😁 Nice to meet you! I'm Ben, a data product engineer and data visualization expert. Most recently I was a Senior Data Visualization Developer at the Urban Institute. I helped communicate research findings by building applications and data visualizations for Urban features, Urban Wire blog posts, and other Urban products using JavaScript (Svelte, D3.js) and R (tidyverse, ggplot2). I am also a co-organizer of the Philadelphia Data Visualization Meetup.

📊 Before joining Urban in February 2023, I worked with clients across industries as a Senior Data Analyst at analytics consulting firm CompassRed (acquired by LabWare in 2022) after starting my career as an eCommerce Analyst with Fortune 500 Retailer Burlington Stores (formerly Burlington Coat Factory) in 2015.

⚡ Whether it's working with teams in research, non-profits, ecommerce, state & county government, professional services, healthcare, and more, understanding client needs and building them great data products and visualizations is close to my heart!

Experience

Feb 2023 · Mar 2025

Data Visualization Product Engineering and Design

Urban Institute

As a Senior Data Visualization Developer at the Urban Institute, a non-profit policy research institute, I collaborated with research and technology stakeholders across 12 policy centers to design and engineer custom data visualization products and stories using Svelte, D3.js, and R/Python. I led project brainstorming and design sessions with researchers, utilizing Figma and Datawrapper to create impactful data products that effectively communicate policy research findings and meet funder goals. Working on exploratory data products became my specialty, as I brought teams together to create innovative solutions that enable dynamic yet user-centered data tools for easy insights. You can find some of the public-facing tools I've built on my projects page.

Aug 2022 · Jan 2023

Front-End Developer Certificate, Health & Well-Being Break

Coursera

I took a health and well-being break to recharge during the second half of 2022. During this time, I attended a meditation/yoga retreat, traveled across Europe, and earned my Front-End Developer Certificate, enhancing my skills in web app engineering and web-based data visualization with React, Svelte, D3.js, Figma, and more.

May 2019 · July 2022

Data Analytics, Data Tool Engineering, Product Management

CompassRed (acquired by LabWare)

As a Senior Data Analyst at CompassRed, an analytics and data science consultancy, I evolved from a web/data analyst overseeing website and business analyses into a data product manager developing custom data solutions. I played a pivotal role in product management for client engagements (retail, sports, laboratory management, local government, healthcare) while designing and developing SQL-powered R Shiny applications, Power BI dashboards, and web-based tools with D3.js. I engaged deeply with stakeholders throughout the product lifecycle, conducting regular interviews and wireframing sessions to ensure client needs were met with tailored dashboards and model front-ends. My efforts in managing product development and solution engineering for our key client LabWare were instrumental in the company's acquisition.

June 2016 · May 2019

Business Intelligence, Web Analytics, Customer Segmentation

Burlington Stores (Fortune 500)

As an eCommerce Analyst on the Web Analytics, Testing, & Reporting Team at Burlington, a national retailer in the U.S., I served as the primary point of contact for web, business, and customer reporting and analysis, supporting a team of over 20 members. I integrated data from Google Analytics, CRM, and inventory systems using R and SQL, which enhanced reporting accuracy and insights. Additionally, I conducted a competitive pricing analyses on products utilizing Python for web scraping and R for in-depth analysis, contributing to strategic decision-making.

Let's Connect

I'm relatively active on LinkedIn, or you can send me an email at benekates [at] gmail [dot] com and I'll be sure to get back to you.