Janine Khuc.
Freelance data & ML engineer · Databricks · Amsterdam
Hi there! I'm Janine. I love solving problems that truly need to be solved. I'm a data & ml engineer with a pragmatic can-do attitude.
I live in Amsterdam and work in English, Dutch and German. When I'm not at a keyboard, I'm usually on a long hike, on a dance floor, or meditating. None of them are in the documentation, but all of them are great for debugging my brain. This page is a short account of what I've worked on and where I'd like to help next.
Currently I'm
at PostNL, helping to set up the platform and help teams get started with Databricks and MLOps.
Previously, I…
- 2024–2026
at the City of Amsterdam, I helped 5+ teams move to Azure/Databricks and run their own data products.
Along the way, ingestion pipelines went from 12 hours to 3, and I gave 15+ workshops.
- 2022–2024
PT at Medscio, built PoCs to standardise healthcare datasets.
- 2022–2023
PT at Cobble, built recommendation system components.
- 2021–2023
at Van Lanschot Kempen, built fraud detection systems, and helped DS and DE agree on code quality and testing.
- 2018–2020
worked as a DS in Pacmed, applying machine learning to clinical data. The actual challenge was figuring out not just whether a model worked, but whether it should be used at all.
I also gave a TEDxAUC talk, The untold story of thousands of patients, on personalising medical treatment.
On the side, I…
- 2018–2021
co-founded R-Ladies Amsterdam, working towards a supportive local community and proportionate representation of minority genders in the R community.
- 2018- 2021
started the Amsterdam SatRdays, curated three panels at Women in Tech Regatta, and facilitated #IamRemarkable workshops.
- Always
asked a lot of companies for pizza and beer for all of the above. I'd practised at Garfunkels in Leicester Square, where I waited tables for a few years and learned that free pizza brings people in and that I drop trays.
Pragmatic by nature. Curious by default.
I enjoy navigating the ideas and intricacies of designing, building and improving data and model systems, that teams rely on, and the ways of working around them: I want them to be useful and maintenance is bearable. I care about creating a collaborative environment where people learn from each other to solve the smaller and bigger problems in this world.
I mostly work with Python, PySpark, Databricks and Azure, plus API design and integration, data products and governance.
The goal is always the same: make things better, in ways that last.
For a wider good
Open to working with NGOs and purpose-driven initiatives.
- 2025–2026
Move 4 Humans organised dance workshops that connect refugees and locals
- 2024
De Buurtkok. a Streamlit dashboard to track meals delivered, returned and donated.
- 2024
Stichting Rugvin data ingestion for their pictures.
- 2018–2020
PeaceTech Lab NL advice on data analysis, through the Digital 100 network.
I set aside a few days a month for this, depending on what needs solving. If you're working on something similar, I'd be happy to help in a way that fits you: a few pro bono days to get a data problem unstuck, a workshop for your team, or mentoring for the people who will carry it on.
Have a problem worth solving? Let's share a coffee.
I'm open to new conversations about freelance data and ML work, and to purpose-driven work as described above.