein cites my early proclivity for diversification as evidence of aptitude for Wall Street, although this is from someone who views having multiple children instead of one in a similar vein. I’m not sure I’m ready for that!
My capstone college undergraduate project was a software effort involving Kathak rhythms. Unlike standard Western musical beats such as 2/4, 3/4, or 4/4, Indian rhythms might involve a sitar stringing a 7 ½ rhythm accompanied by a tabla drummer joining later on perhaps a beat of 11 ½. Both players need to catch another’s timings, and getting it right brings immense satisfaction for players and audience alike. A delightful tension exists, because the music is all improvisation, and even professionals in live concerts can get it wrong.
My capstone Kathak rhythm coding project was, well, we shall call it a learning experience! It deepened interest in computers, however, pursuant to which I took an R&D role in a startup in India after college and learned every aspect of project management involving the integration of software and hardware. I followed this with a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from State University of New York, New Paltz, subsequently becoming a software engineer at the Federal National Mortgage Association (‘Fannie Mae’).
At Fannie Mae, I began on an AWS migration project in Plano, TX, but was quickly promoted to lead website development in Washington DC for Fannie Mae’s family informational outreach efforts. I learned much about procedure and quality control but missed being part of a small and growing team, so when Global Key recruited me in furtherance of its needs, I was ready.
Global Key’s reliance on internal research has required that its findings be coded into robust analytical and portfolio management systems from scratch. Our team likes to joke that the firm’s initial software efforts involved configuring a 1979 Chevrolet station wagon for lunar flight: every part made a noise, except the horn! With Mars next, my job is to make sure we get there. I don’t set the itinerary, as I am not a licensed financial advisor, and I have not made a career of studying markets and investing. Building data engines that will hopefully perform as asked, however, is my role.
Our new data management system must accomplish three goals, the first being to function as a research repository. One downside of hiring graduate student interns is that when Global Key needs to reexamine its prior quantitative work – something which occurs more or less constantly – nobody wants to work from a predecessor’s code, and we lose valuable time retooling analyses from scratch. I am designing data systems to better hold our accumulated knowledge in one place for more rapid deployment toward both old and new projects. Global Key’s current database mostly hasn’t done this.
Our second information systems goal is to track holdings from the standpoint of what sits in each portfolio and what Global Key might want to acquire or exit. The firm’s current systems have this functionality, but constantly evolving research continually gives rise to evolving prioritizations, all of which need to be programmed into updated data configurations.
Finally, our data systems need to be a visual communications tool. How do we make decisions, and how can we present that to someone unfamiliar with our processes? Global Key does not consider all signals it tracks to be equally important, but how to convey that in an interesting and engaging manner? What I have enjoyed most has been diving into our research and figuring out how to bring it to life in code.
And now to get back to the engines … Mars beckons!
Keyboard Dancer – Amruta’s Story
