Innovative Thinking Training Pilots to Training Algorithms: A Tech Hero’s Journey How do you get from the cockpit of a helicopter flight simulator to the top ranks of the global data science community? For Shir Meir Lador, the journey was fueled by twin passions for math and leadership. As a flight instructor in the Israeli Air Force, Shir loved teaching, coaching, and helping people grow into Written by Intuit Blog team Published Mar 5, 2021 - [Updated Nov 9, 2022] 2 min read How do you get from the cockpit of a helicopter flight simulator to the top ranks of the global data science community? For Shir Meir Lador, the journey was fueled by twin passions for math and leadership. As a flight instructor in the Israeli Air Force, Shir loved teaching, coaching, and helping people grow into their full potential. When her data science career brought her to Intuit, she saw an opportunity to apply the same skills as a team leader while gaining a broader perspective on the business. “I wanted to develop other parts of my brain, and now I get to be a mentor here, as well,” she explained in a recent Tech Heroes Podcast, hosted by Intuit. Her love of data science encompasses the work itself—in which a single week can range from analyzing business metrics and exploring algorithms to coding and presentation-building as a Data Science Group Manager—and the diverse skills and perspectives of the people she works with. As an Ambassador for Women in Data Science (WiDS) Israel and co-founder of PyData Tel Aviv meetups, Shir embraces the technical, social and creative aspects of her career development. For a former singer and songwriter in a rock band at university (yet another stage of her hero’s journey), it’s only fitting. You can learn more about Shir’s work at Intuit and her advice for prospective data scientists and team leaders in the Tech Heroes Podcast here. And, be sure to join Intuit at the Women in Data Science (WiDS) 2021 virtual conference, where Shir will moderate an Ethics and Responsible Data Science panel during the EMEA portion of the 24-hour event, which is taking place from Sunday, March 7 through Monday, March 8 (Asia Pacific, EMEA, Americas). We look forward to meeting you at our WiDS Expo Booth, where we’ll take a deep dive into how Intuit is unleashing the power of data to transform the world of consumer, self-employed, and small business finances. Previous Post Meet an Intuit Engineer – Simon Behar Yutkewich Next Post Driving Innovation & Transformation: Women in Data Science Written by Intuit Blog team Our team of contributors loves to uncover inspiring stories and share helpful tips to help power your prosperity. Browse Related Articles Taxpayer Empowerment Homeownership is falling out of reach—more needs to be done to change this Social Responsibility Shop small, shop sustainably Taxpayer Empowerment Simplifying Family Tax Credits: Why it Matters and What Can Be Done News Intuit UK Gender Pay Gap Report Innovative Thinking Intuit Survey: U.S. High School Students Want Financial Education at School Social Responsibility Building financial confidence for today’s generation Social Responsibility Intuit partners with The Farmlink Project to address climate change and combat food waste Life at Intuit How to become a better trans+ and non-binary ally Life at Intuit Here’s how women at Intuit inspire inclusion Taxpayer Empowerment Powering prosperity for women means addressing gender inequities in the tax code