Park+ based on Gurugram is a hidden gem in the transportation space and a great app for your car that helps you find and book a parking space, recharge FASTag, get your car cleaned daily, check e -challans, check the condition of your car, purchase and renew insurance and more. Founded by former Paytm VP (Business) Amit Lakhotia and former Head of Engineering (Payments) Hitesh Gupta in 2019, the first technology company aims to simplify the process of owning and maintaining a car.
Park+ is present in more than 20 cities and is the largest distributor of FASTags and access control systems in India, in addition to having the largest inventory of parking spaces in the country.
As the timeline shifted to 2023, the automotive technology company raised INR 140 crore in its Series C from renowned investors including Epiq Capital, Matrix Partners India and Sequoia Capital India. The latest funding increased the startup’s valuation to $340 million, double the previous valuation of $155 million during its Series B funding in October 2021. Zomato has also been a strong backer for the company. In addition, it acquired the parking space reservation platform Otopark in 2021.
AIM reached out to Hitesh Gupta, co-founder and chief technology officer of Park+ to learn more about how the company leveraged data science to stay ahead. Gupta previously served as director of Paytm Wallet in 2014 and has 16 years of experience co-founding PayMonk and held leadership positions at Midtrans and Oxigen, among other companies.
“We aim to make car ownership fun again by providing seamless services to end users through collaboration with core service providers such as automotive OEMs, auto insurers, aftermarket service providers , maintenance providers, car dealerships and banks,” Gupta said. .
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Park+ is currently recruiting for data science positions, specifically for the Data Analyst position. Three positions are available for this Gurugram-based role. In addition to full-time employees, Park+ also employs engineering interns who are eventually brought into the company for permanent positions.
AI and analytics play Park+
Park+ uses AI and data tracking to offer a wide range of services related to car ownership. These include monitoring driving habits to help users understand fuel consumption, detecting dents and scratches with 360° video, suggesting nearby hospitals in the event of a car accident, recommend content based on user preferences, predict car sale prices, manage FASTag, identify parking hotspots, provide EV charging recommendations, suggest charging schedules, upcoming maintenance and track the entry and exit of cars in a geo-fenced location.
Additionally, the company offers a unique service where users can send a video of their car to service centers for evaluation, instead of physically entering. This service is made possible by data science techniques that allow the team to assess damage and provide repairs. remote quote.
The company also uses data science to track stolen cars, leveraging data points from cameras and RFID tags to help pinpoint the location of the car and assist in recovery efforts. The data science team consists of around 10 people and forms the core team which injects tons of loaded raw data to give meaningful output.
“At Park+, our data science team plays a central role in sifting through unstructured data collected through various devices such as cameras, IOT sensors or different data services. Data and stat mining is the next step, allowing us to create proprietary models to meet a variety of business use cases. Evaluating and tuning models allows us to streamline our services, improve customer experience, and improve collaboration with partners at all levels,” Gupta said of how the data adds value to the business.
Interview process
The main skill the team looks for in any potential candidate is adaptability – they must be able to learn and unlearn quickly. The candidate should have a deep understanding of machine learning, advanced analytics, advanced math, programming as well as data visualization.
A B.Tech in computer science or any other related field is mandatory.
However, when hiring, the organization does not prioritize candidates with specific programming language skills. Instead, the focus is on their design abilities and sense of logic. During interviews, questions based specifically on a programming language are not asked. Instead, applicants have design issues to solve with the freedom to use whatever technology they prefer.
Second, the team also has a strong focus on data structures and hands-on experience in this area is an advantage.
The technical team uses Python and Golang as programming languages and uses a microservices-based architecture with storage from MySQL, Elasticsearch, Mongo DB, Cassandra, among others. The data science team also uses GPT and Transformer models.
Expectations
From intern to founder, Park+ believes in open communication and follows a flat hierarchy. “We mostly opt for IC roles. Everyone on our team is a practical guy, including me. I always write code and we hire people who believe in it. So we are all individual contributors rather than managers,” Gupta said.
Park+ expects employees to be individual contributors, to work closely with the product team, to take initiative to solve problems and to build a future-ready model.
Do’s and Don’ts
One of the most common mistakes candidates make in interviews is that they don’t talk about themselves or their work in detail. They often jump to conclusions quickly without thinking about it. Park+ is looking for people who enjoy playing with technology and see it as a hobby rather than just a task. No matter what language you don’t speak well, Park+ gives you ample opportunity to learn and grow with them.
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work culture
Park+ boasts of an inclusive and diverse team as they have a 40:60 gender ratio. The average age of employees is 25 years old. People from different backgrounds, cultures and genders work together with the common goal of creating something meaningful. There are no cubicles or closed doors. Instead, people work collaboratively in open spaces that encourage communication and accessibility. Everyone is encouraged to work on multiple projects and technologies, regardless of role or level of experience. There is no limit to what anyone can achieve.
The company takes great care of its employees. There is an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) that allows everyone to own part of the business, as well as insurance coverage. They also offer no-questions-asked celebratory holidays or monthly leave for women or the weekly work-from-home option for mothers, among other perks.
“If you have a good background in technology, are enthusiastic about working in an offline space, are willing to work as an individual contributor and are a good mentor, you are definitely the right one. nobody for us,” concluded Gupta.
Check out this link to apply.
