In our #InsideAT series we regularly present new employees. Today it's Leon Luithlen's turn. He is starting with us as a Data Scientist - in this interview he tells us what drove him to join, what his background is and how he likes to spend his life outside of work.

What position will you take on at AT?

I will be joining as a Data Scientist on a project developing a recommender system. My main task will be to A/B test different models or implementations.

How did you become aware of AT?

Quite boring, about Indeed!

Why did you choose AT?

This was easy for me: all my interviewees at AT seemed totally sympathetic and relaxed, and the most important thing for me is to get on well with my colleagues. A second factor was that during my sabbatical the year before, I worked on multi-armed bandits, a field closely related to A/B testing. So the field appeals to me a lot.

What are you looking forward to the most?

After several years of working mainly alone, I am looking forward to working together on projects.

What did you do before?

Before that I worked at a market research agency as a Data Scientist, and over the pandemic year I learned Scala and worked on a multi-armed bandit framework.

Where were you born and raised?

I was born in Bonn and grew up in Cologne and especially Brussels.

What has been your favourite travel destination so far and where would you definitely like to go?

I have only seen the Himalayas from afar, but I would love to travel there properly one day.

What was your dream job as a child?

When I was a child, I wanted to be a physicist.

What is your favourite film / series?

I watched Mad Men for the second time last year and I thought it was great again.

What was the last book you read?

One of the last books I read is "The Attention Merchants" by Tim Wu, which traces the development of today's internet from the advertising industry of the 20th century. Highly recommended!