Zack Sims

Zack Sims

Advanced Analytics Developer

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Biography

I’m currently an Advanced Analytics Developer at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in Atlanta, GA. Formerly, I worked as a Business Intelligence Associate at SpendHQ, a Senior Data Analyst at Cox Media Group as well as a Research Analyst at Turner Broadcasting. I’m well experienced working with ETL processes using tools like R, Python, SQL, GCP, AWS, Tableau, PowerBI, and Alteryx. Much of my experience has involved working with APIs, automating ETL processes, and building predictive & classification models. Additionally, I’m well versed in using Tableau & Power BI to build data visualizations.

I’m pursuing my Masters in Analytics from Georgia Tech, with an expected graduation date of December 2022. I graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016 with a B.S. in Statistics and a A.B.J. in Digital & Broadcast Journalism. I ran track and cross country at UGA and still love running. My PBs are: 1500 - 3:47, 5k - 14:07, and 10k - 29:56. Recently, I’ve ventured into longer-endurance races. I’ve done 1 Marathon, 5 Ironman 70.3s, and 1 Ironman. I recently competed at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in St. George, Utah. My PB for the 70.3 distance is 4:12.

Aside from school and work, I’m an avid Atlanta/Georgia sports fan, so I’m pretty used to having my heart broken. When I’m not attending games, I love doing anything outdoors: running, cycling, hiking, etc. The highlights for me are probably hiking the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim, hiking the narrows at Zion National Park, nearly dying doing the Stairway to Heaven in Hawaii, exploring Glacier National Park, and suffering through an Ironman in Ireland.

Download my resumé.

Interests
  • Programming (R, Python, SQL)
  • Big Data (GCP, AWS, Alteryx)
  • Data Visualization (Tableau, Power BI)
  • Atlanta/Georgia Sports
  • Getting active (running, biking, hiking)
  • Rom Coms
  • Music (undefeated on the aux)
Education
  • MS in Analytics, 2022

    Georgia Institute of Technology

  • BS in Statistics, 2016

    University of Georgia

  • ABJ in Digital & Broadcast Journalism, 2016

    University of Georgia

Skills

R
Python
SQL
GCP, Googling
Data Viz
AWS
API
On the Aux
Running & biking really far

Experience

 
 
 
 
 
AJC
Advanced Analytics Developer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Feb 2022 – Present Atlanta, GA

Responsibilities:

  • Built and automated ETL processes to land third-party data (Facebook, App Figures, Twitter, SplashThat, Megaphone, etc.) via APIs with AWS Lambda and Redshift
  • Created a conversion model to identify the likelihood existing print subscribers would convert to a digital subscription or a reduced-delivery subscription
  • Developed reporting and dashboards using Power BI to enable stakeholders to track performance in crucial business areas (podcasting, social media, etc.)
  • Created Google Cloud Functions to assist in extracting data from Google Cloud Platform to Amazon Redshift tables
 
 
 
 
 
SpendHQ
Associate, Business Intelligence
SpendHQ
Jun 2021 – Feb 2022 Peachtree Corners, GA

Responsibilities:

  • Utilize Atleryx to properly ingest and store client data from a variety of spend sources
  • Create schemas to capture appropriate fields from client’s data and accurately create calculated fields to be stored
  • Access Alteryx’s API via Python to kickoff jobs and provide appropriate questions for app payload
  • Generate spend summaries to help clients visualize trends and high areas of spend in their data
 
 
 
 
 
Cox Media Group
Sr. Data Analyst
Cox Media Group
Nov 2017 – Jun 2021 Atlanta, GA

Responsibilities:

  • Conducted forecasting process for generating annual traffic goals for CMG Sites & Apps using Google BigQuery
  • Used R to access vendor’s API and capture data related to app downloads, usage, and store performance
  • Built Tableau Dashboards around key operational goal areas including: Audio Streaming, Push Notifications, and App Downloads
  • Created classification model on Google Cloud to categorize Push Notification messages
  • Identified new source of traffic for CMG content, which resulted in a monthly revenue increase of more than $20,000
  • Created an Alteryx workflow to expedite process of cleaning Audio Streaming data
 
 
 
 
 
Turner Broadcasting
Research Analyst
Turner Broadcasting
Oct 2016 – Oct 2017 Atlanta, GA

Responsibilities:

  • Track video/show performance across digital landscapes using various tools (Nielsen, Omniture, Rentrak, comScore, etc.)
  • Forecast digital video performance across Websites, Apps, On Demand, and OTT Devices using R and Excel
  • Build dashboards using R and Tableau to track daily performance of Original Series
  • Assist with optimizing VOD Schedules to maximize video performance
  • Run and distribute daily overnight performance reports

Projects

Trading Recommendations Using Technical Indicators, Online Sentiment, and Political Involvement

Trading Recommendations Using Technical Indicators, Online Sentiment, and Political Involvement

Trading Recommendations Using Technical Indicators, Online Sentiment, and Political Involvement