Senior software engineer building scalable backend and data systems, with product intuition and customer focus. Wearing many hats and doing whatever needs to be done.
My full name is pronounced key-yawn mayr. My first name is Arabic and means "being" or "existence". I'm of Black Jamaican and Gujarati Indian descent, so naturally, I love spicy food.
I am gender non-conforming and use singular they pronouns. I also accept masculine (he) pronouns. I prefer not to make a big deal out of it.
When I'm not working, I'm usually:
My values directly influence how I operate. They are not aspirational ideals, but patterns I have noticed in my own behaviour. I am happiest in company cultures that reflect these values. When the environment consistently rewards something very different, I choose a different one.
Take responsibility for the result, not just the work.
Finished work is not the same as valuable work. I care less about whether something shipped than whether it moved the needle. I am willing to cross organisational boundaries or ruffle feathers when needed, though I aim to do so with empathy. Although I can't (and shouldn't) personally do everything, I do not believe in "not my problem".
Seek to understand before deciding what is true.
Curiosity starts with refusing easy assumptions. It means asking deeper questions, getting closer to customers and coworkers, and caring enough to understand others' perspectives. Instead of declaring that something is impossible, I try to understand the conditions that would make it possible.
Turn repeated pain into systems.
Pain is a signal for leverage. When a process is slow, fragile, repetitive, or painful, I want to understand it deeply enough to make the next version easier. I look for step-change improvements that compound over time. To avoid the trap of over-optimising, I first ask whether the pain is real enough to justify changing the system.
Build what is needed, not just what is asked for.
Customers provide direction, not specification. Great work requires understanding customers deeply enough to ask the question behind the question and solve the problem behind the problem. Then I can shape the solution around what creates the most value, not merely what was explicitly requested. My goal is to strengthen the core product for each customer, not contort it around any single one.
We spend a lot of life working, so it should be well spent.
I have come to accept that I am not able to compartmentalise my work from my life. If my work is boring, shallow, or misaligned, more free time does not fix it. If my work is stressful or miserable, ambition does not justify it. I need work that energises me, fulfils me, and rewards intensity with impact. I play to win, and that includes resting enough to perform my highest-quality work.