Tech Talent: Katrine Scheel Killmann

Making things better – From Algorithms to Infrastructure at Databricks

We spoke with Katrine about her path into tech, her transition from academic research to industry, and what it's like working with large-scale infrastructure at Databricks. Along the way, we learned how a passion for problem-solving and a strong local tech scene in Aarhus helped shape her career - and why she sees Aarhus as the ideal place to grow both professionally and personally.

When Katrine Scheel Killmann began her computer science degree in Aarhus in 2015, her motivation was simple: she loved solving hard problems - especially the kind you couldn’t just look up in a textbook. Nearly a decade later, her journey has taken her from academia to working with distributed systems at Databricks in Aarhus.

From Teaching to Tech

Katrine quickly realized her true passion lay in the deep problem-solving aspects of computer science. Encouraged by her PhD supervisor, she pursued an academic path through the “3+5” PhD track, focusing on writing performant parallel code and utilizing consumer-grade GPUs. “It was about figuring out what could be optimized, writing code that worked, and using technology to make something better and faster” Katrine says.

Alongside her research, she actively contributed to the academic community, helping redesign a core database course and serving on educational boards and committees.

Her PhD work required problem solving and critical thinking, skills that are now critical in her role at Databricks.

Real-World Impact with NVIDIA

In the middle of her PhD, Katrine took a break from academia for a six-month internship at NVIDIA in Munich. Her role focused on optimization problems and how to utilize GPUs in that domain.  She mainly worked on the parallelization of the optimization model, PDLP, which is part of the newly open-sourced library CuOpt.

“It was incredibly rewarding to see something I built being used” she explains. “That experience made me realize I wanted to work in industry, not just write academic papers.”

Transitioning to Databricks

After finishing her PhD - defended in April - Katrine joined Databricks, where she now works on the infrastructure that powers their cloud-based product. “I wanted to work with something other than GPUs. Distributed systems were a natural next step” she says.

Databricks’ Aarhus office, which officially launched in late 2024, was the perfect fit. She already had connections there that now are colleagues, and she likes that the team includes some of the most skilled people in the field.

Why Aarhus?

Despite opportunities in tech hubs like Munich, Berlin, or Copenhagen, Katrine chose to base herself in Aarhus — and she’s confident it was the right move.

“There’s something special about the tech scene here” she says. “It’s small, but strong. You’ve got everything from startups to global players like Crowdstrike, Google, Uber, and Databricks. And Aarhus has a strong academic community as the Department of Computer Science  at Aarhus University has a number of research groups which are among the best in the world”

She also values the quality of life in Denmark. With a supportive welfare system, and a work culture that respects personal time, Katrine feels Aarhus offers a sustainable and balanced environment for tech professionals.

A Tech Community That Works

Katrine is also part of the growing tech community in Aarhus, supported by initiatives like Tech Hub Aarhus. She appreciates the social life in the city, the local nature of the city and sees its international computer science community as a strong asset—especially for new graduates or professionals relocating to Denmark.

“We might be a bit too modest in Jutland” she laughs. “Copenhagen is better at showcasing itself, but Aarhus has so much to offer - and people here really want to build something together”

With a PhD under her belt and an exciting role at one of the most dynamic tech companies in the world, Katrine Scheel Killmann represents the next generation of Danish tech talent - deeply technical, community-minded, and driven by a desire to solve real problems for real people.

This interview is part of our Tech Talent series, where we highlight what it’s like to be part of the tech scene in Aarhus through real stories and experiences.