Me

In my words

Hi there

I am a programmer-coach (like a player-coach in sport) with over a decade of experience building software teams and products.

I started my career programming at Careem which went on to be the first unicorn out of the Middle East. Besides writing bucket loads of code in various domains (locations, payments, matching etc.), I was exposed to a wide array of tools and technologies and learnt how to scale architecture; from one server when I joined to thousands as years wore on. I also met some fantastic people from whom I learnt my engineering chops.

Along the way I realised that throwing technologies (or people) wasn’t always the most effective way of solving problems. Pains were alleviated sometimes, but rarely solved. All the complexity we were piling on - the layers of code, tools, frameworks and people - looked marvellous to the eye, but was it the most effective solution to our problems?

I wondered if there was a better way.

Around this time, I was introduced to a whole new paradigm of thinking in the form of Lean, Systems Thinking, Theory of Constraints, and of course, Extreme Programming (XP). Thanks in large part to a colleague I crossed paths with, Dragan, from whom I also learnt the value of a great coach.

I have since been trying to learn and apply these new ideas (new for me at least; the ideas themselves are lent from many brilliant thinkers of the past, like Taiichi and Deming) to make work not only better but also joyful for myself and those around me.

In the words of others

Ma’aaz A., Software Engineer @ a EdTech company:

Working with Lamak was a genuine delight, both for the quality of work he delivered and for the energy and mentorship he brought. He brings a unique insight into product-first and systems thinking, working on delivering great value to customers while ensuring the engineering standards are kept high through a focus on pair programming and test driven development.

I have grown a lot as an engineer working with him, and would very easily recommend him to any organisation looking to improve their processes, their culture and their engineering. Great software is a labour of love, and Lamak helped reignite the joy that makes that labour feel effortless and fun.

Ammar H., Head of Engineering @ a E-Commerce/SME marketplace:

We used to work in sprints with long planning cycles and it was Lamak who introduced the concept of flow. Since then, teams have shifted to continuously delivering value to our customers and becoming truly agile. He also ran multiple workshops with operations, business teams, and even the founders to embed this mindset across the company.

Lamak helped us simplify performance management processes to improve the quality of feedback. He decoupled 360 feedback from appraisals, defined focused criteria for performance and promotions, and guided us in reducing our rating scale to just two points—making the system clear and effective.

He also established the engineering academy, personally leading the early sessions. Through those sessions and his example, he inspired the entire engineering team to raise the bar and strive for excellence. There is always something to learn from Lamak—he is truly the best at what he does.