AI Sandra Almeida

Introduction
Sandra is a graduate of MTU Cork with an MSc in Data Science. Joining us as a graduate in January 2021, she has already had two promotions to become a Senior Data Scientist in such a short time. The skill to master your art is a critical measurement of success but being respected by your peers and as a colleague is just as important for a well-tuned and energetic team. Sandra is a mentor, and that shows in her personality. She is always willing to aid and teach a teammate. She is confident and well known for her clear and concise discussions with our clients. It is a combination of all these factors that has led to Sandra’s success to date.

Innovation
As a company, in ACI Worldwide we pride ourselves in our transparency and ethical approach to AI, and specifically Machine Learning. For model development that comes down to your data and how it is used for model development. Sandra has designed and written our data sampling processes for global Merchant fraud. An extremely tricky and challenging area to get a sample set that holds through to what is seen in real life. That comes down to the nature of the domain. Fraud only accounts in credit/debit card fraud for approximately two percent of the dataset. For someone in their first few years as a Data Scientist to created and build such an important cog in the model development lifecycle, and have it hold up against rigorous scrutiny is a testament to the talent and passion of Sandra.

Technology most do not know exists
Sandra has also been a pioneer in developing a Data Science owned, full stack product that helps Banks and Intermediaries prevent fraud in so many verticals. From e-commerce, to point of sale and even niche fraud types such as loyalty. When one uses their bank card, we do not think of the complex and lightning quick processes that have to take place before that transaction is accepted. Being able to fine tune the training processes Sandra has made the challenge of model performance, look easy though it being one of the most difficult challenges her role faces. The models are able to score on up to 3500 transactions per second with each one taking under 6ms to decide. It is not just about the recall and precision of the model, its how Sandra has led the fine tuning to ensure those models hold strong in performance but also execute in that single digit millisecond target.

The Blend of Technical Expertise and Business Acumen
It is very rare to find someone who is at the top of their domain technically, but also be able to translate that knowledge in business terms. So often great ideas do not get past the first hurdle or fail to get budget because of the pitch, or presentation that leads to any innovative process getting that investment. It is an area most struggle with in highly academic disciplines. When is comes to Sandra, our Customer Success Managers ask for Sandra’s participation knowing she will be confident, concise, and not overwhelm the client, but yet get the complexity of what she does in a very understandable way. Sandra is multilingual and represents us to international clients frequently. Having a Data Scientist be comfortable working with sales teams, demystifies the black box of AI but also prevents the oversell that most Data Scientists have faced in their career.

A True Role Model
Sandra is the definition of a team player. She ensures to take the time, both in and out of work to ensure her teammates succeed. In particular our newer teammates have benefitted significantly from Sandra’s guidance and patience in encouraging new team member to reach their true potential. As a Company we also are very involved in Internship, to which Sandra also is a part off. As a testament to her success, we hired two interns in the past 6 months as a result of the program. All participants compliment on Sandra’s help and mentorship.

The many faces of a Person of the Year
Sometimes the hero of the team, is the one that is working in the background to make everyone’s role that little bit easier. Sandra is that person in our team. Though not a member of external organisations, or a blog writer etc – she is someone that has gelled an award-winning team together in a way that has made it better, a great team that works together, helps one another, as well as takes not just the highs but also the challenges together. It is for all of those reasons we believe that Sandra is a strong candidate for the Woman in AI Person of the Year award.

To finish up, from a LinkedIn post that Sandra posted after her graduation.                                  ‘As someone who comes from one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, I had never imagined the possibility of doing a master, much less a masters in another country and in another language, but here am I, breaking the system rules, hoping I can help other kids to have the same opportunities I had and looking forward to my next steps.’

That statement really captures the essence of Sandra, humble, hardworking, a great Data Scientist, but always thinking how she can help others.