I recently attended SciDataCon (part of the International Data Week) in Denver, which is a conference focused on all aspects of the science data workflow – from planning to long-term archival and all the people, processes, and other stuff surrounding it. One talk in particular, that resonated with me was a panel discussion called “Defining the Data Professional” in which the panel discussed the difference between a data scientist and the myriad other roles involved in the data lifecycle that broadly define the professional field. Continue reading I’m a Data Professional (and I’m Okay)
Tag Archives: NSIDC
Data Center Move
Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been working on moving our data center at work. This was quite the project in planning (with moving deadlines and contingencies) but, in the end, the planning paid off – this project was very smooth. Continue reading Data Center Move
The First 90 Days
In the interest of improving my management skills, I read the second half of The First 90 Days based on the recommendation from a coworker who recently moved into a management position. I only read the second half of the book, as I’ve been a supervisor for a while, and, according to the person who recommended it, the first half was more focused on the first 90 days of a transition, while the latter half was more general purpose. That being said, what follows is a high-level review of what I read – please keep in mind that when I critique the book below, I really mean the last five chapters, rather than the whole book (though I’ll be saying “the book” more often than not for shorthand). Continue reading The First 90 Days
Five Years
I got a certificate at work the other day, congratulating me for five years of service at the NSIDC. Five years seems so short when I look back like this though. I’m not quite sure why – it’s possible that it’s because I’ve been at the NSIDC off-and-on since 2005 (before I started as a full-time professional, I was a student). It could be that the last five years have been far more stable than the preceding 10, which were defined by transience, short-term goals, and significant changes. Finally, it could just be that I’ve only been with the organization for five years, which is a very short time compared to some of the other folks in the center – we just celebrated our 40th anniversary at the NSIDC, and there were people in attendance that have been with the center since the beginning. Continue reading Five Years
Production Software Support
At work, I’ve been involved in a new effort to overhaul how we handle the development support of our production software. As the Ops lead, that is something I am very passionate about, so I am excited to be involved in this effort. I have to admit that I’m somewhat of an idealist when it comes to projects at work, but I have this vision that production software live in production… Continue reading Production Software Support
KOPRI’s Antarctic Station
The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) was recently visited by the Korean Polar Research Institute (KOPRI), and after their visit, they left us with a few 3D models of one of their Antarctic research stations. I was lucky enough to get one, and I recently spent some time putting it together.
Pictures after the jump. Continue reading KOPRI’s Antarctic Station
New Operations White Board
This year, during the holiday season, I hatched an idea for a new white board for NSIDC Operations. Our old white board was serviceable, but getting long of the tooth and not as functional as we have needed more recently. So, I ordered a new magnetic white board and started putting together something a bit more flexible that could change as our duties evolve.
Below are pictures of the old and new white boards: Continue reading New Operations White Board
Aside: I love my job
I really enjoy my job, though precisely why I do is quite difficult for me to convey in writing – it’s tied up in what I do, who I work with, and just how much fun the daily problem solving is for me. If this sounds strange to you, this post is likely going to be difficult to grok. For everyone else, here I go…
What I do
I am the Data Operations Supervisor at the National Snow and Ice Data Center. I’ve been working for the NSIDC off and on since 2005 (I started as a student while I was working on my graduate degree), and consistently since 2010 (when I graduated and came back to work full time). My job is currently split between data operations tasks, high-level architecture/engineering, and administrative/supervisory stuff.
The data operations tasks take the bulk of my time, but because I have one foot in architecture, I help bubble up things that would make the job easier/harder, while also integrating new technologies/techniques into our operational stack. Going back and forth between detailed troubleshooting and high-level work in particular makes this very rewarding as I get to tackle problems from both ends – how to fix it now, and how to keep it from breaking tomorrow.
A Day in the Life: Part 2
This is a continuation of my series on a typical day in my life. The first part is here. This part sets up what my day job is like in probably more detail than anyone wants to know. I’ll talk about why I love my job in another aside.
Another Morning
Once I get to work, my day isn’t quite as time stamped and regular as the rest of the morning, but there are some key things that I’ve come to count on. I make breakfast in the work kitchen, and start getting caught up on my morning e-mail. Ops gets a lot of automated e-mail (including normal e-mail, it’s not uncommon for us to get 200-400 e-mails/day), however, a lot of these convey valuable status on the state of the system, so it’s useful to know first thing in the morning. Additionally, we have some daily processing that gets kicked off at ~6:00am, since this is in the critical path for a lot of our near-real-time products, it’s good to have a pulse on that processing earlier rather than later. Typically, gathering an understanding of the state of the system can take until 9:00 or longer depending on what’s going on.
The Operations stand-up is at 9:00am every morning. This is (in theory) a quick, 15 minute, standing meeting with my team to organize the morning and keep everyone on the team apprised of the goings-on of the system. Each day, someone is scheduled to be the ECS lead (responsible for the care and feeding of the EOSDIS Core System – our primary data management system for NASA data), while a second person is scheduled as the V0 lead, which (for historical reasons) is the backup (responsible for our non-ECS operations). During the stand-up, the prior lead and backup provide anything notable from the previous day, as well as any outstanding items. Then, everyone else statuses on their tasks, and any impacts from their work the rest of the team needs to know about.