In our latest chat, we sat down with Souha Hmissi, a Data Engineer in our tech team at Oneflow. She shared her journey into the world of data, the challenges she's overcome, and why she finds her work both fulfilling and exciting. Here’s a glimpse of our conversation.

You’ve certainly had an interesting journey into tech. Can you share how you ended up at Oneflow?

Sure. Well, I actually never planned to work in IT. Growing up in Tunisia, I thought I’d be a surgeon since body anatomy fascinated me and I always wanted to learn more about how things work and connect to each other. But, it turns out I was better at math, so I ended up in telecommunications engineering. It wasn’t for me, so I pivoted to data science, taught myself online, and nearly failed my telecommunications engineering degree while doing so. I didn’t though!

With no data science jobs in Tunisia, I looked abroad and landed an internship with a large company in Sweden. It was tough adjusting, especially with the language, but I stuck with it. After a few years, I realized I wanted to see more impact from my work, which is what led me to Oneflow. It was a smaller company, which felt risky, but I wanted that challenge. Now, after a year here, I’m seeing the impact of what I do every day—and that’s exactly what I was looking for.

What drew you to Oneflow, and how has your experience been?

What excited me, from the beginning, was the chance to help build a data platform from the ground up. It’s rare to join a team at the start of that journey. The experience has been everything I hoped: sometimes tough, sometimes rewarding, but never dull. I’ve never regretted joining this team.

When you say ‘tough’ has there been a particularly challenging project that comes to mind?

Oh yes, there is a tool we use to ingest data— and it was a big hurdle. None of us were experts at the time, and navigating its architecture was frustrating. But that project showed how resilient and collaborative our team is. We all pitched in, troubleshooting together and getting help from the wider community. Now, it’s running smoothly, thanks to everyone’s effort.

Definitely sounds like a big learning opportunity for the team as a whole. Could you tell me how Oneflow supports you in your continuous learning?

We have great learning opportunities—from our learning platform in our team, to monthly knowledge-sharing sessions. I’m especially excited about a new series focused on system design. And on a personal level, my bi-weekly coaching sessions help me improve continuously. The challenges we face each sprint push us to grow, even if we think we’ve got it all figured out.

So it sounds like there is quite a bit of diversity in everyone's knowledge/skill sets. Is this what you would define ‘diversity’ as?

Diversity here isn’t just about gender or culture—it’s also about different skills and perspectives. Our team complements each other’s strengths, and that makes collaboration much more effective. To me it seems that hiring for diversity comes naturally when we hire for talent and ability in this team.

That’s wonderful to hear! What are you excited about seeing in the future at Oneflow?

I’m excited to see how we’re becoming more data-driven. We’re making decisions based on numbers, and we can positively see how it is shaping the direction of the company. AI initiatives are picking up, too. Personally, I see my role evolving more toward strategy, helping ensure we’re leveraging data and AI for real value, not just following trends.

Oneflow is continually trying to “beat yesterday”. Being that that is one of our Core Values, how do Oneflow’s values show up in your day-to-day work?

Well, actually, “beat yesterday” is a big one for me. We reflect a lot on our work in retrospectives, and that pushes us to improve. “In it together” is also something I see daily—whether it’s offering help before someone even asks or just creating a safe space to admit when we don’t know something. The values really come to life in our teamwork.

Any advice for someone considering a role at Oneflow?

If you’re looking for a place where you’ll be challenged and see real growth, this is it. At Oneflow, you can make a real impact, and you’ll never stop learning.