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Raman Shah

Raman Shah Data Science, LLC

Member profile details

First name

Raman

Last name

Shah

Phone

401.400.3826

Organization

Raman Shah Data Science, LLC

Job title

Data craftsman

Bio

As a data craftsman, I save leaders money using statistics. From a background spanning the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, my independent consulting helps local governments with performance measurement and operational improvement.

I'm formally educated in hard science. I earned a Bachelor's in chemistry from Caltech and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from The University of Chicago. Between these degrees, I completed a two-year commitment with Teach For America, teaching high school mathematics on the Southwest Side of Chicago.

I've worn many hats since then: software engineer at an analytics startup, computational scientist managing an academic research group, and principal data scientist in Capital One's model risk office. My passions are to build things and to help people grow. I quit my day job in 2018 to live these values even more fully and haven't looked back.

At its best, my work happens at the interface of the human and technical, threading a needle between an unsung analyst and an operational leader. The staffing is constrained, the world fast-changing, and the technology a mix of old and new systems with rough edges where they meet. The analyst, holding it all together with vital institutional knowledge, is exhausted. The leader, forced to take risks without timely information, is flying blind.

Instead of hawking yet another packaged software solution to add to the mix, I craft small-scale custom repairs to your workflows alongside your existing team and existing technology. Unlocking the decision-making tweaks waiting within your organization takes a certain alchemy of clean code, correct math, and common sense. The best changes have a low profile at first glance but have deep human consequences. Between technical exposure and newfound breathing room from automation and process improvement, the analyst feels empowered, recognizing the germ of a transformation in their skillset. The leader feels a quiet new confidence in their operational decision-making. Complexity melts away, revealing a game-changing clarity of thought.

It never gets old.

I live in Rhode Island; remote-first since long before the pandemic, I work everywhere. Away from the desk, you may find me baking sourdough, turning wrenches, birdwatching, or playing the violin.

Services

I save leaders money using statistics.

Here's how:

Performance measurement: "Are all systems go? If not, what's wrong?" Reports, dashboards, and performance metrics promise a clear answer - but all too often, they just add to the noise. I bring a decade of advanced statistical expertise to deliver monitoring that actually shows you where to look.

Operational improvement: Technology can revolutionize what residents get from their governments. But usually, not everything under the hood fits perfectly. I build custom tools for the workers who cope with these imperfections, making their jobs easier and helping technology reach its potential.

Skill development: Cities and counties are amazingly lean. It's so hard to add staff that productivity is paramount. As a veteran teacher, rather than air-dropping shiny products, I strive to co-create solutions, building institutional capacity by teaching analysts new superpowers.

If you want to use your data to run better, we'll probably have something useful to talk about.
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