Coach Me If You Can - Nikita Loukachev - A ✨ Machine Learning Engineer
💖 The purpose of The Allyance is to help both companies and candidates: companies wanting to reach excellence in hiring and candidates wanting to find the perfect companies.
Let’s meet Nikita Loukachev ⚙️ a Machine Learning Engineer who won France’s Best Data Scientist Award in 2018 🏆 and read about how he landed a job at Jellysmack thanks to The Allyance!
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🔗 COACH ME IF YOU CAN N°9 - Nikita Loukachev
Who are you? Tell us everything!
👋 My name is Nikita Loukachev, I am 32 years old. I grew up in Clermont-Ferrand and now live in Paris.
I hold a diploma in mathematics from the University of Clermont-Ferrand and learned a lot on my own, which I found way more efficient than studying.
During my 7 years of experience, I worked in statistics, data science and software engineering. I was, until recently, a Machine Learning Engineer at JellySmack, a creator content amplification solution and world’s first video-editor. Basically, my job was to build video-editing software.
In 2018, I won France’s Best Data Scientist Award, which I’m really proud of!
I love IT, entomology, herpetology, naturalist inventories, but also sports (mainly MMA) and chess. But don’t worry, I’m not your typical geek!
What was your goal when you reached out to The Allyance?
Both the company I was working in and my position did not fit my personality and ambitions.
I had been looking for a job on my own for about 2 weeks when I realised I was mature enough to admit that I needed help and that I could not do everything by myself. Some people have the expertise, so why not call them in?
Caroline looked quite qualified so I reached out to her.
How did Morgane help you find your current job?
The coaching took place online around the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022. I had one or two sessions with Caroline and Morgane, then three with Morgane alone.
After reviewing my CV, we worked on the recruitment’s steps to better understand the recruiter and manager’s expectations, and how to answer their questions. We mainly did interviews and simulations and built a framework of relevant answers to the most common questions.
After applying on my own, Morgane and Caroline sent my application to recruiters in their circle.
During the following job interviews, I used what I learned during the coaching and felt well prepared. At the end of a few rounds of recruitment process, I got two offers and chose JellySmack.
What made the coaching sessions with Morgane unique according to you?
💙 It was my first coaching and I deeply regret that: I should have done it way before with The Allyance!
The technical part aside, I truly appreciated Caroline and Morgane’s honesty on companies' cultures and how to avoid toxic work environments.
I felt like their deep sincerity helped me save a lot of time. Their recommendations were really good, as well as their motivating energy! I also love the close follow-up and feedback on my interviews.
Why do you like being a Machine Learning Engineer?
⚙️ Well, I get to do a bit of everything: data science, data engineering, software engineering. Not a day goes by when I do not learn something new. It fits my personality and eagerness to constantly move.
Moreover, my team at JellySmack was amazing. It counts 5 competent people with similar work experience as mine I really enjoy working with, even if we were all working remotely. Also, my tribe gets the most production projects so we had a nice budget to recruit a Senior.
Name a well-known person you admire. Tell us why you admire that person!
✨ As an atheist, I feel like it’s a difficult question. I would rather speak of inspirations.
Recently, I read Alex Xu’s book about machine learning called System Design Interview and truly loved it.
When it comes to work, Pierre-André Vieillard-Baron, my former company’s Lead Architect, is the most skillful person I’ve ever met. Though we’ve not been working together for 3 years, we’re still in contact today.
How do you know Caroline Therwath-Chavier? The Allyance?
👀 After getting my award as France’s Best Data Scientist, Caroline contacted me. Morgane, Caroline and I also happened to work in the same sector, so we kind of knew each other before that.
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A few words from Morgane, The Allyance’s Sourcing & Recruitment expert:
“✨ Working with Nikita has been a pleasure. He was very quick to understand the “models” I was feeding him and to then apply them in context. We fine-tuned some language elements, structured his presentation, his answers and after that, he dazzled all the recruiters he met and landed his new adventure in no time!”
✔️ Want more?
➡️ If you are interested in knowing more about The Allyance Coaching Offer and the prices, feel free to read this complete piece on the matter or read the feedback from our coachees! You can also get in touch with The Allyance team and book a free conversation below.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
✒️ Léa C, The Allyance Contributor: “I joined The Allyance after Caroline and I met at a ionnalee’s concert! I am a freelance translator and content writer (French, English, Spanish and German). I also work as an administrative employee in the health and data science sector. So, I am not far from Caroline’s core topic! I am very active as a volunteer in social and environmental NGOs, where I always try to put intersectionality at the center of actions because I am convinced that every cause is linked to one another. It is readily apparent that Caroline and I share a lot of common interests, which is why we as friends decided to work together!”