Robert Hernandez: Building a Future in Data Engineering
Robert Hernandez | Senior Analyst, Data Engineering | United States
Originally Published: June 6, 2025
Hello! My name is Robert Hernandez, and I am a data engineer on the Demand Intelligence Insights Ops team within Global Marketing at Dell Technologies. I support the marketing organization by developing efficient, automated, and scalable data products that deliver actionable insights to our sales teams. These insights enable them to target customers with the right solutions that best fulfill their business needs.
Born and raised in San Marcos, Texas, I have called Central Texas home my entire life. I’m a proud alum of The University of Texas at Austin, where I graduated from the McCombs School of Business with a BBA in Management Information Systems. When I’m away from the office, you’ll likely find me hanging out with family and friends, enjoying live music, trying out new restaurants, or getting in a round of golf!
Can you share a fun fact that your coworkers may not know about you?
Growing up, I was a pretty creative kid with a strong interest in architecture and building things. In fact, I wanted to be a Disney Imagineer! I loved building sculptures out of paper and became fascinated with origami. Many weekends and summers were spent folding paper into various objects and creating models of famous landmarks. While my career has taken a different path, I still enjoy this hobby whenever I can find the time.
Build a solid network of individuals and mentors you can trust and lean on for support, guidance, and advocacy.
Together, you’ll learn more quickly and help each other grow along the way.
Robert H.
Senior Analyst, Data Engineering
Please share your journey and experiences at Dell
My Dell journey began in the summer of 2020 when I joined the Global Marketing team as a summer intern supporting GTM communications within Corporate Affairs. My role at the time was to develop a strategy that brought cohesion to regional sales communications and information for our global sales audiences.
After an amazing internship experience, I accepted an offer to return to Dell Technologies full-time as part of the Marketing Development Program (MDP) after graduation. During the two-year program, I had the unique opportunity to rotate across various teams within marketing, including CRM and growth marketing, marketing privacy, and MarTech. With each rotation, I developed a growing interest in data-centric workflows and decided to lean more toward the technical side of marketing, focusing on areas like data analysis and data science. The MDP provided me with the space to grow and develop these skills, strengthen my technical expertise, and build a foundational knowledge base that prepared me for my next role.
Upon completing the program, I was offered the opportunity to join the Demand Intelligence Insights Ops team within Global Marketing as a data engineer. Currently, my team and I support the marketing organization’s efforts to provide marketers and sales teams with data-driven insights by developing processes, pipelines, and products that deliver data efficiently, at scale, and ready for decision-making.
What does your day-to-day look like?
What keeps my day-to-day interesting as a data engineer is the fast pace at which our team moves to continuously deliver value to the organization through the development of comprehensive data products. As developers of robust pipelines that move data from source systems to end-user dashboards and sales interfaces, we oversee the design, architecture, automation, and implementation of these data processes from end to end.
The majority of my day is spent on development work, whether it’s fixing a bug in our pipeline, deploying new features to our data products, running pipelines, or innovating new or existing data solutions. Along the way, I sync with my colleagues in brainstorming sessions, exchange ideas and knowledge, and plan upcoming development priorities. Additionally, I connect with stakeholders and end-users of our solutions to ensure their needs are addressed and that our efforts are driving results.
As a data engineer, it’s incredibly important to stay up to date with emerging technologies and data trends to discover new ways to innovate and drive efficiency. Show-code sessions with colleagues across various teams and weekly self-learning opportunities help me stay informed about advancements in the data engineering space and inspire new ideas.
Finally, as part of a global data engineering team, I have the awesome opportunity to collaborate daily with colleagues from around the world. They offer unique perspectives and are always happy to share their knowledge and expertise. It’s also fascinating to learn about everyone’s individual cultures and backgrounds!
What are the most valuable skills you’ve learned?
One of the most valuable skills I’ve learned, especially in the constantly changing environment of tech, is to be comfortable being uncomfortable. It sounds simple, but it actually takes some getting used to. In data engineering, there are so many emerging trends, technologies, platforms, and architectures to learn that it can feel impossible to cover them all. On top of that, how do you know which approach to take when designing a solution? There’s no single “right” answer, and the only way to find out is to try something. Being comfortable with change, ambiguity, and failure builds the resilience necessary to drive your career forward. It’s a mindset I’ve had to develop, but one that has already led to tremendous growth.
What tips do you have for someone looking to start or grow their career in this area at Dell?
The biggest piece of advice I can give to anyone looking to start or grow a career in data engineering is to embrace a learning mindset and let go of any preconceived notions about failure. As I mentioned earlier, there are so many areas to learn and develop in this space that it can sometimes feel like you’re not making progress. Be patient with yourself and know that the more you learn about each part of the process, the faster the entire process will come into focus.
Additionally, learn to view failure as growth, and don’t let it stop you from tackling complex problems. As someone who is still early in their career, these are lessons I’m still learning and applying to my role.
Finally, build a solid network of individuals and mentors you can trust and lean on for support, guidance, and advocacy. Together, you’ll learn more quickly and help each other grow along the way.
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