Veronika Heimsbakk
Knowledge graph specialist, author, and speaker. I build semantic systems that turn messy data into something both humans and machines can reason with.
About
I'm a knowledge graph specialist at Data Treehouse in Norway, where we build high-performance, open-standards tooling for knowledge graphs. I work with SHACL, SPARQL, ontology engineering, and semantic data architecture — helping organisations make their data interoperable, validated, and meaningful.
I wrote SHACL for the Practitioner, a hands-on guide to the Shapes Constraint Language with real-world case studies and hand-drawn illustrations. I speak at conferences internationally and write about linked data and knowledge engineering on my Substack.
Over the past decade I've led ontology and semantic architecture initiatives across public sector, maritime, energy, automotive, and other industries.
Experience
Knowledge Graph Specialist — Data Treehouse
Building high-performance knowledge graph tooling on open standards. Working with maplib, SHACL validation, ontology engineering, and Graph ELT pipelines for clients across energy, maritime, public sector, and more.
Knowledge Graph Lead — Capgemini
Led knowledge graph and ontology initiatives for clients across public sector, automotive, maritime, and life sciences. Grew into team & tech lead roles on multi-year engagements.
Knowledge Engineer — Acando
Built knowledge graphs and semantic solutions for public media, government, and cultural institutions.
Education
B.Sc. — University of Oslo
Recognition
Client engagements by industry
Selected client engagements
| Role | Client | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Ontology Specialist | Norwegian Food Safety Authority | 2026 — present |
| Outreach | Brønnøysundregistrene | 2026 |
| Ontology Specialist | Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage | 2026 |
| Ontology Specialist | Norwegian National Archives | 2024 — present |
| Ontology Specialist | Norwegian Health Network | 2024 |
| Ontology Architect & Service Manager | Swedish Employment Service | 2023 — 2024 |
| Service Manager | Swedish Social Insurance Agency | 2023 |
| Ontology & Enterprise Architect | Scania CV AB | 2022 — 2023 |
| Team & Tech Lead Semantics | Norwegian Maritime Authority | 2020 — 2025 |
| Knowledge Engineer | Bayer BS GmbH | 2019 |
| Knowledge Engineer | Aker Solutions | 2019 |
| Knowledge Engineer | Deichman public library | 2018 |
| Knowledge Engineer | Norwegian Digitalisation Agency (Digdir) | 2016 |
| Knowledge Engineer | Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) | 2015, 2017 |
Book
SHACL for the Practitioner
A hands-on guide from the fundamentals of RDF and semantic technologies through the full depth of the Shapes Constraint Language — with hand-drawn illustrations, real code, and stories from production. Foreword by Holger Knublauch, one of the original SHACL specification authors.
Published November 2025 · ISBN 978-82-694212-0-0 (paperback) · 978-82-694212-1-7 (digital)
Learn more & order →Upcoming Events
Where you can find me next.
Helsinki Data Week
Helsinki, Finland
AttendingTalks & Workshops
A decade of talks on knowledge graphs, SHACL, semantic technologies, and more.
Earlier talks
Beyond Work
Resources
From Data Engineering to Knowledge Engineering
- Part 0: Data Engineer! Why should you care about Knowledge Graphs?
- Part 1: From Data Engineering to Knowledge Engineering in the blink of an eye
- Part 2: Data Engineering Ontologies
- Part 3: SPARQL for SQL Developers: A Translation Guide
- Part 4: From SQL Constraints to SHACL Shapes: Declarative Data Validation
- Part 5: Putting it all together: A demonstrator for knowledge engineering
For Knowledge Graph Practitioners
- A few elementary pieces on logic
- A brief introduction to the syntax of knowledge graphs
- ETL & ELT
- The Semantic Medallion
- One Query to Rule Them All
- From DataFrame to Knowledge Graph in 4 lines of Python
- Why I love reasoning, and why it loves me back
- Reasoning in world assumptions
- An approach to Semantic Modeling
- Class or Concept?
- SKOS in the Pipeline
For Managers & Governance
Publications
- SHACL for the Practitioner (V. Heimsbakk, 2025)
- Using the Shapes Constraint Language for modelling regulatory requirements (V. Heimsbakk, K. Torkelsen)
Hobby Projects
On YouTube
- Connecting Data Engineering and Knowledge Architecture
- From DataFrame to Knowledge Graph in 4 lines of Python
- AMA session with KGC speakers
- Validating semantic knowledge graphs using SHACL
- SHACL for the Practitioner
- What is an Ontologist or Knowledge / Data Engineer?
- Interoperability in 1-2-3!
- Wonders of Semantic Knowledge Graphs
- Modelling regulation requirements using SHACL
- Pee, poop and boobies
- Growing Your Graph With OTTR (KGC 2022)
- A Workshop on Throwing Workshops (KGC 2024)
- Fortellinger fra vandringen mellom tekst til kunnskap
- Masterclass: Shapes Constraint Language (KGC 2023)
- Data Shapes in Action (Lotico)
- View full playlist →