The long way here.
I spent my first career in luxury hospitality: night manager, head of guest experience, front office manager at five-star properties. Years of being the person high-paying guests came to when something went wrong, of keeping a floor running under pressure, of turning complaints into improvements.
Then I joined a hospitality feedback analytics company on the client success side, and found the thing I actually love: building systems that make other people's work easier. I taught myself R, then Python, SQL, and PySpark, and turned slow manual Excel reporting into automated Power BI platforms. The reporting role grew into a data engineering one, and I ended up designing and building the company's entire data platform from scratch: medallion architecture on Microsoft Fabric, semantic models, embedded analytics, and the AI systems that now operate it. Along the way I completed a Level 7 AI Data Specialist apprenticeship (CGA).
The pattern in that arc is the thing I'd want you to take away. I did customer-facing work for a decade before I wrote a line of Python. Most engineers try to bolt on communication; I bolted on engineering. That order matters for the kind of work I do now: embedded with a business, translating what operators actually need into systems they can run, and being trusted in the room while doing it.
And I taught myself everything in between because I genuinely enjoy it. In 2025 I completed a Level 7 AI Data Specialist apprenticeship (CGA) alongside the day job, and the studying never stopped: new models, techniques, and workflows, daily, put to work the same week. Whatever the next technology shift is, I'll be on the useful side of it.
2015 luxury hospitality 2021 reporting & insights 2023 data engineering 2025 AI systems & workflows now forward deployed AI engineer
What people say
Peter Konopka, Head of Data and AI (direct manager)"I have worked closely with Sjoerd in my role as Head of Data and AI, and he has been a consistently strong Data Engineer and BI Developer. Sjoerd played a key role in designing, building, and scaling our data and analytics platform end to end. His work covered robust ETL/ELT pipelines, performant data models, and high-quality Power BI solutions used directly by both internal and external clients. He combines solid engineering fundamentals (Azure, PySpark, Python, SQL) with a strong product and business mindset, which is rare and highly valuable. One of his standout contributions was the development of innovative, industry-specific metrics and visualisations that translated complex datasets into clear, actionable insights for non-technical stakeholders. He is reliable, works autonomously, and takes full ownership of his deliverables, consistently going beyond baseline expectations. He has grown significantly during our collaboration, further strengthening his skills through advanced AI and data training, and consistently raised the bar for quality and impact. I would confidently recommend Sjoerd to any organisation looking for a competent data professional who delivers real business value, not just pipelines and dashboards."
Albany Smith, Customer Success Executive (colleague, 3+ years)"I have had the absolute pleasure of working with Sjoerd for over 3 years, and during that time seen him continuously grow and take on new challenges beyond his post, routinely adding new skills to his remit. He has been a core pillar in both the daily runnings and longer-term success of our team, underpinning everything we do with the processes and platforms he has built himself. Sjoerd is warm and genuine, a very cherished part of our team as a human as well as an absolute powerhouse of a data engineer!"
Beyond the work
I volunteer at a 35-bed homeless shelter in London: cooking for the house, overnight shifts, guest support. For two years I also fostered cats for the RSPCA, from shy and scared through to ready for adoption. The same instinct drives both: look after the people and creatures who depend on you. It's also why my automation is careful by default.
Otherwise you'll find me outdoors, staying active, or deep in a side project. I'm Dutch, London-based, and I work in English and Dutch.
Want the conventional CV? Email me and I'll send the current version, tailored to what you're hiring for.