#107 Developing New Products Using Machine Learning with Max Sklar - Engineering and Innovation Labs Advisor and Podcast Host

The Local Maximum is hosted and produced by Max Sklar. Max is a software engineer and new product developer by trade, with a focus on machine learning, Bayesian inference, content discovery, and prototyping. The bulk of his work as a machine learning engineer was at Foursquare, where he built Foursquare City Guide’s critically acclaimed 10-point venue rating system and the Marsbot app. More recently, he led the development of a causality model for Foursquare’s Ad Attribution product and now works at Foursquare’s innovation lab. Enjoy the show! We speak about: [00:30] About Max Sklar [02:00] How did you get into the world of data? [06:05] About the recommender system at Foursquare [10:15] Why do you like solving open-ended problems? [12:20] How has your new role been? [14:20] What are the benefits of staying at a company for a long period of time? [16:30] About Marsbot [20:00] About the attribution side of Foursquare [26:40] How do you pick the innovations you are going to try? [28:50] How does the monthly pitch day work? [31:20] About Local Max Radio Resources: Podcast: https://www.localmaxradio.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-sklar-b638464/ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/localmaxradio/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/maxsklar Marsbot: https://marsbotapp.com Foursquare: https://foursquare.com Quotes: “Try a few ways and see what works.” “I am looking forward to seeing what kind of trouble people cause.” “I focus on making a splash on pushing forward technology.” “Getting things to work that no one has necessarily tried before - that no one in our company has tried before.” “It's tough to describe probability functions to end clients, it's always good to have that on your side”. Thank you to our sponsors: Fyrebox - Make Your Own Quiz! RMIT Online Master of Data Science Strategy and Leadership Gain the advanced strategic, leadership and data science capabilities required to influence executive leadership teams and deliver organization-wide solutions. We are RUBIX. - one of Australia’s leading pure data consulting companies delivering project outcomes for some of the world’s leading brands. Visit online.rmit.edu.au for more information And as always, we appreciate your Reviews, Follows, Likes, Shares and Ratings. Thank you so much for listening. Enjoy the show!