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Talazen Spotlight: Zoe McKiness

This series shines a light on the amazing people who make Tala possible. Learn more about how they enable financial agency for our customers.

Meet Zoe McKiness, SVP of Data and Platform at Tala! Zoe leads the Data and Platform team to unlock the power of Tala’s data so we can drive access, choice and control for the financially underestimated. Her team does this through close collaboration across the engineering, analytics and machine learning disciplines.

Why’d you join Tala? 

I was so excited about the combination of Tala’s compelling mission coupled with the incredible opportunity for data and data science to drive Tala’s future vision. At Tala, the Data and Platform team is crucial to expanding our product offering and reaching more customers. I was also truly impressed with every person I met during the interview process.

What’s unique about working at Tala?

The people! I have never worked anywhere like Tala. Everyone is committed to providing the best app and product experience to our customers. 

What’s your favorite part about your job?

I love problem-solving, especially when we are developing innovations to scale our impact. The teams I have the pleasure to work with make every day a joy.

How did you get into data science?

It is a very nontraditional path! While my graduate work is ostensibly “computational biology,” I have worked in different types of functions across industries. The common thread is a principle approach to designing and building exceptional products to both improve customers’ lives and achieve business impact. 

What advice do you have for someone trying to get into data science at a mission-driven company?

Start where your passion is — finding a role that aligns with your values is the key to professional and personal success. And, if you want to build products to improve the lives of the financially underestimated, apply now!

Want to join a remote-first company to build a financial system that works for everyone? As Zoe mentioned, #TeamTala is hiring! Check out our open roles.

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