Following engineering school, Jess Villiers-Moriamé joined Tinyclues in 2014 as a Client Operations Engineer. With experience in a number of internships across the globe, a background in researching image processing and a passion for complicated algorithms, made Jess the perfect fit for this role. In this interview, Jess spills the beans on what he gets up to every day at work.
What does your job at Tinyclues involve?
I have two main areas of responsibility:
- Completing the technical integration of new clients’ data. This phase normally lasts about two days – it starts when we receive the data from the client and finishes when we deliver the platform. We have to calibrate all of the algorithms so that the platform suits the client’s working practices and performs the best. It’s very interesting because it gives us the opportunity to work with a wide range of data from very different sectors.
- Managing technical support for my clients. I really like this human relationship aspect in the job!
Who are your main points of contact within each client’s organization?
There are two teams that I liaise with:
- Primarily, the Marketing department. They’re our main contact because their team members will be using the platform every day in order to target their CRM campaigns. I am available to answer all their technical questions and help them make optimal use of the platform so they can generate the best ROI for their campaigns. To do this, we work closely with our own Customer Success Team.
- The Data department, if there is one, but this is not necessarily the case.
What do you like most about your job?
The hook for me was the required dual skillset. First, you have to know Tinyclues’ Artificial Intelligence algorithms inside out. And second, you have to tailor these algorithms to the client’s real business needs. What is their marketing strategy? How many campaigns are they going to run? What is their policy on marketing pressure? What are their ROI goals? And so on. These are the important questions to ask.
I also enjoy the interaction with several teams at Tinyclues, especially the Sales team, the Data Science team, the Customer Success team and the Product team. In fact, we are basically the number one users of our own solution.
How many clients do you manage?
I look after about fifteen clients, but if necessary I can step in to help any one of Tinyclues’ clients.
Is there an ideal training pathway for this position?
You have to study engineering to understand our platform’s AI algorithms and be able to work with enormous databases. However there is no exact career path. We’re a mixed bunch: one of us worked in nuclear physics; another built pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Every Client Operations Engineer comes from a different background.
What are the most important skills for your job?
You have to be quite pragmatic so you can respond as efficiently and as simply as possible to each client request. After all, every client is different, so experience really counts. Finally, you have to be very agile and always be ready to help your clients to meet new challenges.
