Meet the Crew: Kealia Sjostrand, ML/AI Engineer
July 29, 2025
Meet Kealia Sjostrand, a Privateer software engineer with a focus on machine learning and artificial intelligence research & development!
Kealia joined Privateer for the opportunity to build a meaningful STEM career in her native Hawaii and is based at our Kihei headquarters. A data science graduate from the University of Oregon, she helps drive the incorporation of new tools and models into our operations and products – fueling Privateer's user-centric, all-domain geospatial data analytics capability.
In this conversation, Kealia explains the value of the company's presence in Hawaii, the ways in which its culture delivers better insights for its users, and one of our favorite unique hobbies.
How would you summarize your background?
Math was always my favorite subject growing up. I loved finding patterns in numbers and solving problems. In high school, I knew I wanted to go to college, but I wasn’t sure what to study if I wanted to do real-world statistical analysis. Then, during the college application process, I got an email from the University of Oregon about a brand-new data science department launching in the fall of my freshman year. I had never heard of data science before, but when I read the course description, it sounded exactly like the kind of work I wanted to do. That email sealed the deal - I applied to the University of Oregon and declared data science as my major. In college, I enjoyed all my data science and math classes and dreaded my writing classes, which only made it clearer that I had found the right path.
What made you interested in Privateer and how did you join?
I first learned about Privateer through the Akamai Internship Program, which supports college students pursuing STEM degrees who are either from Hawaii or attending college in Hawaii. Growing up in Hawaii, it often felt like the only viable career paths were in hospitality or government. For students like me who are passionate about STEM, it sometimes felt like we’d have to choose between doing work we love and staying close to home. That was a real internal conflict for me in college - I wanted both: to live in the place I have deep ancestral ties to and to build a meaningful career in STEM.
The Akamai Internship Program helped me see that this balance was actually possible. In the summer of 2023, I was matched with Privateer and had an amazing experience interning under the mentorship of Joel [Walsh] and Shaantam [Chawla, both Privateer engineers]. I worked on a project training a model to detect boats in satellite images, which gave me a real-world application for what I was learning in my college classes. Being able to do the internship in person at the Kihei office made a huge impact on my experience - I got to spend time with our Hawaii HQ team and learn about the team culture firsthand. That experience made it clear to me that Privateer was a place where I could grow, contribute meaningfully, and stay rooted in Hawaii.
What does your role at Privateer focus on?
My role focuses heavily on research and development, especially around how we can leverage machine learning and AI in both our internal operations and customer-facing products. Day-to-day, I’m exploring newly released models, tools, and frameworks - often right as they come out. I experiment with them to see how they might fit into our workflows, and I write reports summarizing their capabilities, limitations, and whether they’re worth pursuing further. If something looks promising, I build a proof of concept and present it to the engineering team. From there, leadership decides how to allocate resources to move it toward production.
A big part of my job is taking complex, unfamiliar tools - often with minimal or confusing documentation - and figuring out how they work, then translating that into actionable insights for people across a range of technical backgrounds. It can definitely be intimidating to dive into something totally new with limited guidance, but that’s also what makes it exciting. I get to learn constantly, and I love being at the front edge of technology and helping shape how we apply it across the company.
What do you think is special about Privateer’s approach to data analytics and how its applications can help users?
What stands out the most to me about Privateer’s approach is the culture of curiosity and bold experimentation. During my internship, I had the chance to speak with [Privateer CEO] Alex [Fielding] almost daily, and something he often said was, “I want to do something crazy every day.” That mindset really stuck with me. In contrast to many business environments that prioritize profit above all else, Privateer encourages the team to think differently - to pursue ideas that are ambitious, unconventional, and sometimes a little crazy. This openness welcomes people like me to offer creative solutions and explore niche interests that align with our work.
Because of this culture, our small team covers a surprisingly broad range of expertise. Everyone is empowered to dive deep into the areas they care about, which leads to incredibly high-quality and well-informed work. It also means that when I run into a technical question, I know exactly who to turn to for help. That kind of internal knowledge network just doesn’t exist at most companies I’ve worked with. Ultimately, I think this shared passion and deep sense of ownership across the team leads to better and more thoughtful tools and insights for our users.
What are the things that are most important to you in life and in the work you do?
One of the most important things to me - both in life and in my work - is doing things that feel meaningful. I want to spend my time on work that matters and makes a real impact. That’s why my experience at Privateer has felt so unique. Every project I’ve worked on has focused on solving a problem that I personally struggled with as a data scientist. It’s incredibly motivating to help build a product that I know will make my own work - and the work of others like me - better. That direct connection between what I do and who it helps gives my work a real sense of purpose.
What are your hobbies and interests?
I genuinely enjoy making new spreadsheets. I track everything from my finances to my skincare routine to watchlists in Google Sheets. Just about every aspect of my life is informed by data I organize in spreadsheets. Right now, I’m building a recipe book in Google Sheets that I hope to pass down to my kids one day.
I’ve also been passionate about sports my whole life. I grew up playing basketball and soccer, and I still enjoy playing and watching just about any game that involves a ball or a goal. In the summers, I play a lot of pickleball, and over the past year, I’ve gotten back into CrossFit. I thought my most athletic days were behind me, but it’s been super exciting to hit personal goals that I once thought were out of reach.
Lately, I’ve also picked up fishing with my family and fiance. It’s a new hobby but I’m hooked. Catching a fish and cooking it myself has always been on my bucket list, and I’m feeling like I’m close to checking that one off.