Introduction

Getting faster isn’t the same as getting better.

Your team ships more every week. Nobody can tell yet whether the work is improving.

[write me a short note]

Work with me

Most teams are somewhere in the middle.

20%

already have agents doing real work unsupervised

60%

using AI as a faster autocomplete

20%

holding back, usually for good reasons

The gap isn’t effort. It’s that nobody tells the middle sixty percent what good looks like. My job is moving them, without losing the twenty percent who are right to be cautious.

Keynotes and talks
What is actually changing in engineering, and what it means for the room.
Team workshops
Three days, hands on, with your codebase and your tickets.
Advisory
Ongoing, for leaders making this shift at org level. A small number at a time.

Tell me where your team sits. The first coffee is on me.

Track record

Where I have done this.

Writing

What I am thinking about.

Code review when the agent wrote the codeApril 15, 2026
Clean code, passing tests, and a linear scan where a binary search belonged. What actually changes about code review when an agent writes the code, and what to look at instead.
Skillify: turning agent failures into skills you can testApril 1, 2026
Every AI framework promises reliability and gives you dashboards. The tools exist; the workflow doesn't. A ten-step checklist for making a failure impossible to repeat.
Harness Engineering: The Future of Software EngineeringMarch 28, 2026
Really enjoyed reading OpenAI's 'harness engineering' approach—and it's the clearest signal yet that the role of Software Engineers is changing and not…
The identity crisis nobody is namingMarch 6, 2026
Underneath the excitement about agentic coding there is a quieter thing happening: the source of professional meaning is moving, and almost nobody is talking about it.
Don't outsource your thinkingMarch 3, 2026
A randomised trial of 52 junior developers found AI assistance cut coding mastery by 17 percent. The ones who did well used it differently, and the difference is teachable.

[all writing]

Podcast

KarachiWalaDeveloper.

The Shifting Role of the Developer: From Writing Code to Writing SpecsApril 17, 2026
Have you ever asked an AI to build something, only to realize it built the exact wrong thing? AI is incredible at generating code, but it lacks human judgment. In this episode, I share the story of building an internal AI coaching bot called "Jugnu." My first attempt failed completely because I relied on the AI's judgment instead of doing the research myself. I quickly learned that the most successful AI developers spend 90% of their time researching, planning, and writing specs before they ever type a prompt. Join me as we explore how the role of the software engineer is merging with the product manager, the death of "un-used software," and the exact frameworks and tools (like NotebookLM and Superpowers) you can use to master AI-assisted development.
Stop Reviewing Code, Start Reviewing Tests: TDD in the Age of AIApril 9, 2026
As AI agents become capable of rewriting entire C compilers and Next.js repositories in days, the value of software is shifting away from the code itself. If LLMs write probabilistic code, how do you guarantee deterministic results? The answer: Tests. In this episode, we argue that developers need to stop agonizing over AI-generated implementation code and instead double down on writing, reviewing, and curating rigorous test suites. Learn why some open-source projects are actually closing their test repos, and how adopting an Architect mindset will unlock true AI autonomy in your workflow.
From Coder to Architect: The Power of the Producer MindsetApril 3, 2026
The role of the developer is changing. In this episode, we discuss how to stop being a "consumer" of AI prompts and start becoming a "producer" of AI systems. By shifting your focus from writing code to designing autonomous loops and persistent architectures, you can move up the ladder of value and start steering the future of software development.

[listen to all the episodes]

Talks

Conferences and community events.

Selected

Optimizing Core Web Vitals for your WordPress website [video]Bangkok, Thailand · February 21, 2023
Webinar: Remote vs in-office: Managing the transition in a post covid world [video]Online · November 25, 2022
Workshop: Digital Tools for Techpreneurs Lincoln Corner Karachi · November 20, 2022
Workshop: How do apps read your mind? +92Disrupt, Karachi · August 23, 2022
Panel (moderator): Dont miss your stop: Using Tech in Tourism! [video]+92Disrupt, Islamabad · March 25, 2022
Understanding Technical Interviews Major Hacking League, Online · February 18, 2022

[all the talks]

About

The rest of it.

I am an engineering and AI leader based in Karachi. Right now I am helping Taleemabad, the largest ed-tech in Pakistan, scale to thousands of schools and millions of children, and rebuilding how the organisation itself works around agents.

I offer free coaching and mentoring sessions on ADPList. When I am not working you will find me cycling, running and swimming, slowly working towards a triathlon.

Reading

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers―Straight Talk on the Challenges of Entrepreneurship
Ben Horowitz
Rated 5 out of 5.
A classic read on the reality of entrepreneurship and building startups
The Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time
Jim McKelvey
Rated 4 out of 5.
The great secrets shared by different startups on how to look at innovation in a slightly different way
Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit
Brené Brown
Rated 5 out of 5.
A great read as a follow-up to all her previous books, which help you dive deeper into understanding vulnerability and how to master it.
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
Daniel H. Pink
Rated 4 out of 5.
A great read for those wondering, when AI takes over everything, what is left for us humans to do.
The Philosopher in the Valley: Alex Karp, Palantir and the Rise of the Surveillance State
Michael Steinberger
Rated 4 out of 5.
Really enjoy the story of Palantir and how they have been building their brand and the challenges they have been facing.
The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence
Sebastian Mallaby
Rated 4 out of 5.
A really captivating book that shares all of the details about Demis and DeepMind.

[my book reviews]

Elsewhere