Building Trust with Data: Natapong Sornprom on the Ethical Responsibilities of Engineers

Data is a powerful tool that allows businesses to make informed decisions about their products, strategies, and long-term vision. Naturally, this has fueled the rapid growth of data and the modernisation of how it's collected, resulting in a business landscape where data has become a company's most valuable asset.

However, as businesses collect this vast amount of data, it raises the question of ethical responsibility. How do you safely store this data and protect your customers? How do you balance the need for data with evolving regulations?

Industry leaders like Natapong Sornprom tackle questions like these. He is a seasoned data engineer who has spent the last several years successfully navigating the murky waters of data growth, privacy, governance, and accountability. To him, ethics in data engineering are more than a necessity—they're a foundational principle that should guide the future of the field.

Natapong Sornprom: A Career in Ethical Engineering

Natapong earned a bachelor of engineering before working for Chevron's Thailand location. Though he initially worked in drilling operations, he soon transitioned to supply chain management, where he developed a passion for transforming raw data into powerful business insights. At the same time, he discovered the transformative potential of data to streamline operations and ensure compliance with industry standards.

This experience inspired him to move to America and pursue a master's in data science. After graduating, he worked as a data engineer for a Chicago startup, CDL1000, where he leveraged data to drive innovation and efficiency. This laid the groundwork for his current role at IKEA U.S., where he's achieved several major milestones that leverage cutting-edge technology while adhering to ethical considerations.

Some notable accomplishments that he's achieved in his work for major corporations include implementing Docker updates to enhance security and optimise energy consumption, automating workflows with GitHub Actions to ensure governance and efficiency, and developing serverless cloud architectures to promote scalability while reducing environmental impact.

The Growing Importance of Ethics in Data Engineering

The stakes for ethical data management have never been higher. The aforementioned evolution of data, its growth, and its use in modern business have resulted in data engineers being tasked to handle an overwhelming amount of sensitive information, ranging from consumer behaviour patterns to personally identifiable information.

Mismanagement of this data can have severe consequences, including losing customers' trust, incurring significant regulatory penalties, and sustaining irreparable reputational damage.

In doing so, reaping the full benefits of data while still handling it correctly has become a tricky balancing act with an ever-moving target.

Natapong has encountered these challenges firsthand. In a previous role, he contributed to workflows that prioritised compliance with stringent industry regulations. In his current position, he overhauled his team's outdated Docker containers, which consumed excessive resources, creating vulnerabilities that could compromise sensitive data.

By modernising these Docker configurations and introducing automated update protocols, he optimised energy efficiency and addressed security concerns. These changes ensured compliance with GDPR, reduced the organisation's carbon footprint, and enforced higher ethical and environmental standards.

Governance Frameworks: The Backbone of Responsible Data Management

Strong governance frameworks are important whenever you work with data, but they're even more crucial if you're aiming for higher ethical standards. These frameworks go a long way in ensuring compliance with privacy laws like the GDPR, transparency around how data is collected and stored, and accountability for the decisions made using data—all of which are essential elements in a responsible data strategy.

Natapong has consistently championed the creation of such frameworks. In his recent role, he leveraged GitHub Actions to create automated workflows and replace manual, error-prone deployment processes.

But this also had the benefit of incorporating traceable logs that allowed for the detailed tracking of every deployment, reinforcing accountability and data integrity. Additionally, by optimising resource usage through cloud-hosted runners, he supported sustainability initiatives by reducing energy consumption and reliance on inefficient infrastructure.

The Intersection of AI, Cloud, and Ethical Considerations

The exponential growth of data has been further pushed to an unimaginable pace thanks to the advent of the cloud and the popularisation of artificial intelligence.

As organisations increasingly adopt these technologies, the ethical challenges grow even more complex. Engineers must contend with issues like bias in AI models, transparency in decision-making, and fairness in data usage.

That's why Natapong advocates for ethical AI governance in data engineering to ensure fair and safe technological advancement. He's certainly doing his part in his work: For a major global retailer, Natapong implemented serverless architecture that dynamically allocates resources based on demand. In doing so, he minimised idle capacity and reduced environmental impact. Because this architecture leverages energy-efficient data centres powered by renewable energy, his work balanced technical excellence with environmental responsibility, setting a standard for sustainable innovation.

A Call for Responsibility: Natapong's Vision for the Industry

For Natapong, ethical data engineering is not just a personal standard and obligation but a call to action for the entire industry. He urges engineers to take a proactive approach to building transparent, fair, and privacy-first systems.

Natapong envisions a future where data powers sustainable, responsible innovations that positively impact society. By championing these ethical practices in his work, he hopes to set a standard for the industry and prove that responsibility and innovation can go hand in hand.