Meet Senior Data Engineer Fahimeh
Almost ten years ago, Fahimeh Farahi moved across the world with her husband to pursue a career in the Netherlands. “We both studied AI in Iran for our master’s degrees,” Fahimeh explains. “When he got a PhD position, I decided to take the leap and come with him to start my professional career,” and so she started her journey as a software engineer. Fast forward to 2025, and Fahimeh joined Eraneos as a Senior Data Engineer.
After working as a software engineer for several years, Fahimeh realized it was not the right path for her. “Since I studied AI, I really wanted to work with data. My passion has always been for data, and in the position I had at the time, I couldn’t find what I was missing,” Fahimeh explains. “But then, my employer at the time offered me an opportunity in the data science team as a data engineer, which was my official introduction to this field.”
She quickly discovered that she was enjoying her new role much more. “There’s more responsibility and much more knowledge you need to have. It’s not just about being someone who knows algorithms and the mathematics behind them,” Fahimeh laughs. “It’s also about being practical with the models a data scientist builds. Once a model is built, it should be deployed so that people can use it. Implementing the whole pipeline is important. Bringing data from the source so data scientists can use it is actually a crucial part. So, I decided I didn’t want to go back to data science, but to fully commit to becoming a data engineer.”
After building a strong foundation of knowledge for herself, Fahimeh decided it was time for the next step in her career. “After a while, I noticed that my learning curve at the company was flatlining, while there was still so much I wanted to learn,” Fahimeh states. “Maintenance isn’t much fun to me, so I started looking for a new position.”
She had done many interviews, but Eraneos stood out to her. “What was interesting about Eraneos was the feeling I got from the recruiter during the interview, and also from the other people who interviewed me. I felt that it’s not just a consultancy company focused only on customer delivery or satisfying the client. It really cares about its people and how they want to grow, and in which direction they want to develop.” Fahimeh shares that the recruiter gave her real insight into the family-like atmosphere at Eraneos, not just a group of people doing their jobs. “The recruiter was really by my side throughout the process, which was a good representation of how I experience my colleagues now too. It was as if we were two friends checking up on one another.”
People first
Starting in the summer period, things move a little slower. “It was a little quiet when I first joined, since it was summer and there weren’t many projects at the time. But there were a few opportunities,” Fahimeh mentions. “What stood out to me was the feeling I got from my manager and the team. If I didn’t like a project, there was no pressure from the company to assign me to it.” Her manager made sure she knew he would put her and her team’s needs first. “That was a really nice feeling and left a great impression. It made me feel that the manager genuinely cares about us, gives us space to grow, and supports us in pursuing the tech stack we enjoy by choosing the projects we want to work on.”
Fahimeh also experiences support in her personal life. “Being from Iran, the situation in my country can be difficult. In the past month, it was tough, not being able to connect with family brought a lot of stress. During this time, it meant a lot to me that I felt supported and seen by my manager.” He made sure that if Fahimeh needed extra time, she could easily take it. “Having a manager who cares about you as a person, as a human being, is so important. I am happy to have found that at Eraneos.”
AWS vs. Azure
Fahimeh has worked on two projects, one of which is still ongoing. “The first project was the productization of a machine learning project, which I really enjoyed because with my experience as a data scientist, I know what kind of data is needed. When you understand how to prepare the right data, it’s much easier to handle the entire architecture.” By origin, Fahimeh is an AWS specialist. “I was happy that the first project was on AWS, as this is my comfort zone.” The project was for the pension sector and was a great warm-up for her at Eraneos.
The second project began at the same time as the first and is an internal project called Horizon IQ. “It’s about integrating all the HR and R&O systems into one entity and creating dashboards based on all the data we have at Eraneos.” At first, Fahimeh wasn’t sure about joining this project because it was based on Azure, Snowflake, and DBT. These are technologies she had no experience with. “My manager encouraged me, telling me I could do it, and explained that it’s important to keep up with what the industry wants in the Netherlands, where most people prefer Azure,” Fahimeh explains. “So I saw it as a great opportunity to learn and collaborate with colleagues who are experienced in Azure. We had our first release last Friday, which was a really solid end-to-end implementation for the German CEO. He was happy, which made us happy too.”
More integration is happening for the CRM system, the NetSuite system, and the Decidalo system, meaning this project is still growing. “As the project expands, we need to use more and more services within Azure, which means I have to keep learning. Right now, I see a big opportunity to gain more knowledge about Azure. I do miss working with AWS, but it’s not a problem. I actually plan to get an extra AWS certification to keep my skills fresh, even though I’m working hands-on with Azure.”
Knowledgeable, supportive, fun
If Fahimeh had to describe the Data & AI team, she would say: “We have broad knowledge and a strong sense of teamwork. People here genuinely enjoy being part of the team and supporting each other. The group is always up for having fun as well. Whenever there’s an event, a game, or a drink, I see so many faces turn up, which is really nice.” In general, she finds connecting with people at Eraneos quite easy. “You can really find out who does what because the company is so friendly, and there’s no sense of hierarchy. I can easily reach out to a senior HR person or a senior cybersecurity specialist and have a casual conversation with them. That’s something I really appreciate. Even though there is a structure, you don’t feel it in the company.”
And in her spare time?
Next to being a data engineer, Fahimeh is also a mother to a one-year-old baby and a big fan of movies. “Before becoming a mom, my husband and I used to go to the cinema once or twice a week, and we also played tennis together. We learned tennis during the Corona period and continued afterwards, though life changed a bit after that,” she smiles.
She also enjoys meeting friends, inviting them over, and cooking for them. “Food is my way of showing people love. My signature dishes are definitely Iranian, but I’m always happy to try new international recipes as well.” Whenever she wants to try a new recipe, she makes sure to invite people over. “Because the first time I cook something, it’s always the best. I put all my focus into it, and somehow, the second time never turns out quite as good as the first. So the first time is always special,” she grins.