People of OST: Shlok Gilda, Software Engineer

Shlok is a software engineer with a keen interest in security and Artificial Intelligence. He is passionate about building intelligent and secure applications using what the latest technology has to offer. He is a travel enthusiast who loves the outdoors. Shlok has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Pune.

Tell us about yourself!

I’m currently based in Pune, Maharashtra. I was born and brought up in the city of Vapi, where I completed my schooling. In June 2018, I completed my bachelor’s in Computer Engineering from the University of Pune. Growing up, I was always interested in the field of computers. Nearly a decade ago, I read a book called “The Blue Nowhere” by Jeffery Deaver. It featured a brilliant cracker going toe-to-toe with an equally gifted hacker. The book was an introduction to just how powerful someone can be hidden behind a computer screen, and how to neutralize this threat. Since then, I have been hooked on to the field of cybersecurity, and over the years have developed my interests in the specific areas of network security, user privacy, cryptography and the use and applications of artificial intelligence in these areas. Aside from tech, I love trekking and adventure sports to the core. I’m also a diehard Godfather fan.

What excites you about blockchain?

Last year, I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to work at IBM as a research intern. I was working on a project intending to utilize different identities, such as government identities, social networking, or utility payments, and store them on a private blockchain. Users could later use these identities to benefit from different service providers. It was during this project that I realized the real potential of blockchain. It enabled us to design a system which allowed users to have complete control of their own identities and use those identities to avail services in the real world. All this, while ensuring transparency of the system, confidentiality of the user and maintaining the integrity of the system.

What does your role as a Software Engineer at OST entail?

I am currently working in the Platform team under the direct guidance of OST lead software engineer and team lead Kedar Chandrayan. I work on coding new features, requirements, and tech specifications, as well as ensuring that my code meets the highest standards. I’m fortunate enough to work in a place where a newbie like me gets an opportunity to provide input and participate in technical specification discussions about the technology stack. This allows me to get a better understanding of the product requirements. My initial days at OST were spent going through the massive code base and making contributions in all the different open source repositories that we use. I then started contributing to OST Block-Scanner, our in-house block parser that processes Ethereum based side chains. Recently, I was working on the integration of the Delayed Recovery Module in OST Platform. It allows users to recover their lost devices. Our team follows the concept of peer programming, meaning I have also spent some time doing code reviews.

What is the next milestone that you’re working on?

I recently started working on a feature that would allow our partner companies to stake stable coins to mint their own Brand Tokens. This would allow the partner companies to ensure stability within their entire token economy, all the while enjoying the benefits of tokenization. Apart from this, I also work on features that allow us to improve our performance and scalability. Additionally, I work on some smaller projects that enable us to improve efficiency between the product team and the development team.

What do you look forward to this year?

I’m super excited about OST this year. I look forward to the partner pilot launches and the feedback we will receive. I’m also looking forward to providing support for staking stable coins for our partner companies. We have many features lined up in our roadmap, I’m most excited for the support of NFTs on OST Platform. Apart from work, I also look forward to going on a solo trip somewhere in Europe.

Thank you, Shlok!

Be sure to check out last week’s interview with OST lead software engineer Abhay Kumar. Subscribe to our YouTube channel or listen to the audio format anywhere you listen to podcasts, including iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify. We’re also now available on Alexa! Simply add “OST LIVE” to your flash briefing.

About OST

OST powers the future of brand loyalty. Innovators use OST Platform to reward behaviours and increase engagement with Brand Currency. It’s a complete set of developer tools that any company can integrate without any in-house blockchain expertise. OST partners reach more than 300 million end-users and we will be rolling out live implementations throughout 2019. OST currently has offices in Berlin, New York, Hong Kong, and Pune, and is expanding to other markets. OST is backed by leading institutional equity investors including Tencent, Greycroft, Vectr Ventures and 500 Startups.