Shipra Agarwal is a data analyst experienced in design and development across multiple applications and clients. She has technical proficiency and experience in application development and maintenance using Informatica Power Center, SAS DI and Teradata.
How has your journey been as a woman in AI so far?
It’s been an exciting ten years for me as a technologist! I started my career as a data consultant, and today I am a Staff Data Analyst at Walmart Global Tech. When I reflect on my various roles over the years—I find data analytics in retail to be very fulfilling, given its ability to solve real-life problems for our customers. The work we do at Walmart serves one single vision of helping people save money and live better—and this sense of purpose makes me incredibly proud.
As a “woman in tech”, I didn’t find it any different from other professionals in the industry. I always had the support I needed to grow and explore. That said, it’s essential to pay it forward, and I have always believed in motivating other women technologists and helping them grow in their careers too.
What type of work do you do at Walmart Global Tech?
At Walmart Global Tech, our commitment to delivering exceptional customer service through technology and innovation inspires me to excel and give my best. In my role here, I work at the intersection of business, product and engineering to transform data into actionable insights. It involves collaborating with the Product to transform an ambiguous business requirement into a precise engineering problem. I particularly enjoy drawing insights that cover feasibility and risk assessment of solution development—which lays the foundation for a successful product roadmap.
Currently, I am focused on improving the efficiency of experimentation platforms and designing metrics that enable data-driven decision-making for feature launches.
Why did you choose science and technology as a career opportunity? How challenging was it, and what motivated you to keep going?
Since childhood, my father has been my source of motivation and encouragement. He is an engineer in the Airforce, and looking at his work on the latest tech for aviation inspired me to build a career in science and technology. My innate curiosity led me to explore the power of data that drives everything around us. At first, it seemed challenging to stay updated with the latest tech developments. However, the problems we solve for our customers and the impact we create have always motivated me to pick new challenges and expand my learning curve.
What has been the highlight of your journey?
I have worked with data in several roles and industries, such as telecom, aviation, banking, shipping and retail. This field has empowered me to gain an incredible amount of knowledge. Exploring insights, predicting future trends, finding anomalies, driving decision-making or learning to tell stories through data couldn’t have been more exciting!
I was a budding AI enthusiast when I joined the Walmart Search team. There was a huge amount of clickstream data, and I was one of the first to derive insights for strategic decisions. While I was apprehensive in the beginning, today, it is immensely gratifying to know that in the last four years, my inputs have supported decision-making at different levels of the organization.
What has been your biggest challenge and achievement as a woman in AI in India?
I have always been inspired to work with different technology and upskill myself from time to time. Many of my friends and colleagues have taken a leaf from my journey and explored a career in AI. I also successfully encouraged a few friends to consider Data Science who were hesitant to join the workforce after a long break. I feel as a woman technologist, there is no bigger achievement than motivating women tech enthusiasts to grow and shine in their careers!
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