Questions & Answers with Carlos Peralta
The importance of data and growth of analytics and AI in biotech is clear, and Moderna strives to be on the leading edge as we continue to grow. For an insider’s view of this, we caught up with our colleague Carlos Peralta, a member of Moderna’s Informatics team.
Carlos talks about what attracted him to his first role in biotech (at Moderna), his sources of inspiration, and what makes for a good work/life balance.
Name: Carlos Peralta
Role: Senior Principal Engineer
Years at Moderna: 6 years
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
What exactly does your role entail?
I build strong relationships with different Moderna teams and vendors to create efficient, scalable and manageable Extract Transform Load (ETL) pipelines. This allows us to maintain a robust data warehouse that serves as the source of facts for the different analytics efforts across the company.
How did you end up in this role and what do you love about your career choice?
This is my first biotech experience, and that’s what was attractive to me: The chance to do something new and be part of a company that is changing the world. I get to work with brilliant people, teams that embody the Moderna Mindsets and I learn new things every day.
What drew you to Moderna originally? And how has the company changed since?
I didn’t know anything about the industry, but I loved the vision of the company to revolutionize the biotech world. When I started, we had about 120 employees and look at us now! We’ve grown, but we keep that “startup” mentality and the “hunger” to do more for everyone who needs it.
What’s been your favorite part of working at Moderna?
Most definitely, it’s the people. Every individual who works at Moderna is unique and brings a lot of value to what we do as a team. I’ve worked with many teams across the company, and everyone is willing to help. In one way or another, we’ve all contributed to making Moderna what it is today.
Where do you find inspiration or new ideas?
In Informatics, we need to come with new solutions EVERY day— to create new products, new pipelines, new applications and new cloud architectures to automate or enhance of others’ work. The inspiration comes from our partners across the company and from management too, and their big-picture vision.
If you could go back in time, which decade would you visit and why?
I don’t think I’d like to go back. My generation has lived through the technology revolution, from portable CD players, the first bulky cell phones and the first tablets, to now—working in the cloud and getting more and more familiar with AI. I feel I am exactly where I need and want to be.
What are your favorite things to do on the weekend?
My wife and I enjoy the food scene in Boston and the surrounding areas, so we spend some of the time looking for “hidden gems” to try new food, new experiences.
What are your three office/lab must-haves for a successful workday?
Music, people and purpose.
Which Moderna core value do you most embody and why — bold, collaborative, curious, relentless?
It’s hard to pick one as we need them all for our team to succeed. If I had to choose, I’d say that collaborative is the one people know me for. I am always ready to help and be part of the solution.
What are your hopes for our industry?
To help others, and to make sure that our efforts are driven by helping others in need. To do this, we must continually find innovative ways to achieve those goals and disrupt the entire industry.
In addition to advancing an important mission to deliver on the promise of mRNA science for patients, Moderna is committed to using the power of digital technology to create an environment where everyone can do their best work.
We are proud to be recognized by Science Careers as a top employer (2015-2021) and we’re always looking for smart, talented and passionate people like Carlos. Want to join the team? See all open positions and find out more about why it’s good to be at Moderna.