What are Peak’s biggest strengths? Do we focus on them enough?

The first thing I admire about Peak is the love and care for the team. It doesn’t matter where you are; you always will be heard and celebrated. When the Pandemic hit, it was challenging to keep up with the new reality. But Peak was looked after by us, with memberships to various platforms to help manage stress and improve mental health. We had remote games and meetups, like Friday Social and coffee chats to keep the team connected remotely.

The second thing would be our great tech stack. As a Software Engineer, I love experimenting with new technologies and discovering ways to do my job efficiently and effectively. I feel empowered to build new systems, processes, and tools that can benefit everyone using Peak. It’s exciting to have this level of flexibility.

Could you give a few examples of how Peak supports your career growth?

I started as a Software Engineer Intern and was promoted to Software Engineer two years ago. During my Internship, I challenged myself to learn the latest technologies with the support of my mentors and colleagues. I had the opportunity to work across a range of projects, and I’m thankful for the exposure, it has given me the confidence and understanding to excel in my current role.

It’s incredible to hear about all the positive experiences you had at Peak. Could you talk us through how Peak changed since you started?

Around three years ago, when I joined, Peak was a rapidly scaling startup with many ambitions and aspirations to be the voice of Decision Intelligence. Since then, we have achieved incredible growth, hiring around 350 people worldwide. We’ve pioneered a category that is increasingly recognised as a game-changer, with Garnter citing Decision Intelligence as one of 12 top strategic tech trends for 2022. I feel proud to play a part in Peak’s journey. 

It’s been incredible chatting with you, thank you for sharing. 

Could you share your favourite memory from your time at Peak?

I lost count of the ‘those moments’! We’re a fun-loving bunch and create memories as we go. However, one is engraved into my memory – Peaknic in Goa. I had just signed my offer letter, getting ready to start a new chapter in my life, when I got a call, “Pancham, you need to start packing; Peak is heading to Goa. You should join; the whole team will be there. We all want to meet you before you start.” A few days later, we were all at the Calangute beach in Goa skydiving. What a week!

What are the main benefits you get as a Peaker?

Peak is a fast-growing, global tech company; therefore, there are plenty of learnings for me as a Software Engineer. I’ve learned abundant things about various tech stacks in four months, incorporating my knowledge into my day-to-day life.

Two months into my role at Peak, I opted for an AWS Certification as part of my Personal Development Plan (PDP). This allowed me to bring new ideas to the table to improve the overall experience of being an engineer at Peak. Now, I’m working to get Solutions Architect – Associate Certification with Amazon.

What are Peak’s three biggest strengths? Do we focus on them enough? 

Peak is leading the world in the Decision Intelligence (DI) category, and our DI platform is a powerful tool designed to help companies make great commercial decisions, optimizing at every stage of the value chain.

One thing I admire about Peak is the care for the employees. Half of our mission is to build a team everyone loves being a part of. And Peak takes care of our well-being and health. There are several platforms we get as part of our package, Headspace and Spill, that anyone can use anonymously and absolutely free.  

Not to mention a number of perks, such as all MacBook, healthcare and enhanced parental leave. You can view the full list of Peak India benefits here. 

Name one practice you’d like to see us continue doing?

I feel many practices at Peak are essential to continue with!  

Company surveys:

Peakers share how they feel about being at Peak, their general wellbeing, and feedback on improving their working style every quarter. I love this because it reinforces that Peak is constantly on a mission to enhance employee experience and keep everyone motivated and happy.

Global company stand-ups: 

Every Friday, we have a global company stand-up: teams from around the world join in celebrating the success of Peak and our teams. One such meeting is enough to give you enough jolt to crush the following week in style.

Appreciating and TIFU:

We have a concept in the engineering team of Kudos and TIFU (the engineers out there will know what this means!) Peakers can virtually pat on the back someone they enjoyed working with. TIFU is the opposite, we share our mishaps while attempting a certain thing to prevent others from doing the same thing twice.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of applying for a role at Peak?

If you are somebody who enjoys facing exciting challenges and is always willing to learn new things, Peak is the place for you. You’ll get a chance to work in a fast-paced environment while developing cutting-edge AI-based services in a rapidly scaling global company. What’s not to love!

Thank you for your time, Pancham. It was great talking to you. 

Our new regional-focused channels will be shining a light on Peak India as we continue to spearhead the growth of Decision Intelligence in the Indian market from our Jaipur and Pune clubhouses. 

Peak India followers will gain access to regular updates and India-focused information. Expect to see amazing photos, new team member announcements, industry news and an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at life at Peak India.

Ready to join in the fun? Hit the links below to stay informed about all things Peak India ?

How did you come to know about Peak? 

I kept abreast of the latest tech news; while browsing, I found a TechCrunch article about Peak’s Series B funding. It was fascinating how Peak was focused on measurable, specific outcomes and delivering real-world benefits through AI. The vast majority of AI models don’t get deployed, and most don’t deliver tangible results so a company that’s outcome-focused in the space is unusual. So I decided to connect with the co-Founder at Peak, Atul Sharma. This is how my journey as an Engineering Manager at Peak started. 

Fantastic, very inspiring. Could you give us an overview of the projects you are currently involved in at Peak? 

Let me give a little bit of context. Profoundly there are three technical stages of a Decision Intelligence journey. The first is a data ingestion, where we’re getting the customers’ data onto Peak platform. The second includes processing, where we are implementing AI and ML algorithms to drive the value for the business insights. The final part is an outcome that includes detailed, actionable information for our customers to direct their business decision-making. 

My team focuses on the third part, the outcome of ingested data, to be exact data exploration and visualisation. It’s important to understand that visualisation takes different forms for different industries. For example, for a retail business, the visualisation is centred mostly around customer behaviours, engagement, purchase insights, and demographic distribution.

So, we have built a highly configurable and pluggable system within the Peak platform, enabling different businesses to explore and visualise their data in the best possible way. We have built connectors and data bridges with partners such as Snowflake and AWS, so we never restrain our customers by enforcing a specific tech stack; instead, we empower them to pick the stack they are comfortable with.

You’ve mentioned there were no tech limitations for the customers; what about the Peakers? 

The philosophy of work at Peak is based on the freedom of choice. I don’t dictate to my team which tools to use, I focus on the outcomes they deliver. Of course, we have all-time team favourites like React JS for leveraging the Micro frontend architecture for front-end development. The back-end team is more inclined towards Node JS with TypeScript and Python with flask framework. Moreover, we are heavy users of open source technologies like Superset and Druid, to name a few. As a certified AWS Advanced Technology Partner, we develop and host our services using AWS technologies. It guarantees our customers rapid, seamless implementation, data safety and fast ROI.

How would you describe the agile practices you use? 

We follow Scrum methodology as our product development strategy. The work starts from biweekly sprints and before every sprint team grooms user stories from the product backlog and estimates these stories using planning poker with a modified Fibonacci sequence. 

This product backlog is something that product owners continue to refine throughout the sprint to ensure stories are already prioritised, and they have all necessary details before the planning meeting. We also track and use our team’s velocity information each sprint to estimate what we can deliver. Moreover, it provides the grounds for measuring our performance and calculating how we improve on specific metrics.

I would also mention our daily Scrums, which helps us to assess our progress towards the sprint goals. This methodology allows us to establish a good rapport with the team in the UK and India, ensuring our goals are aligned. 

Finally, at the end of each sprint, we do our retrospective to discuss what went well during the previous sprint and what we can improve for the next one.

You walked us through the technical practices. Is there anything you do for your team’s wellbeing? 

I want to emphasise that we don’t just work together, we care about each other. We have bi-weekly informal 1:1 meetings – a private space to talk about family, concerns, wins, plans for the future, even history, pets or music. I’m not directing the conversation, I’m empathetically listening. It helps me to build meaningful relationships with each person in my team. 

You mentioned you must be connected to each team member on an individual level. What are the main points you’re paying close attention to while hiring new talent for your team? 

I’ll be very straightforward on this one – I don’t pay attention to the degrees and honours. Instead, I will base my decision on how the candidate exemplifies Peak values. Of course, experience is also important: the problems candidates have worked on and their certifications. Last but not least, I’ll be evaluating compatibility with the team. It’s crucial to create a friendly, open environment where each person is comfortable to be their authentic self. 

Who is this ideal candidate for Peak? 

The best candidate for me is the person who manifests Peak’s five values: smart, curious, open, driven and responsible. Peak is at the forefront of Decision Intelligence, and we unravel problems that have never been solved or even tackled before. Each team member is passionate about what we do here, and it’s essential to keep this spirit. 

Recently we had a Pune Hiring Day targeting Senior Software Engineers in Pune. The leitmotif of the interviews was to uncover what mathematical problems the candidate dealt with and the outcome. I have suggested candidates who were not only technically sound but also passionate about what we do. 

To be fair, it’s not enough to be capable of building a fantastic product, it’s essential to be comfortable working with the team. Everyone at Peak is open and goal-driven, we work as a team, not as isolated individuals. We channel our efforts towards creating a great environment. 

Sounds great. My last question for today is how do you see the future of AI in India? 

I think AI has a very promising future in India, and we are already witnessing it. AI can create a tremendous incremental value to various sectors like retail, manufacturing, healthcare, education, energy, and agriculture. The best part is that many businesses have also started to realise it and harvest the full potential of AI.

I have seen a fundamental shift toward a clear understanding of data value in the past five years. The positioning of leveraging AI in businesses is changing from an afterthought to an essential part of their day to day business decision making. Our customers in India have already seen the tremendous benefits of using AI in their business. I’m confident that most businesses will have AI as an integral part of their decision-making in the next five years.

Great! Well, thank you for your time Kuldeepak – it has been great to chat!

When you first joined Peak, what were your immediate thoughts?

I recall that time with a smile on my face. Around two years ago, Peak was a growing startup. Essentially I was onboarded by the whole team simultaneously. Honestly, looking back, I don’t feel it has been an inferior experience – exactly the opposite. I received a warm welcome, and my managers and fellow team members have supported and guided me. I wouldn’t want it to happen in any other way. 

From a tech perspective, there were many things to think about; AWS services and programming languages I’d never encountered before. It has been a challenge I’ve accepted and, one year later, I became a scrum master. Six months later, I was promoted to Senior Software Engineer – so now I’m a scrum master and have my own team! 

Since joining Peak, what coding languages have you learned?

I’ve primarily worked on the back-end. I’ve mastered Nodejs, Kubernetes and AWS services, which are my particular favorites.

What are your thoughts on the Peak culture? And how have you found remote working in recent months?

For me, Peak is a safe place to express my views, offer new ideas and try different technology stacks. There is no crippling fear of failure or suffocating outdated approach to the tech stack. We all live through the values of being open-minded, non-judgmental and helpful. In other words, you’re free to go and do what you think will benefit everyone! 

Compared to other companies, do you feel Peak gave you more opportunities for professional growth? 

I feel Peak provides a secure environment in which anyone can be their authentic self, learning and developing their desired talents. The team is certainly more supportive, upbeat and vibrant compared to my previous company.

I believe Peak’s Personal Development Programme (PDP) programme has had a significant impact on our team. Everyone can choose a growth area and then devote 10% of their working time to master their desired skills. For instance, a large number of Software Engineers go for obtaining AWS certification. For me, I’m not a natural public speaker, but I’m continuously working toward turning my apprehension into an advantage. 

Parul, could you share the story of your success? How did you get your recent promotion? 

My journey at Peak started off with a basic knowledge of the product and underlying tech stack. Slowly but surely, I developed the expertise and confidence required for working on our Decision Intelligence plaftorm workflow project, with the help of great mentors like Azhar Khan, another Technical Lead at Peak. Gradually, I took ownership of the feature and became in charge of all deployments. The management here is always appreciative of your efforts and commitment to the company’s values. So that’s the backstory of my promotion. 

Awesome! What resources did you use to learn how to become a scrum master? Did you enroll in a class? 

It was a mash-up of all kinds of things. Initially, the entire team was undergoing agile training, and we only gained fundamental knowledge. Then my managers and team leaders like Ronak stepped in to assist me in assuming my new role. It’s lovely to have such a solid shoulder to lean on during a complex decision-making process.

Could you explain to us what it’s like working with your managers?

Chandra Verma is my line manager and a fantastic mentor. He often gives me a hand with multistage tasks. Even though working with a CTO might sound a little frightening, that’s not the case at Peak – Atul Sharma is a genuinely open-minded person who is so easy to get along with. He never rejects ideas. On the contrary, he always encourages me to step outside of my comfort zone to do my best.

Sounds like a great environment to learn in. What are your long-term goals?

There was a lot of learning along the way to success for me, but the best part is that it never stops. There is always something mesmerising, something new to create. If there is an idea, go ahead and do it. Next I’ll be looking forward to working with an AI engineering or data science team.

Could you tell me about the AI engineering team. What makes you think it’s something you’re looking for?

I believe this team exemplifies both of my favourite fields; engineering and data science. Many people are working on the intersection of these two streams. It’s exhilarating to see so many brilliant minds, such as Koushik Kulkarni, Head of AI Engineering, and Mark Douthwaite, Data Scientist, making Decision Intelligence a dream come true.

Thanks for chatting to us today Parul, and see you again soon!

Lovely, where did you end up heading? 

I did my MBA in operations research, and I was selected again by Idea Cellular Limited and worked in customer service taking care of retention, life cycle management. After that, I moved to marketing, taking care of campaign management. That’s where I discovered the world of analytics and machine learning. After working in the analytics function, I decided to pursue my Master’s degree as it would help me to get a better picture of how data science can be applied in business. I completed my Master’s in Management Science in the UK. After graduation, I returned to India and started working for Telenor and then switched to Peak. After moving on to pursue a different avenue in my career, I decided to take up an exciting opportunity to rejoin Peak as a Head of the Customer Success team in India. 

Seems you’ve made the full career cycle! What has attracted you to Peak?

The main point of attraction for me at Peak was that I’d already worked here and since then I have been following Peak, their growth over the past few years and evolution of their vision. I have stayed in touch with most of the people who are still working with Peak. The global expansion plans and new offices in India were an excellent addition to that. 

In your opinion, what makes Peak unique compared to other companies? 

While the market has slowly realised that the implementation of AI is inevitable, Peak has done that in the early startup phase. The second point is – a unique solution. Many companies use, rip and replace strategy , whereas Peak offers a unique integrating approach. We integrate all your systems, providing you with a single view of your data. You can then leverage your data to do things better, provide more informed decisions, and start moving towards AI one step at a time. It’s an easy and seamless digital transformation for your business (check out our Decision Intelligence platform here to find out more).

What are the key things you’ve learned at Peak, Astha? 

This is the first time I’m actually working with the core manufacturing sector. I have worked with enterprises and telecoms earlier mostly around ICT operations and digital strategy, but it’s an entirely different area. Analysing and connecting their data has given me better insights of their business as well as operations. That’s where the vision, which we used to build, meets reality! 

What’s next, what would you like to do? What would you like to learn more about? 

I’m targeting to get more insights and experience in the business domain, acquire a better understanding of how technology can supercharge businesses. Companies have been talking about Agile, DevOps and Cloud for ages. It has picked up in the last three to four years, especially during COVID. While technology has been a support system for many businesses, COVID has proved that technology is not just a support function but a key enabler and driver. Working with the industries will help me further understand how the AI and digitalization vision can become more executable. It will be helpful in evolving the AI solutions more suited to business requirements. 

Sounds awesome! What do you like the most at Peak?

It’s a relaxed, stress-free place where things are scaling up pretty fast. We’ve plenty of personal development programs and loads of resources allowing us to upskill. My favorite one is no limitations to creativity. If you think this is going to be beneficial for the team and business, go ahead, do it! Peak provides a great work-life balance. 

Wow, great! Thanks for your time and chatting to us today, Astha.

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