In this episode of the ODSC Podcast, host Sheamus McGovern is joined by Veronika Durgin, Vice President of Data at Saks. Veronika brings over two decades of experience in data engineering, platform architecture, data modeling, and analytics. She joins us to expand on her ODSC presentation, The 10 Most Neglected Data Engineering Tasks, offering practical insights into often-overlooked practices that can make or break modern data systems. From defining what “done” really means to preparing for seasonality and building self-recovering pipelines, Veronika shares hard-won lessons, entertaining stories, and a deep well of practical advice.

💻 Key Topics Covered:

- Veronika’s unconventional career journey from biology to data leadership- The “bridge strategy” in build vs. buy decisions and how it improves agility- Why “definition of done” must include more than just working code- The value of empathy: walking a mile in the business team’s shoes- The dangers of ignoring business seasonality in data pipelines- What makes a truly self-healing data pipeline- Testing with production data vs. data in production- Handling date/time data with precision and naming conventions- The forgotten bucket of work: tech debt, improvements, and innovation- The environmental impact of data systems and responsible engineering- The rise of “vibe coding” and the challenges it poses for data engineering

💬 Memorable Outtakes:

- “If you don't know why you're working on this and who needs it, you shouldn't be working on it.” - “Everything we build today is tomorrow's legacy. Build things to be replaceable.” - “We automate, not because we’re lazy—but because we care about sleeping at night.” 

🖥 References & Resources:

- Veronika Durgin on LinkedIn:⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/vdurgin/⁠

- Veronika Durgin on Medium: ⁠https://veronikadurgin.medium.com⁠

- The Phoenix Project (pdf of book):⁠ https://shorturl.at/Ce5gA⁠

- “Definition of Done”:⁠ ⁠⁠https://medium.com/@durginv/definition-of-done-eea52c472cc3⁠

- Tsedal Neeley Digital Mindset (book referenced): ⁠https://www.tsedal.com/book/the-digital-mindset/⁠

- Stargate AI data center project (referenced during energy discussion): ⁠https://openai.com/index/announcing-the-stargate-project/⁠

Sponsored by:

🔥 ODSC West 2025 – The Leading AI Training Conference

Join us in San Francisco from October 28th–30th for expert-led sessions on generative AI, LLMOps, and AI-driven automation.

Use the code podcast for 10% off any ticket.

Learn more:⁠ https://odsc.com/california