All jobs Backend Engineer (Data Platform) Posted A few minutes agoAbout usWe are a London-based startup transforming how financial professionals access and use data. We are building a system of intelligence empowered by AI-driven automation and analytics: a category-defining product that supercharges users to extract knowledge and put it to work.Backed by top international venture funds and a stellar group of angel investors, we are a team of technologists and founders with experience building AI products (@Advent International) and scaling unicorns (@Scalapay).We are currently looking for rock stars to join our core team. Together, we will build Desia from the ground up and establish it as the global leader in financial intelligence.How we workThese are the values at the core of Desia:Openness and transparency. We're committed to building a transparent company where vision and strategy are shared openly. We believe in clear performance reviews and a culture encouraging feedback from all levels.Ownership. Our team structure is horizontal, promoting autonomy and ownership in every role. Each team member owns their domain and is empowered to lead and make decisions.Creativity and innovation. We recognize that great ideas can originate from anyone. We actively encourage and listen to innovative ideas from the entire team.User-centric. Our users are at the heart of everything we do. From concept to launch, every decision is made with the user in mind. We build our products to solve real problems, constantly measure our impact, and learn from user feedback to iterate and improve.Diversity. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive. We believe that embracing diverse thoughts and perspectives is what keeps us at the forefront of innovation.Desia operates remote-first, with the team working in GMT +/- 2 hours for synchronization. Our London team works from the office 2 to 3 days per week. Apply now We are seeking a skilled and motivated Backend Engineer (Data Platform) to join our team and help build a robust data platform. Your responsibilities will include:Developing and enhancing data pipelines: Create and expand existing data processing pipelines for both structured and unstructured datasets (mainly Python and SQL)Integrating with third-party systems: Work with external tools and APIs (e.g., Microsoft GraphAPI, financial data providers) to enable seamless data flow between third-party systems and Desia.Monitoring and optimizing performance: Track the performance of the data platform, analyze logs, and recommend infrastructure improvements using tools like GCP, Sentry, and CloudSQL.Collaborating on data modeling: Design and implement efficient data structures for relational and non-relational systems to support scalable and reliable data processing.Ensuring system reliability: Contribute to the stability and scalability of the platform by addressing bottlenecks, optimizing queries, and ensuring smooth operation of containerized environments (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).Must-Have Skills:Strong Python expertise: proven working experience in both scripting and object-oriented programming (OOP).Solid SQL skills: Experience with writing efficient queries and optimizing database performance.Data modeling: Hands-on experience designing and organizing data in both relational and non-relational formats.Communication skills: Excellent verbal and written communication in English.Adaptability: A quick learner who can bridge knowledge gaps to tackle new challenges effectively.Collaborative mindset: Open to sharing ideas, providing feedback, and contributing to discussions constructively.Nice-to-Have Skills:Cloud experience: Familiarity with Google Cloud Platform (GCP).Containerization knowledge: Working familiarity with tools like Docker and Kubernetes.Database expertise: Experience with PostgreSQL.Scheduling: Working experience with task scheduling (ex. cron, dag's like Airflow)Python libraries: Knowledge of libraries such as asyncio, pydantic, fastapi, and psycopgSearch technologies: Familiarity with ElasticSearch or OpenSearch.System design: Experience with RESTful APIs and queue-based systems.QualificationsHolding a Master's degree in Computer Science or a related field or possessing similar practical experience.A minimum of 3 years professional experience in Data Platform Engineering or Backend rolesCompensation and benefitsSalary depending on experience and skills (40000 - 65000)Performance bonusesStock options and retirement planApply NowLet's start your dream job Apply now Desia Limited View company Jobs posted: 1 Related Jobs Remote Back-End Programming jobs

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March 23, 20252 min readWhat the Worlds First Case of Bird Flu in Sheep Means for the Viruss SpreadThe detection of bird flu in a sheep is another sign that the H5N1 virus is adapting to hop to new hostsBy Josh Fischman edited by Jeanna BrynerSheep grazing in England. In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty ImagesThe H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in a single sheep in England. This is the first time the virus has been detected in sheep, scientists say, expanding the list of animals that it can infect. Agricultural authorities say no other sheep were infected, and the risk to people remains low. But scientists added that the appearance of the virus in another species has underscored the need for caution.What HappenedOn March 24 the U.K.s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and its Animal and Plant Health Agency announced that bird flu had been detected in a single sheep in Yorkshire, England. The sheep was in an area where the virus had been confirmed in captive birds, so testing was already going on. According to the announcement, the single sheep was culled to prevent further spread and to permit more extensive testing of the animal.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.What This MeansDiscovery of H5N1 in a sheep enlarges the list of nonbird animals now known to be susceptible to the virus. In the U.S. that list includes cows, pigs, domestic and wild cats, coyotes, bears, rodents, raccoons, opossums and marine mammals. Seventy people in the U.S. have also been infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and one of them died. Although the risk to humans remains low, and person-to-person transmission is not known to have happened, the viruss ability to infect different kinds of animals highlights that the microbe can evolve and adapt to infect new hosts, scientists say. As it spreads, it warrants careful and continued scrutiny, officials say.What Experts Are SayingCurrent evidence suggests that the avian influenza viruses were seeing circulating around the world do not spread easily to peopleand the risk of avian flu to the general public remains very low, said Meera Chand, emerging infection lead at the U.K. Health Security Agency, in Mondays announcement. Chand also said, however, that globally, we continue to see that mammals can be infected with avian influenza and that health agencies will continue to search for human infections.

Mod putting GTA 6's map in GTA 5 pulled following Take-Two copyright claim"My guess is that the map is probably a little too accurate."Image credit: Eurogamer/Rockstar Games News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on March 24, 2025 A mod putting a playable approximation of GTA 6's map into GTA 5 has been pulled after Rockstar owner Take-Two issued a copyright removal request on its creator's YouTube channel.The mod, created by Youtuber Dark Space, was an attempt to bring GTA 6's map to life in GTA 5 by building on the work of the Mapping Vice City project - a community led attempt to piece together GTA 6's map by scrutinising all currently released official media and combining any discoveries with previously leaked map coordinates.Dark Space began detailing their progress on social media in January and a version 1.0 release of the mod - built from GTA 5 assets - launched last week. However, the project has proven to be a short-lived one, with Dark Space having already opted to pull the plug after Take-Two's legal team hit his YouTube channel with a copyright removal request.Here's what Grand Theft Auto 6 will actually look like when it turns up.Watch on YouTube"I spent months building a fan-made GTA 6-inspired map inside GTA 5 something purely made out of passion, not profit. But shortly after uploading a video showcasing the project, Take-Two Interactive took it down. No warning. No conversation. Just gone", Dark Space wrote in an introduction to a new video detailing the week's events and calling out Take-Two's treatment of modders. "So why did they remove my video?," he pondered in the video itself. "Well, my guess is that the map is probably a little too accurate."In a follow-up interview with IGN, Dark Space admitted he'd anticipated Take-Two might respond the way it did based on previous mod takedowns. "I went into this project knowing it was a possibility," explained, "and the fact that it happened does not surprise me.""I think my map could have ruined the surprise of their map, which I get," he continued. "If you spent years building out this amazing game world just to have some YouTuber spoil the experience of the map's shape, size, and vibe... I'd want it removed too."Take-Two has long been at loggerheads with the GTA modding community, most recently shutting down the Liberty City Preservation Project - an ambitious mod adding a playable version of GTA 4's map to GTA5. In 2023, however, it hired CFx.re, the team behind the popular GTA 5 FiveM and RDR2 RedM multiplayer mods (and another group of modders who've previously faced Rockstar's wrath) - and the team is currently working on an official "conversion tool" to bring GTA 5 mods into the recently released PC version of GTA 5 Enhanced.As for GTA 6, that's still targeting the autumn 2025 release window Take-Two previously announced despite persistent reports of a delay - although a third-party accessories company recently claimed the PC version wouldn't arrive until early next year.

Amy Schumer is leaving the Brooklyn life behind after three years. She is selling her Brooklyn Heights town house for $14 million, the Wall Street Journal reports.The historic dwelling was initially built in 1829. It was catapulted into the spotlight after its exteriors appeared in Moonstruck, a 1987 rom-com starring Cher and Nicholas Cage. The Kinda Pregnant star and her family snagged the famous home in 2022 for $12.25 million. They previously lived in a $13 million Upper West Side apartment, which they parted ways with in 2023.The Federal-style town house features five bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths. Its old-world charmincluding the original 1800s exterior, high ceiling, crown moldings, vintage wood cabinets, and fireplace with grand marble mantelsremains largely intact. The kitchen is outfitted with Gaggenau appliances and a three-oven LaCanche rangewhich tracks given her husband Chris Fischer is a chef. Other amenities include a gym and a custom wine cellar in the basement, as well as a backyard that offers private parking. Schumer tapped landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburg to add more space to their then-brick patio and set up a swing and play structure for her five-year-old son, Gene. We loved what we moved into, she told the Wall Street Journal. But weve definitely made it our own.Join NowFlash Sale: Become an AD PRO member today and unlock your design potential.ArrowSchumer and Fischer plan to move back to Manhattan to be closer to their sons school, per the WSJ. Were too lazy to commute 45 minutes to take our son to school every day, she said, adding that the abodes spacious 5,600 square feet felt too roomy for their family of three. This is a home that is just ready for more people.

If youve spent any time in the sun-dappled California-cool world of With Love, Meghan, Meghan Markles new lifestyle show on Netflix, you may have been hit with an overwhelming amount of garden envy. And while a perfectly manicured yard full of fresh veg and a charming chicken coop may not be in the cards for you this summer, you can still emulate a bit of Meghans style. Some eagle-eyed viewers noticed the Duchesss whimsical gardening gloves amongst the flowers and wicker baskets, and what was once just another planting tool is now an opportunity to show off your style.Inspired by the show and thinking ahead to spring, we pulled together some of the best gardening gloves for all of your fair-weather outdoor tasks. From rose pruning to casual weeding to serious yard work, weve got you (and your hands) covered.Our Top Picks for the Best Gardening GlovesBest Budget Pick: Ainiv Gardening Gloves (Set of 2), $7Best Leather Gloves: Barebones Leather Work Gloves, $22Best Full-Length Gloves: Womanswork Goatskin Gloves, $43The Cult-Favorite Pick: Nikawi Gardening Gloves, $12My Little Belleville Tomato Garden GlovesWho says tomato-girl summer is over? You can get literal with it and don these gloves as you harvest your sungolds or do some light weeding. Cheery and cute the gloves are designed for lighter yard work (calling all patio gardeners) and would make a perfect gardening gift for the green thumb in your life.Threshold Duck Canvas Rose Picker GlovesA great pair of work gloves doesnt have to cost you an arm and a leg. This attractive synthetic leather option cinches at the wrist to keep dirt and critter out, and the elongated green-and-white cuff adds visual flair while protecting your wrists from brambles and branches.Vintage French Knit Work GlovesBonjour, hello, these gloves are very nice, no? These vintage handmade work gloves are perfect for light gardening days, or lets be honest, decoration. The seller offers them in a variety of sizes and materials, so you can find a pair that can withstand a little work or drape nicely over an earthenware pot.Womanswork Goatskin Gardening GloveSuper soft and thorn resistant, these gloves are tougher than they look. These goatskin leather gloves are a match for heavy-duty garden work. Available with or without a gaunlet, these breathable gloves are perfect for your longest garden daysHandylandy Rose Pruning GlovesThese affordable, breathable, puncture-resistany leather gardening gloves help you get the job done. The almost-elbow-length gauntlet and padded palm and finger tips ensure you can handle thorny plants and blackberry bushes with ease.Barebones Living Classic Leather Work GlovesHandmade in Pakistan, these genuine cowhide leather gloves offer serious protection in two rich colors. With reinforced stitching in the thumbs and elastic at the wrists, they fit like, well, a glove. Ready for weeding, raking, or the occasional non-gardening task, put these gloves to the test.Niwaki Gardening GlovesThis selection may not have a Ms. HoneyfromMatilda vibe, but if youre serious about gardening and not a fan of leather, these are for you. The breathable and form-fitting Nylon/Spandex liner is coated with nitrile (a synthetic rubber) for protection and grip.Ainiv Gardening Gloves (Set of 2)Made of a breathable cotton and polyester blend, these gloves are great for the beginner gardener in your life, or for the experienced gardener tackling lighter tasks around the yard. The textured dots on the palm help with grip and friction and the cuffs keep debris out of the gloves. With two pairs in a pack, these are a great grab-and-go option to keep in your garden shed.The Floral Society Garden GlovesAnother option for those would prefer to avoid leather gloves, this pair is made of nylon and nitrile and machine washable. These waterproof gloves have a rubber palm to aid in gripping your garden tools and pulling out those pesky weeds.

Vertical farming company Plenty has filed for bankruptcy, the company said in a press release on Monday.In its statement, Plenty said it has received a commitment for $20.7 million in debtor-in-possession financing as part of a proposed restructuring plan. It plans to continue to operate a strawberry farm in Virginia and a plant science research and development (R&D) center in Wyoming.Debtor-in-possession financing is financing for firms in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.Since its 2014 inception, South San Francisco-based Plenty has raised nearly $1 billion in funding from a variety of investors, including SoftBank Investment Advisors, Walmart, Bezos Expeditions, and Jeff Bezos personally as an angel investor.Its last known valuation was $1.9 billion at the time of a $400 million Series E fundraise in January 2022, according to PitchBook.The industry has been hard hit by bankruptcies in recent years. In November 2024, agtech unicorn Bowery Farming was reported to be shutting down after raising more than $700 million in funding and last being valued at $2 billion in 2021. And in 2023, AeroFarms and AppHarvest filed for bankruptcy protection. AeroFarms had raised more than $300 million from backers before filing for bankruptcy. In September 2023, it exited bankruptcy protection fully funded.AppHarvest raised more than $700 million before being taken public in 2021 at a $1 billion valuation; it filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2023.

Founders Future, a Paris-based VC firm with 300 million in assets under management (around $324 million at current exchange rates), is opening up the capital of the holding company that manages Founders Futures funds and Sowefund. The company has sold a 25% stake in the holding company to MACSF, the Dassault family, CMA CGM Group, and others.Since 2018, Founders Future has had an interesting track record with some early-stage bets in Lydia, Alma, Taster, La Fourche, Riot, Swan, Yuka, and many other startups weve covered here at TechCrunch. Overall, the firm has invested in 110 companies across two early-stage funds and a growth fund.Founders Future has set an ambitious goal for 2030. The firm wants to reach 1 billion in assets under management, which means raising new funds at a rapid pace.In a world where youve got a lot of personal initiatives in VC firms because youve got a lot of solo GPs starting up, youve got a lot of super angels were creating a company, founding partner Marc Menas told me. And so we wrote our roadmap for 2030. As we were writing this roadmap, we used that opportunity to reopen our capital in a slightly more structured way to give us the means to achieve our ambitions.With this influx of cash, Founders Future plans to expand to the U.S., hire a team, and open two offices one on the East Coast and another one on the West Coast.I made a simple observation. You look at the companies that are started in Europe and that eventually have found a very good product-market fit and generate significant revenue in their country of origin, Menas said.What happens is that when they arrive in the U.S. they multiply their ARR by two or three times after 36 months operating in the United States. They generally have a much better capacity to raise money from American investors, and at much higher valuations generally twice as much as in Europe, he added.He believes startups based in the U.S. reach higher valuations because they have more exit opportunities, especially when it comes to acquisitions by larger companies.So when you put all this together, we want to become a global company and make sure we have one European arm and one American arm, and create a transatlantic bridge, Menas said. Were doing this first for our portfolio companies that were born in Europe so that they can expand over there.But Founders Future doesnt just want to open a business development outpost. It is going to raise a growth fund focused on American investments. The idea here is to help its European limited partners invest in American tech companies through Funders Future.Conversely, the firm believes it can help American companies expand to Europe. Having a European VC firm on its cap table can be helpful when it comes to navigating the European tech and policy landscape.Well start with humble goals, with investment tickets ranging between $5 and $10 million in growth rounds of at least $50, $60 or $70 million, Menas said.Fundraising hasnt started for this fund just yet, but Founders Future hopes it can raise as much as $250 million. And I wouldnt be surprised if MACSF, the Dassault family and CMA CGM Group end up investing in this U.S.-focused growth fund in addition to Founders Futures holding company.Image Credits:Founders Future

Bill Kroyer has spent his career at the crossroads of tradition and technology. As a Disney-trained animator, director of FernGully: The Last Rainforest, and a pioneer of CG animation with Tron, Kroyer has been at the forefront of one of the most transformative periods in animation history. Now, in his new book, Mr. InBetween: My Life in the Middle of the Animation Revolution, he reflects on a career that straddled two vastly different eras of filmmaking. A purchase link with discount code, MRIB25, for both the paperback and eBook can be found on his website, https://www.mrinbetween.org.Its called Mr. InBetween because not only did I start out doing in-betweens, which people dont really do anymore, but my career ended up being in between the two great eras of animation, Kroyer explains. There was the hand-drawn era, and then the computer era. And I was right in the middle.Kroyers career began in 1975 at Disney at a time when the new guard of animation greats like John Musker, Brad Bird, Andrew Stanton, John Lasseter, and Henry Selick (to name a few) had begun their careers at the studio. Kroyer muses that back then, the tools and techniques of animation had remained unchanged for over 70 years. An animator from Snow White or the old Fleischer Studios in the 1930s could have sat down at my desk at Disney and gone right to work, he recalls. From 1915 to 1985, no one changed anything. Then, all of a sudden, in 10 years, we went from never using computers to Toy Story. That was the symbol of the new age.The shift from hand-drawn animation to digital tools transformed the industry - not only in terms of technology but also in how individual artistry was perceived. Back then, you could instantly tell a Milt Kahl scene from a Freddie Moore scene, a Bill Tytla scene, or a Frank Thomas scene, Kroyer notes. You could tell a Chuck Jones short from a Bob Clampett short just by the drawing style. The individual skill was amazing. But with CG, everything started to look more uniform. The computer has leveled the playing field, and its getting harder to identify specific animators by their style.Which gets to one of the reasons why Kroyer wrote Mr. InBetween: My Life in the Middle of the Animation Revolution. The purity of the hand-drawn world is a civilization gone with the wind, he shares. I want people to get a little sense of what that was like before it all changed with the transition to computers, which has been one of the most impactful transitions in the history of art. Remember, animated films are the only films where 100% of what you see on-screen is created by someone. So, our medium was more impacted by the computer than any other. And I happened to be right there at the very, very beginning. With Tron, I stumbled into this thing that nobody had ever done before. And I got hooked on it very early. I was exposed to every step along that transition. And I just thought it would be interesting for people to read about that. Not as a history book, with names, dates, and events, but from my personal experience. As he details, one of the defining moments of Kroyers career came with Tron, the groundbreaking 1982 film that introduced the world to CGI in a live-action setting. But at the time, no one - not even the filmmakers - fully understood how it would work. It was a fluke Tron ever got made, Kroyer admits. Its one of those happy accidents of history. Disneys live-action films like The Apple Dumpling Gang (1979) werent doing well at the box office. So, they brought in this young executive, Tom Wilhite, who was looking to energize the division. Steve Lisberger (writer/director of Tron) came up with this crazy idea for a video game movie. And the only person in town even interested was Tom Wilhite.When we sold Tron to Disney in 1980, the tools to make it didnt even exist yet, he adds. You look at some of the sample reels from the studios that made the film, they were terrible. We jumped off the cliff and built our wings on the way down.Each day on the production meant breaking new ground. Almost every single day, I was doing something for the first time in history, he says. Whether defining a scene, figuring out how to animate movement, or integrating CGI with live action - nobody had done it before.Kroyer also describesTronas a one take movie. We hardly ever got a chance to do retakes because of how much work was involved. Now, of course, you look at a visual effects shot, its the 143rdversion of that shot.Take a look at the original Tron trailer:Even Hollywoods top visual effects artists were baffled. When Richard Taylor (the films VFX supervisor) presented Tron at the Academys visual effects bakeoff, there wasnt a single question, Kroyer recalls. These were the greatest VFX artists in the world, and they had never seen anything like it. They later told us, We think you guys cheated because you used computers - and we dont understand computers.He laughs when noting that there was more computing time in one frame of Tron: Legacy (2010) than in the entire original Tron film. Its similar to how the Apollo program sent astronauts to the moon using a computer with less power than in your watch. That's kind of how we made movies in the old days. It's almost hard to get your head around.Despite its lasting impact, Tron struggled at the box office. We knew we had accomplished something historic, he says. It was absolutely a joyous feeling to have created such a monumental thing, which is why its failure at the box office was so confusing and devastating. But it came out during one of the greatest summers ever - E.T., Blade Runner, Star Trek II. Audiences like technology, but at the end of the day, they respond to story and character more than anything.Today, Tron remains one of the most visually distinct films ever made. If you pull a single frame from Tron, people immediately recognize it, Kroyer says. How many films can you say that about? After Tron, Kroyer was fascinated by computer animation but frustrated by its limitations. Determined to merge the expressive power of hand-drawn animation with digital tools, he launched Kroyer Films and created Technological Threat, a 1988 Oscar-nominated short that blended 2D and 3D animation.That film was the moment when the two worlds met - hand-drawn and CG, neither able to fully replace the other, he explains. Its still a defining moment in animation history. Kroyer continues, One point I make in my book is that animation is one of the only forms of filmmaking where one person can sit in a room and create an entire movie that will entertain an audience. The individual animator still has that ability. I describe a situation when I was nominated for an Oscar (for Technological Threat). I was with the other nominees. Who was I sitting between? Cordell Barker on one side, who literally did his entire film, The Cat Came Back, by himself in his apartment, and on the other side, John Lasseter, who did Tin Toy at Pixar in 3D. Im in the middle. And my film combined hand-drawn animation and computers, what hadn't been done before. So, it was such an oddly metaphorical gathering. Cordell, in a lot of ways, represented the thing that all of us animators love the most. And that was the ability to sit there by yourself in a room and make a movie. What a great, powerful thing that is. And people are still doing it. Its wonderful.He continued his hybrid approach with the animated feature film, FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992), which used 40,000 frames of computer imagery, title sequences for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, and the Coca-Cola polar bear commercials, which marked a symbolic moment in animations evolution.The bear had to slap and splash the water in one of the Coca-Cola commercials, but at the time, CG couldnt do water effects, Kroyer says. The client demanded it. So, we had a 2D animator hand-draw the splash on paper, then composited it into the CG animation. That was one of the last times hand-drawn animation was used like that in a CG film.By the time he joined Rhythm & Hues, it was clear that CG had won the battle. Traditional 2D animation was still being done, but the industry had shifted, he acknowledges.Beyond filmmaking, Kroyer spent years teaching young animators at Chapman University and through the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. But making the transition from director to teacher wasnt easy.One of the biggest lessons I learned was that being a good teacher is completely different from being a director, he says. Students dont always do the work or show up, and you cant treat them like a production crew. You have to be a coach, a guide - even a psychologist at times. Looking back, Kroyer values the friendships he forged throughout his career. The people I met - whether big-name directors or PAs - were what made this career special. Ive kept those friendships for 45 years, and Im prouder of that than anything I did on screen.As artificial intelligence and new technologies reshape animation yet again, Kroyer sees parallels to past industry disruptions.From the very beginning, people asked, Is this technology good? Will it replace artists? he says. I hope my book gives people a reference point to see that these debates arent new. At the end of the day, no technology is inherently evil - its about how we use it.And, he argues, artists will always find a way to make something meaningful. Give an artist a pencil, and theyll draw something. Give them sophisticated tools, and theyll create something extraordinary.For those eager to explore Kroyers personal journey through animation history, his book Mr. InBetween is available now. You can find a purchase link and discount code, MRIB25, for both the paperback and eBook on his website, https://www.mrinbetween.org. Published by CRC Press. Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.