Tobias Salzer

Self-Employed - Data Engineering & Data Science

A5-Labs (ML-Engineer):
At A5 Labs, I worked as a Machine Learning Engineer on the development of a poker AI that was designed to play better than professional players.
The overarching goal was to detect fraudulent behavior in online poker. One method involved comparing user gameplay with that of our AI to identify players with superhuman performance.
To achieve this, we tested various algorithms and combinations thereof, including:

• Supervised Learning
• Reinforcement Learning
• Counterfactual Regret Minimization
• Real-Time Solving

Ultimately, we achieved our goal with an RL algorithm.
A5 Labs became aware of me through my master's thesis in this field ("Reinforcement Learning for Games with Imperfect Information").
I particularly appreciated the intellectual challenge, working at the cutting edge of current research, and collaborating with leading experts worldwide.

(Senior) Data Intelligence Specialist

At ÖBB, I worked as a Data Engineer / Data Scientist in the Azure environment.
The goal was to unify the fragmented and sometimes chaotic data landscape of the departments in a central data lake and to conceptualize and implement data science use cases.
My responsibilities included:

• Implementation of ETL pipelines
• Data quality checks and cleansing
• Provision of interfaces to existing systems
• Creation of dashboards for executive management
• Requirements engineering and conceptualization of potential data science use cases
• Implementation of data science use cases

I worked intensively with Databricks but also regularly used other Azure services such as Data Factory and Synapse Analytics to meet various requirements.
I deepened my expertise in Azure through targeted training, including DP-203: Data Engineering on Azure. I also completed training in the SAFe framework.
The work was extremely diverse and varied, and I particularly appreciated the collegial work environment.
This job laid the foundation for my current specialization and passion for Azure.

Actuary

After my bachelor's degree in mathematics, I gained my first professional experience as an actuary at Wiener Städtische.
In this role, I was able to further develop my analytical thinking and Excel skills and gained insight into the practical application of programming tools and automation.
These experiences sparked my passion for programming and led me to pursue a master's degree in Data Science.

Master's Degree in Data Science (Dipl.-Ing.)

Thesis: "Reinforcement Learning for Games with Imperfect Information"

DP-100: Designing and Implementing a Data Science Solution on Azure