In cafés, you will find espresso, but in Nota, you will find NetsPresso. Espressos are concentrated to be enjoyed in small amounts, savoring the taste and aroma. NetsPresso is built on a similar principle, existing as an AI model that can be made lightweight to run on edge devices.
Since 2020, the NetsPresso (NP) team has been working tirelessly to have their technology work on as many devices as possible. Last August, their hard work culminated in the release of NetsPresso 1.0. Since then, they have gone through some team reorganization, and are now working towards new goals, namely an updated release of NetsPresso.
We sat down with Sanggeon Park, who works in the Service Engineering (SE) department of the NP team. Together we discussed the ongoing NetsPresso project, with a focus on technology as a service, and his work to bring the product to customers as easily and conveniently as possible.
Meeting Sanggeon Park of Service Engineering.
First off, congratulations can never come too late! 😃 Congratulations on the official release of NetsPresso! How did it feel when the moment finally arrived?.
Ah yes, August 30th, I remember it well! It felt great to finally get it out. Looking back, we went through a lot together. The first NetsPresso product was the long-awaited result of working hard together as a team, over many many months. It was a challenging journey, more challenging than we could have ever imagined. It was a meaningful day for us all, but our work is far from done.
You just reminded me of the dinner party on launch day! Looking to the future, what are you working on currently? Is the NP team working towards any special goals or milestones in particular?
Our most pressing matter is to collect as much feedback from our customers as possible. We want to reflect their input into our product, improving the service. As well as that, we have some other new ideas that we want to implement into our technology. If it all goes to plan, our customers will be able to use NetsPresso across many different operating environments, opening up its potential to more diverse functions.
Please tell us about the work in the Service Engineering department.
As the name suggests, the SE department focuses on creating and providing our technology as a service. SE is split into various sub-branches like Web Service, BE Dev, Embedded System, etc. Before our team was restructured, each branch tended to work on their own projects, but overlapping when necessary. These days however, we are a much more cohesive unit, and we are able to implement our ideas more effectively, providing a better service.
In the SE team, we also work to consider and implement the technologies created and refined by other departments. The end goal is always customer satisfaction, we want them to use our products easily and intuitively. Personally, I am in charge of providing integrated terminal test environments for our deep learning engineers. I work to make their research a little easier. Additionally, I create and manage base environments that are necessary for learning and developing our potential.
Listening to Sanggeon speak about his work, his passion and energy is clear. I wanted to know more about his story.
Sanggeon's personal story – the journey to Service Engineering.
How is your work going these days?
The first thing that comes to mind is my schedule! Since switching to a more management orientated role, I have been very busy. I delegate and coordinate tasks among other team members, which takes up a lot of my time. In the early days, I was in meetings for 8 hours a day! Thankfully things have calmed down a lot since then, I only do 4 hours of meetings now...(laughs)
Ultimately, my role is to foster an environment for others to work as smoothly and efficiently as possible. This is an ongoing process, and I am continually trying to improve our results.
It's clear you have a lot on your plate. I'm curious, what did you do before your current role?
I worked in the Embedded System department of Service Engineering. Our team worked to aid machine learning engineers. By tweaking and adjusting various aspects of our AI programs, such as security, our engineers are able to work more efficiently.
For a while now, my work has been focused on the management side of things. As we continue to expand as a company, we need to ensure that we continue to work as smoothly and efficiently as possible. I use my past experiences to help us manage this transition as best we can.
Though you are technically working for Nota's European subsidiary, you have been living in Korea for a while now. Do you miss living in Germany?
I do. I enjoy living in Korea, but I have to say that I miss Germany too. It has always been in the back of my mind that I will go back there one day. Never say never!
Considering the time difference with Korea, I imagine your working schedule would have to change a lot if you ever go back to Germany.
For sure! That would take some getting used to. I would also have to consider the fact that I would have many online meetings, rather than face-to-face, like now. Not having in-person meetings would bring its own challenges. When you are having online meetings, you have to explain yourself very well so as not to be misunderstood.
But to be honest, it's not something I'm worrying about. There are people working in Germany now who collaborate with us in Korea, and it's not a problem. Whatever path the future takes me down, I have faith it will be a fruitful one.
Sanggeon has been through a lot with Nota, and it has been interesting to learn about his journey. With an eye on the future, I asked him about the current opportunities on offer in Service Engineering.
Service Engineering – Prospects.
These days, there are some front and back-end job openings in the Service Engineering department. From your perspective, what is the attraction of working for Nota?
The biggest selling point for me is the opportunity to work on the cutting of AI technology. When I was considering my own career path, I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do. I wanted to work in a domain that was still growing, filled with potential and excitement. After much deliberation, I chose the AI industry, and found Nota. Looking ahead, the future of Nota and AI in general, looks very bright.
Another aspect of Nota that makes it so attractive is the working culture. Great efforts have been made to create a tight-knit team culture that works together closely. One of Nota's main Leadership Principles is the challenge to 'Be Proactive', and I can see this around me every day. The working atmosphere is encouraging, tolerant, and forgiving of mistakes. Everyone knows that they have the full support of their colleagues, and it truly makes a difference.
I see that there is currently a vacancy for an AI Model Benchmark & Deployment Automation Engineer, what does this entail?
This is an interesting position. The successful candidate will be responsible for developing a new automated platform that measures the performance of AI models. New processes for measuring AI performance have to be devised, and they will have to develop a new system to ensure tasks can be reliably and successfully automated.
It's the perfect position for someone who wants to work in systems optimization as it relates to AI. Going forward, their work will be a vital part of the NetsPresso platform.
Do you have anything else you would like to mention?
I'd like to express gratitude to my colleagues. They make my job a lot easier by being hard-working, open, honest, and friendly. Information is shared freely among us, and it helps me to resolve any hiccups we have along the way. I believe we have a mutual trust and understanding, and it helps us do our jobs to the best of our ability.
Personal development is something we all value, and I learn a lot from my colleagues through seminars, studies and general chatting. I feel lucky to have worked with such a good group of people for so long, long may it continue!
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Thanks to Sanggeon, I can now understand more about Nota and their Service Engineering department. His passion and enthusiasm is clear, and I look forward to seeing what he achieves in the future. With a new updated version of NetsPresso on the horizon, perhaps we won't be waiting too long.
Do you like what you see? Are you interested in working for Nota? Please get in touch!