Swetha Narayanan, an AY17/20 alumna of the NUS Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) programme, transitioned from a software engineering career at Goldman Sachs to a data science role at Google. Armed with the technical and business skills she gained through the NUS MSBA programme, Swetha now works to protect billions of Google users. In this article, we explore her journey, from her decision to pursue NUS MSBA to her current role, and her passion for diversity and mentoring in the tech industry.
A Career Shift from Software Engineering to Data Science
After graduating with an undergraduate degree in Computing Engineering from NUS in 2014, Swetha Narayanan’s career began as a software engineer at Goldman Sachs, where she spent five years working on investment research and market risk technology. While gaining valuable technical experience, Swetha’s curiosity about data science grew. She saw the vast potential for data to inform better decision-making and scale operations across industries.
This realisation drove her to pursue further education, and she decided to enroll in the NUS Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) programme as a part-time student. Swetha felt that gaining formal training in business analytics would give her the tools to transition into the data science field successfully.
Swetha’s NUS MSBA Journey
“The NUS MSBA programme was instrumental in equipping me with the necessary skills and knowledge to transition into a data science career,” Swetha shared. “The curriculum provided a comprehensive understanding of statistical modelling, analytical first principles thinking, and operations research techniques, which are essential in my current role.”
What Swetha found particularly valuable was the focus on practical, real-world projects. This hands-on experience helped her bridge the gap between theoretical learning and real-life data challenges. She shared that, “The programme’s emphasis on practical application through real-world projects was invaluable. This prepared me to confidently apply my skills in a real-world setting.”
She also collaborated with her talented batchmates and won competitions like the CFLD-NUS Analytics Innovation Challenge where they designed solutions combining innovative data sourcing and creative machine learning applications to evaluate land prices in cities. This peer-learning environment helped her gain a head start in the collaborative field of business analytics.
Post Graduation: Transitioning to Data Science at Google
Swetha credits the NUS MSBA programme, and particularly its dedicated faculty, with providing her a strong technical foundation and the ability to translate business needs in diverse fields – from finance to health to marketing – into data science problems.
After graduating from the NUS MSBA programme as a part-time graduate student, Swetha joined Google as a Trust and Safety Engineering Data Science Analyst in 2019. In this role, Swetha uses her data science skills to protect Google’s publishers, advertisers and users from online abuse and fraud. Her team plays a critical role in providing risk mitigation, enforcing monetisation policies using AI and ML techniques and enabling great user experience across Google’s platforms.
Currently a Senior Engineering Analyst at Google, Swetha enjoys the combination of creative problem solving and responsible application of AI modelling to protect billions of users globally. This role demands multifaceted skill sets, combining technical expertise, leadership acumen, and strategic thinking.
Swetha is also a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. She is actively involved in mentoring young women who are interested in pursuing careers in data science.
Building the Next Generation of Data Science Leaders
Swetha believes that the NUS MSBA programme is an excellent platform for refining key skills through its case study competitions and industry capstone projects. The unique blend of business acumen, technical proficiency, and strong industry partnerships sets the programme apart, making it a major contributor to developing the next generation of change-makers, critical thinkers, and leaders.
An event she looks forward to each year is the annual NUS Business Analytics Centre Symposium (BACS), where she meets emerging data science talent and sees how they apply their skills to solve important challenges across industries globally.
For aspiring data professionals, Swetha advocates for a first-principles, tools-agnostic approach to mastering data science. “Tools will always evolve, but focusing on the fundamentals and adopting a growth mindset is crucial for long-term success,” she says. Data science is not just about crunching numbers; it’s about telling a story with data. A valuable data scientist excels at both the technical and the communicative aspects of this storytelling.
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