#MeetTheTeam — Director of Engineering Akash Bhalla
Meet Akash, the Director of Engineering at carwow. Find out more about his career, what he thinks it takes to become a successful developer, and of course, his favourite car.
Where are you from?
My father is from Kenya and my mother is from India, they moved to London in the 60’s. I was born and raised in East London and, as I learned a few years ago, I’m officially a cockney as I was born within earshot of Bow Bells. Having said that, however, I’m probably the least cockney cockney you’ll ever meet!
How did you become a Developer ?
I would say by accident! I was clueless at 18 and chose to study Computer Science because it’s what my older brother was studying at the time, so I figured, why not? It was only after getting my first proper job as a developer that I fell in love with it. Coding is like a drug, It gives you immediate satisfaction, and then you keep chasing that buzz of a passing test and creating fully functioning, complex software. Solving problems is addictive.
Can you tell us more about your career?
I obtained a bachelors and masters degree in Computer Science from UCL. From there, I spent a long time trying to get a job in UX (or HCI, Human Computer Interaction, as I called it then) as that was my biggest passion at uni. I eventually gave up, after more failed interviews than I can count, and applied for two different jobs as a developer. I failed one but the other one, ThoughtWorks, hired me — kicking off my career in software development!
Over the past decade I’ve been lucky enough to have worked in many different places (some more glamorous than others, such is the life of a consultant.) I experienced 6 months in Chicago, 9 months in Manchester, 1 year in India, 6 months in Liverpool, 1 year in Uganda and a few months in Dublin.
Wow, that’s amazing! What has been your favorite place so far?
Uganda; my year there probably had the biggest impact on my career. In Uganda we started with 3 of us, and together we had to build up an office. Work-wise it was the most challenging and rewarding thing I have ever done. I was staffed as the tech lead on a project for UNICEF called RapidFTR (Rapid Family Tracing and Reunification); a project designed to reunite families separated across refugee camps at times of crisis. It was also there that I decided I wanted to work in startups.
Uganda truly felt like home, not only work-wise but also in terms of culture. Everyone is very laid back, you walk down the street and everyone just walks so slowly. No one really gets annoyed, everyone is just relaxed and happy.
How did you end up working at carwow?
David and I are old friends having worked together previously. It was a couple of years ago and I had just left my job. I was unsure of what I should move on to next and so planned to do a few months contracting to buy myself some time to decide. At the same time, carwow were looking for someone to join. It was a no brainer to come and work with David again, so I signed up to a 3 month contract here as a dev.
Little did I know this was David’s plan to reel me in! I had always been keen to transition into the kind of role I have now, and carwow has given me an opportunity to make the jump.
Describe yourself in 3 words:
Calm. Introvert. Thoughtful.
3 things you would bring with you to a deserted island:
- A dog
- Either my Xbox, my Playstation, or my Nintendo Switch.
That’s all I need…
What is your strongest personal quality?
Being thoughtful — I think about what I say and I don’t rush things.
What is a skill you’d like to learn, and why?
I mean aside from growing professionally and gaining knowledge in general, I’m not sure there’s a specific skill I’m dying to learn. I think people spend too much time chasing things and not appreciating what they have. I’m pretty content as I am.
What are you most proud of?
Becoming the Director of Engineering at carwow — when I was starting out as a developer, people always seemed to think that I wouldn’t be a good fit for a leadership role or that I didn’t have the skills to become a Tech Lead. But the thing is, you don’t need to be the loudest, most forceful or “alpha” to be a leader and I’ve been determined to prove that.
What are you currently working on?
We are focusing on how we grow the team in a structured way. We’re in-between being a small and a mid-sized company, so we need to define what that process looks like and what the journey looks like along the way. Everyone is getting involved and contributing, so we’re getting there. In addition to that I’m helping out our User Acquisition team by writing some code whenever I get a chance!
What is the best part of working at carwow?
Everything — having lunch together, having fun with people, and playing video games at lunch. We have a very diverse team where there are many people with different interests and it’s great. And of course the cooking competitions! But I may be biased as I’m carwow’s 2016 Chilli Champion. Also it’s the balance we achieve — walk into our offices at 7pm and the only people here are relaxing, playing ping-pong, having a drink, or playing video games or even tabletop RPGs…but not working!
What does it take to be a successful developer?
- Practice and patience — learn the basics. Ambition is good, but there are no easy shortcuts
- Communication — you need to learn how to work in a team.
- Attention to detail
- Be humble — don’t show off. Simplicity is key!
Top 5 favorite books:
- An astronaut’s guide to life on earth (amazing book!) — Chris Hadfield
- Everyday Sexism — Laura Bates
- Managing Humans — Michael Lopp
- Crucial Confrontations — Kerry Patterson
- Ready player one — Ernest Cline
Last but not least, what is your favourite car?
I have a license, but have never had a car, nor been particularly drawn to them. Especially being a Londoner; if you need to get around, use public transport!
But If I had to choose, I guess it would probably be an electric car. Possibly a Tesla Model S
Interested in making an Impact? Join the carwow-team!
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