Kaj Siebert Email & Phone Number

London, Gb

Meyrin, Genève, Ch

As a co-producer with The Big Bang Collective, a collaboration between CERN and several universities, I play a key role in creating and delivering engaging science outreach programs at music festivals across Europe, including WOMAD (UK), Colours of Ostrava (Czech Republic), Smukfest (Denmark), and Rototom (Spain). My responsibilities include:* Developing educational content that makes complex scientific concepts accessible to diverse audiences* Curating a diverse and educational programme for each festival, catering to a wide range of age groups and interests* Collaborating with other scientists, educators, and creatives to design interactive experiences* Identifying and inviting exceptional speakers, including scientists, researchers, and science communicators, to participate in talks, workshops, and panel discussions* Bringing in unique "events" such as the tesla piano and radio telescope showcases, providing immersive and interactive experiences for festival-goers* Building partnerships with institutions and organizations to expand the reach and impact of scientific discoveries* Ensuring that our programs are both informative and entertaining, sparking curiosity about science in attendees of all agesThis role allows me to combine my scientific expertise with my passion for education and public engagement, effectively bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and public understanding.

London, Gb

As Chief Information Officer at Social Finance, I was responsible for overseeing a wide range of critical technical and data-related functions. My key responsibilities included:* Managing and redesigning the organization's technical infrastructure, implementing new security frameworks and policies to ensure robust and secure systems* Overseeing data protection and compliance measures, including leading the GDPR implementationProviding expert advice on data protection matters, guiding the organization through complex data privacy landscapes* Leading the design of technical projects, aligning technological solutions with organizational goals and social impact objectives* Developing and implementing IT strategies to enhance efficiency and innovation across the organization* Advising on projects spanning diverse social impact areas including Children's Services, Care Leavers, Health & Wellbeing, Mental Health, Homelessness, and International DevelopmentIn this role, I combined my technical expertise with a deep understanding of the social sector, ensuring that our technology and data practices not only met industry standards but also amplified our ability to create positive social impact.

London, Gb

As Chief Technology Officer at Social Finance, I spearheaded the development of complex data science projects across a diverse range of social impact areas. My key responsibilities included:* Leading the Social Finance Digital Labs, where we built a diverse team and pioneered innovative AI and data science solutions* Overseeing the design and implementation of data-driven projects, including a tool for providing operational insights about children in local authority care at a national level* Developing a product to support young people leaving care, leveraging cloud-hosted, serverless architecture* Collaborating with domain experts, data scientists, and stakeholders to identify opportunities where advanced analytics could drive meaningful social change* Developing and implementing cutting-edge AI and machine learning models to tackle complex social challenges* Ensuring our technological solutions were not only effective but also ethical and aligned with our mission of creating positive social impact* Managing information governance across the organization, including redesigning international and multi-organizational projects handling large amounts of sensitive personal data* Fostering partnerships with academic institutions, tech companies, and government agencies to enhance our data science capabilities and expand our reachIn this role, I leveraged my background in astrophysics and data science to bring a unique perspective to social sector challenges, developing innovative solutions that had tangible impacts on vulnerable populations and communities in need.

As one of the five original founders of JustInvesting, I played a pivotal role in developing our SaaS solution, which provided pipeline, deal room, and investment lifecycle tools for a diverse clientele including professional and angel investors, investment networks, and larger enterprises. My key responsibilities included:* Leading product development, guiding our platform's evolution from an initial focus on crowd-funding to an enterprise-focused solution* Building and managing a ten-person development team, fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation* Overseeing the technical architecture to ensure scalability, performance, and alignment with business goals* Collaborating with external expert vendors to design and implement a secure, cloud-based hosting solution using AWS* Developing custom security and service wrappers to address gaps in vendor implementations* Working closely with stakeholders across the organization to align our technology stack with business objectivesMaintaining high standards of availability and performance for our existing clientsProviding mentorship to startups using the JustInvesting product, offering strategic guidance to help them succeedIn this role, I combined my technical expertise with a deep understanding of the investment landscape, ensuring that our platform met the complex needs of our diverse client base while maintaining the highest standards of security and performance.

Hammersmith, London, Gb

At Columba Systems, I spearheaded the development of a cutting-edge data platform that revolutionized the handling of high-performance data feeds and high-quality reference data. My key responsibilities and achievements included:* Designing and implementing a core platform featuring an event-based, multi-platform database wrapped in a document-based (NoSQL) API, enabling easy customer extension of the data model without code changes* Developing advanced data science solutions for processing and analyzing high-volume, real-time financial data feeds* Creating sophisticated algorithms for cleansing, normalizing, and enriching reference data to ensure the highest quality of information for our clients* Overseeing the deployment of our platform to over ten Global Investment Banks, numerous hedge funds, and buy-side organizations* Adapting our financial services-oriented platform for use in academic research, resulting in ongoing deployments at three Russell Group Universities* Showcasing the platform's versatility by providing real-time data feeds and front-end solutions for a major UK newspaper's FIFA World Cup website* Managing multi-national customer integration teams and collaborating with external vendors to ensure seamless implementation and operation of our platform* Ensuring compliance with financial industry regulations and maintaining the highest standards of security* Actively participating in industry standards bodies, including providing input to the IETF calendaring and scheduling working group as a member of CalConnectAlthough initially developed for financial services and quantitative analysts, the platform's adaptability and robust performance in handling complex, high-volume data streams made it valuable across diverse sectors. Its continued use in Russell Group universities and its application in high-profile media events demonstrate the enduring relevance and versatility of the technology we developed.

Toronto, On, Ca

After completing my PhD, I joined Reuters' internal R&D (innovation) group, where I played a crucial role in introducing and leveraging emerging technologies. My key responsibilities and achievements included:Creating proof-of-concepts and introducing cutting-edge technologies such as XML, Web Services, and mobile platforms to the business* Reporting directly to Reuters' CTO and working closely with the Corporate Strategy Group, presenting findings and recommendations to the CEO and other senior leaders* Spearheading the introduction of XSLT to Reuters, serving as a key advisor on XML business streams throughout the organization* Developing and delivering training courses on XML for developers, ensuring the company had the necessary skills to embrace this transformative technology* Representing Reuters in several standards bodies, including the International Unicode Consortium, the W3C XML Schema working group, and the NewsML Consortium* Presenting at key industry conferences, including WWW10, to share insights and maintain Reuters' position as a technology leader* Exploring the potential of emerging technologies such as Instant Messaging & Presence Services, Grid & Web Services, Identity, Trust & Security, Linux, and Mobile & Web Technologies* Advising the chair of the International Unicode Consortium, contributing to the development of industry standards and best practicesMy work at Reuters laid the groundwork for many of the data-driven and web-based services that would become integral to the company's future success. This work very much built on the expertise I had developed in automated data pipelines and data publishing during my PhD project in Astronomy. By applying and expanding upon these skills in a new context, I was able to showcase the power of applying cutting-edge technology to traditional media and information services, demonstrating the transferability of advanced data science techniques across different domains.

Ph.D., Astrophysics

Bsc, Astrophysics