Career History

Professional Experience

8+ years of engineering leadership, full-stack architecture, and production delivery.

2024 — Present•Full-Time

Senior Software Engineer / Assistant Manager

University of Management and Technology (UMT)Lahore, Pakistan

Leading architectural design and full-stack development of institutional enterprise platforms. Engineered 4 major HEC-compliant evaluation ecosystems governing faculty appointments, performance appraisals, and promotion cycles across multiple university campuses.

Key Contributions & Impact

Architected the Flagship Faculty Selection System: An end-to-end recruitment portal managing complex multi-stage vetting, HEC criteria matrix validation, and confidential committee scoring.

Engineered Faculty/Staff Appraisal & Promotion Engines: Automated multi-tier scoring rules, audit trails, and role-based access for hundreds of academic and administrative personnel.

Optimized database queries and indexing across relational schemas, reducing response times by over 40% on heavy evaluation dashboards.

Implemented strict RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) ensuring total data segregation between candidates, reviewers, deans, and selection board members.

Engineering Environment

Next.js, React, Node.js, PHP, Laravel, MySQL, Redis, REST APIs, Git, Linux

Core Technologies

Next.jsReactNode.jsLaravelMySQLRedisREST APIsTailwind CSS

2023 — 2024•Contract / Full-Time

Full Stack Developer

The VisamtionLahore, Pakistan

Engineered secure client communication systems and automated support portals. Led the integration with Google Workspace / Gmail APIs for real-time customer query handling and automated tracking.

2018 — 2024•Long-term Engagement

Full Stack Developer

Silven InternationalRemote / On-site

Key developer for large-scale web platforms, including the Livex e-learning ecosystem and high-traffic multi-lingual portals serving over 100,000 active users across multiple regions.

2018 — 2022•Full-Time

PHP Developer

Software Development HouseLahore, Pakistan

Developed custom web applications, dynamic database schemas, and tailored enterprise tools for diverse commercial clients.

2018•Independent Contractor

Level 2 Seller & Full-Stack Freelancer

Fiverr Global MarketplaceRemote / International

Delivered custom full-stack solutions, frontend bug fixes, API integrations, and CMS optimizations for global international clients, earning Level 2 Seller distinction.

Post-Mortems & Troubleshooting

Problems I Had to Solve

Real engineering war stories: the problem, root cause analysis, and resolution.

Technical Post-Mortem

Database Connection Pool Starvation During Mass Submission Deadlines

Faculty Selection System

01. The Problem

During the final 3 hours before the faculty application deadline, server response times spiked from 80ms to over 12 seconds, resulting in intermittent HTTP 504 gateway timeouts.

02. Investigation

Profiling slow query logs and live APM metrics revealed that the database CPU was at only 25%, but active connection pools were completely exhausted at 100%.

03. Root Cause

A synchronous file upload handler was opening a database transaction before initiating document hash generation and S3 upload, holding database connections open for several seconds per large PDF file.

04. Engineering Solution

Decoupled file ingestion: generated client-side presigned upload tokens so files stream directly to storage, and only triggered lightweight, fast database record commits (<15ms) after upload confirmation.

05. Key Takeaway

"Never hold database transactions open across external I/O or network network boundaries. Keep transactions short, focused, and purely relational."

System Design

Inside The Architecture

An interactive breakdown of a production-grade multi-tier web application.

01. Presentation & Edge Tier

Next.js 16 Client & Server Components

Primary Operational Purpose

Delivers zero-bundle server-rendered markup, fast hydration islands, and dynamic routing.

Technologies & Standards

Next.js 16 App RouterReact 19Tailwind CSSServer ComponentsEdge Caching

Key Engineering Decisions & Trade-Offs

Hydration Cost Reduction

Only interactive leaf widgets trigger client JavaScript execution, keeping Initial JavaScript payload <65KB.

Edge SSR & Streaming

Fast Time-to-First-Byte with streaming SSR and localized SEO meta-tags rendered entirely on the edge.