Meeting Title: Brainforge AI Engineer Screening Interview Date: 2025-08-15 Meeting participants: Pranav Narahari, Amber Lin
WEBVTT
1 00:02:37.880 ⇒ 00:02:39.329 Pranav Narahari: Hey, Amber, how’s it going?
2 00:02:39.850 ⇒ 00:02:43.860 Amber Lin: I’m doing well. Awesome. It’s by Friday. Very excited.
3 00:02:44.300 ⇒ 00:02:45.900 Pranav Narahari: Sorry, what was that? It cut out.
4 00:02:46.350 ⇒ 00:02:49.009 Amber Lin: Oh, I said it’s finally Friday, I’m very excited.
5 00:02:49.230 ⇒ 00:02:51.739 Pranav Narahari: Yes, I totally agree.
6 00:02:52.050 ⇒ 00:02:55.959 Amber Lin: Are you working right now, or are you looking for jobs right now?
7 00:02:56.330 ⇒ 00:02:58.129 Pranav Narahari: I am, currently working.
8 00:02:58.550 ⇒ 00:03:00.469 Pranav Narahari: Oh, I see. Yeah.
9 00:03:00.700 ⇒ 00:03:02.280 Amber Lin: Either you feel my pain.
10 00:03:02.280 ⇒ 00:03:04.710 Pranav Narahari: Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah.
11 00:03:05.120 ⇒ 00:03:23.360 Amber Lin: Mostly, this is a first time screening. I got sent your application from my team, and it made me want to just know… get to know a little bit more about you, and then at the end, we’ll have some space for you to ask any questions, and I can start off with a short introduction of myself.
12 00:03:23.360 ⇒ 00:03:29.100 Amber Lin: I think I have your LinkedIn on my end, so…
13 00:03:29.450 ⇒ 00:03:32.859 Amber Lin: I have a basic understanding of
14 00:03:33.470 ⇒ 00:03:47.249 Amber Lin: your background. So, brief intro about me. So, I’m a project manager here, and I joined about 4 months ago, and I started off managing
15 00:03:47.370 ⇒ 00:03:54.330 Amber Lin: mainly our AI projects, and now I’m managing one of our biggest clients, but it’s more on the data side.
16 00:03:54.840 ⇒ 00:04:02.899 Amber Lin: And so, if you can kick off with a quick 30-second intro by yourself, and then we can get started into the questions.
17 00:04:03.190 ⇒ 00:04:21.639 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, totally. Real quick. So, came from, like, a traditional software engineering background in school, 4 years, and then worked in, like, kind of a larger, bank, which was not my favorite experience, because I really liked the… what I came to know is I really liked the startup experience. And then…
18 00:04:21.640 ⇒ 00:04:34.879 Pranav Narahari: started using AI back in 2022, right when ChatGPT came out. I had a friend that was, I think, at that time, interviewing for OpenAI, and so he was, like, giving me, like, the latest updates, which is really awesome.
19 00:04:34.880 ⇒ 00:04:40.619 Pranav Narahari: And then, so that’s kind of what made me think, like, okay, this is a really cool project,
20 00:04:40.650 ⇒ 00:04:45.710 Pranav Narahari: How can I start using it for developing? That kind of came, like, later on.
21 00:04:45.760 ⇒ 00:05:02.740 Pranav Narahari: first started using Microsoft Copilot, soon thereafter, started using Cursor, and then, yeah, now there’s so many products, it’s, like, hard to keep up sometimes. But, yeah, that’s kind of just, like, super brief introduction.
22 00:05:03.150 ⇒ 00:05:07.299 Amber Lin: Okay. Thank you, I appreciate the briefness. Yeah.
23 00:05:07.300 ⇒ 00:05:08.149 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, yeah, no problem.
24 00:05:08.150 ⇒ 00:05:22.790 Amber Lin: So, our first question’s usually… this is a very casual first round. I just want to know, what do you want to do in your career? I kind of got it from your intro, but I just want to know what your career goals are.
25 00:05:23.260 ⇒ 00:05:25.019 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, totally. So…
26 00:05:25.200 ⇒ 00:05:32.249 Pranav Narahari: this was kind of something that I only was able to get an answer to, like, in the past, like, year, year and a half.
27 00:05:32.330 ⇒ 00:05:40.530 Pranav Narahari: Coming out of college, I just felt like it was such a… like, the field of, like, software engineering was just, like, such, like, a huge ocean, and it was like…
28 00:05:40.590 ⇒ 00:05:43.849 Pranav Narahari: it was hard to feel like I could catch up to anybody.
29 00:05:43.910 ⇒ 00:05:44.990 Pranav Narahari: …
30 00:05:45.020 ⇒ 00:05:58.069 Pranav Narahari: But the cool thing about AI right now is what I think, is, like, especially being an AI developer, is it’s a really new space, you know? Like, there’s people that have been working in, like, software engineering for, like, decades and decades.
31 00:05:58.070 ⇒ 00:06:08.099 Pranav Narahari: it felt really hard to compete with them, but for me, I feel like it’s super empowering for me to be, like, at the latest, like, in the most cutting-edge technologies when it comes to AI, and, like.
32 00:06:08.100 ⇒ 00:06:24.750 Pranav Narahari: integrating that into my already, like, … my background as a software engineer. And so, that’s kind of what I want to continue doing, because I think there’s still room for me. Like, I want to, like, work at startups where I feel like they’re building a lot of cool solutions, and they aren’t…
33 00:06:24.760 ⇒ 00:06:33.590 Pranav Narahari: bogged down by red tape that, like, the big companies are. They kind of are more nimble, like, move more fast, like, are…
34 00:06:33.620 ⇒ 00:06:37.480 Pranav Narahari: willing to, like, scrap things one day and, like, pivot the next day, like…
35 00:06:37.810 ⇒ 00:06:52.320 Pranav Narahari: that’s kind of where I’m at in my career right now. I want to be, like, maybe 2-3 years from now, like, I can say that I kind of really tried to stay on, like, the latest, AI engineering solutions and, like, really try to push my skills there.
36 00:06:52.770 ⇒ 00:07:06.930 Amber Lin: I see. I… I bet Uten also talked to you about this, so it’s just good for me to also get context. Yeah. And when you say you want to go deeper, you want to be… I think from my understanding, you want to be a…
37 00:07:06.930 ⇒ 00:07:19.760 Amber Lin: excel at being an individual contributor. I don’t… do you want to ever, say, manage a team, manage a product? Is that a way you want to go, or do you just want to go very deep into the technical end?
38 00:07:20.150 ⇒ 00:07:37.969 Pranav Narahari: I, I also find a lot of value in that, too. Like, I think I do well working alone, but I also, I think, just innately enjoy working with other people. And I think also they work hand-in-hand in terms of, like, learning, because I can…
39 00:07:38.050 ⇒ 00:07:54.090 Pranav Narahari: when I’m work… learning in a team, and, like, sounds like Brainforge is, like, a lot of, like, like-minded individuals, right? We all want to work in AI, we all kind of are interested in these latest projects, interested in automation, data analysis, like, seeing, like, where AI can really, like, lead us to. …
40 00:07:54.310 ⇒ 00:08:01.710 Pranav Narahari: And so, it’s kind of cool, like, when one person learns something, everybody in the org learns something. And so…
41 00:08:02.020 ⇒ 00:08:21.079 Pranav Narahari: I notice when I’m, like, doing, like, some freelance work, it’s not the same, you know? It’s, … I’m, like, the only contributor, I’m the person that everyone comes to for the questions, I don’t have someone necessarily in the AI space to learn from directly from, you know, with my colleagues.
42 00:08:21.080 ⇒ 00:08:32.180 Pranav Narahari: And so that is definitely something that I find is, like, super interesting to me, and I know I would, I would definitely like that. And just working in a team, too, I’ve always liked that.
43 00:08:32.429 ⇒ 00:08:33.719 Amber Lin: Okay, that’s exciting.
44 00:08:33.720 ⇒ 00:08:34.390 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
45 00:08:34.390 ⇒ 00:08:46.350 Amber Lin: Because I’m a project manager, and I deal with the team cohesion a lot, and I think our AI team among all our driven teams are the most cohesive SIP group, so I think you’ll really have a great time there. Yeah.
46 00:08:46.350 ⇒ 00:08:47.220 Pranav Narahari: That’s awesome.
47 00:08:47.220 ⇒ 00:09:06.390 Amber Lin: Yeah, so I think my question is mostly now on your previous experiences, because I know you got in Emerge House, and then you worked at Outlier before that. Yeah. I kind of want to go in order to just ask, essentially what you were hired to do, anything, accomplishments you’re proud of, any low points.
48 00:09:06.390 ⇒ 00:09:19.189 Amber Lin: What were the people like, and lastly, why you weren’t leaving. And we’ll go in, we’ll go in order, so I want us to start with, Emerge House, and then I want to see what you were hired to do.
49 00:09:19.360 ⇒ 00:09:26.059 Pranav Narahari: Sure, yeah, so Emerge House is, like, the latest one. Basically, I was hired to do…
50 00:09:26.380 ⇒ 00:09:43.549 Pranav Narahari: it’s, like, a similar type of company to Brainforge, in terms of that they have, like, clients that are looking to onboard into the AI world, and I was basically hired just to do that. So, they had a few clients set up for me as I, like, joined the company, and …
51 00:09:43.550 ⇒ 00:09:51.180 Pranav Narahari: basically working as either, like, a solo developer, or in one case, I worked on a client with, two other developers.
52 00:09:51.360 ⇒ 00:09:52.460 Amber Lin: ….
53 00:09:52.790 ⇒ 00:10:06.620 Pranav Narahari: really similar stuff, building AI automations, building, certain AI analysis tools that can, you know, use its intelligence to do, like, you know, really, like, automate, like, some, like, repetitive behavior that, you know.
54 00:10:06.960 ⇒ 00:10:17.970 Pranav Narahari: may have to do, right? So that’s probably, like, kind of, like, more straightforward, easy to understand. Okay. Yeah, any other questions on that, too? I can….
55 00:10:17.970 ⇒ 00:10:25.710 Amber Lin: No, I understand what our AI team is doing. I dabbled in it a little bit, and I realized, I think I’ll just leave it to the AI engineers to do this.
56 00:10:25.710 ⇒ 00:10:28.119 Pranav Narahari: Thanks. Yeah, I mean, yeah.
57 00:10:28.120 ⇒ 00:10:28.950 Amber Lin: Dude.
58 00:10:28.950 ⇒ 00:10:41.410 Pranav Narahari: It’s, even, like, so I’ve also, luckily, in my life, worked with, like, really good PMs, too, and they make a huge difference. Like, I didn’t realize, like… so my first company, right, like, I didn’t have, like, a…
59 00:10:41.410 ⇒ 00:10:59.430 Pranav Narahari: a great PM, I would say. I felt lost a lot of the time, and so at, like, at a merch house, like, I made, like, some, like, really good friends there, and, like, having a good PM really, like, helps me just be, like, a good AI engineer. So, it goes both ways. It goes both ways, for sure.
60 00:10:59.840 ⇒ 00:11:03.809 Amber Lin: I would love to know more about the people in a bit. I, I think….
61 00:11:03.810 ⇒ 00:11:11.090 Pranav Narahari: Going off my questions I have, what accomplishments were you most proud of when you were, at your current company?
62 00:11:12.100 ⇒ 00:11:17.239 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, … The one that comes to mind was actually, like…
63 00:11:17.510 ⇒ 00:11:23.810 Pranav Narahari: two months after I joined, it was in… January, so…
64 00:11:24.700 ⇒ 00:11:31.610 Pranav Narahari: basically, you know, that’s 2 months after I joined, they put me onto a client that, you know.
65 00:11:31.930 ⇒ 00:11:47.969 Pranav Narahari: the client wasn’t super happy already when I joined. And so, that was an interesting situation for me, because basically, they had mapped out a… a roadmap, and then at the end of the time that they slated for, they…
66 00:11:48.080 ⇒ 00:11:52.909 Pranav Narahari: Weren’t happy with the product, and so there was still a lot of work that needed to be done.
67 00:11:53.330 ⇒ 00:11:58.199 Pranav Narahari: And so, I remember those two months being, like, I really needed to, like…
68 00:11:58.560 ⇒ 00:12:15.600 Pranav Narahari: ramp up, being… it was my first experience as, like, in the industry as, like, an AI engineer, right? So, I really had to ramp up quick. I had to fully understand, like, the tech stack that they were using, their whole AI analysis engine, which was built by, like.
69 00:12:15.720 ⇒ 00:12:30.729 Pranav Narahari: a PhD that they had at the company. So it was like, it was a lot of… for me to learn in the beginning. And then, after a month, they mentioned how they wanted to meet the client in person, and how they wanted to, like.
70 00:12:30.960 ⇒ 00:12:33.359 Pranav Narahari: Clean up, like, a whole list of, like.
71 00:12:33.660 ⇒ 00:12:46.700 Pranav Narahari: problems that the client had stated, right? And so, I just remember putting in, like, a lot of hours for, like, a few weeks, like, morning to night, really. That’s just how I remember it. And, …
72 00:12:46.760 ⇒ 00:12:57.339 Pranav Narahari: But I felt… I felt really productive during that time, and it really felt like I was building a lot. I wasn’t just, you know, putting in hours and seeing nothing coming out of it. …
73 00:12:57.780 ⇒ 00:13:04.389 Pranav Narahari: I think during that time, it was, like, one, a really challenging experience, which is why I’m, like, saying it right now, but…
74 00:13:04.890 ⇒ 00:13:19.909 Pranav Narahari: it was also something I was super proud of, because it kind of reinforced, like, why I really love AI, because… it was because, like, you know, you can build so quickly, you know? Just, like, two weeks of, like, really grinding and, like, having direction can, like.
75 00:13:20.050 ⇒ 00:13:21.820 Pranav Narahari: You know, really just, like.
76 00:13:22.510 ⇒ 00:13:30.439 Pranav Narahari: like, and then the long story short, like, we went to the client, and they were super happy, and so they, like, extended the contract. So…
77 00:13:30.500 ⇒ 00:13:49.450 Pranav Narahari: I learned a lot from that, you know, like, coming from, like, working, like, at a bank before, not really having that much client interaction, not really seeing, like, what my work is doing and who it’s helping, to then, like, front and center, like, clients saying, like, oh, that’s not helping too much, to then saying, like, oh, thank you for fixing these things, like…
78 00:13:49.860 ⇒ 00:13:51.469 Pranav Narahari: We enjoy the solution a lot more.
79 00:13:53.330 ⇒ 00:14:00.580 Amber Lin: That’s awesome. I really like that story. On the other end, what were some low points during your job?
80 00:14:01.470 ⇒ 00:14:08.489 Pranav Narahari: I would say… sometimes, and this is, like, a more recent feeling, I’m feeling like…
81 00:14:08.640 ⇒ 00:14:11.169 Pranav Narahari: It’s not as collaborative.
82 00:14:11.300 ⇒ 00:14:12.680 Amber Lin: Hmm. ….
83 00:14:13.310 ⇒ 00:14:14.680 Pranav Narahari: So…
84 00:14:16.040 ⇒ 00:14:24.090 Pranav Narahari: a few things is, like, I kind of describe my passion with, like, you know, the AI space, how I like to really…
85 00:14:24.130 ⇒ 00:14:38.230 Pranav Narahari: keep up to date with, like, the latest tooling, and also just, like, the developer experience has changed a lot, too. You know, like, AI does… writes really good code, so it’s like, how can we best leverage the AI engineer to be…
86 00:14:38.690 ⇒ 00:14:44.489 Pranav Narahari: to, you know, still be useful, you know? We don’t want them to just, like, be writing code that’s…
87 00:14:44.760 ⇒ 00:14:51.839 Pranav Narahari: that’s, like, basic code, right? Because, like, AI at this point is doing that pretty well. And so…
88 00:14:51.940 ⇒ 00:15:04.409 Pranav Narahari: I just felt like, at the current company, things aren’t as, … I don’t know, like, who’s listening to me, you know? Sometimes, like, you can message somebody, and then you don’t know if it’s actually getting passed along to the next person.
89 00:15:04.530 ⇒ 00:15:05.730 Pranav Narahari: …
90 00:15:06.170 ⇒ 00:15:16.409 Pranav Narahari: And then also, like, I like to have work, too, and then sometimes, you know, and like, this is not to blame anybody, but, like, sometimes the work isn’t always there. You know.
91 00:15:16.410 ⇒ 00:15:17.120 Amber Lin: Interesting.
92 00:15:17.360 ⇒ 00:15:19.310 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, so….
93 00:15:19.360 ⇒ 00:15:23.259 Amber Lin: I always have too much work, and I’m like, please, please finish this.
94 00:15:23.260 ⇒ 00:15:23.880 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
95 00:15:23.880 ⇒ 00:15:26.979 Amber Lin: I just had a retro with one of our teams, and it was like.
96 00:15:26.980 ⇒ 00:15:27.440 Pranav Narahari: Huh.
97 00:15:27.500 ⇒ 00:15:29.939 Amber Lin: The work is not getting done.
98 00:15:30.150 ⇒ 00:15:30.800 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
99 00:15:30.800 ⇒ 00:15:33.250 Amber Lin: I have the opposite problem of you.
100 00:15:33.250 ⇒ 00:15:35.840 Pranav Narahari: I think it… and so, I, …
101 00:15:35.940 ⇒ 00:15:39.850 Pranav Narahari: I think Utham probably mentioned it to you, I met with him last Friday.
102 00:15:40.330 ⇒ 00:15:57.769 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, and so that call… I mean, not call, we actually met in person, that meeting was, like, super interesting to me, because I really like how he’s structuring Brainforge in that it really started as, like, a data engineering company, right? And I think looking down that lens really…
103 00:15:58.220 ⇒ 00:16:05.760 Pranav Narahari: helps AI engineering, because one problem with AI engineering is the quality assurance. We don’t know…
104 00:16:05.780 ⇒ 00:16:21.040 Pranav Narahari: how accurate the automation’s gonna be, and more often than not, there’s a lot of debugging, a lot of QA that needs to be done at the end. However, it seems like how Utham is, like, setting up his, projects with clients is that
105 00:16:21.100 ⇒ 00:16:30.509 Pranav Narahari: it’s really data-driven. Like, how can we find, like, certain things that we’re, targeting and, like, like, KPIs as well?
106 00:16:30.660 ⇒ 00:16:34.829 Pranav Narahari: And so, I really liked his kind of approach. It was like.
107 00:16:34.960 ⇒ 00:16:46.709 Pranav Narahari: it was almost like I had had this thought, and, like, with them, like, fully, like, dove into this thought and, like, built, like, a business on it. And so, it was really nice, like, having that conversation with him. …
108 00:16:46.870 ⇒ 00:16:50.449 Pranav Narahari: And that’s not, like, something that I know other agencies are doing.
109 00:16:50.870 ⇒ 00:17:04.039 Amber Lin: Okay, I hear you. I… I think I join as well, because I believe in the vision UTAM has, because it’s… it’s possible to just be an agency, there’s a lot of work.
110 00:17:04.180 ⇒ 00:17:15.990 Amber Lin: waiting to be done in this field, but there’s… it’s different than if you can build a company that has sufficient. And we have a lot of people who believe in him, essentially, and what he’s trying to do.
111 00:17:15.990 ⇒ 00:17:25.880 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, yeah, I think… I think that’s huge, like, you need to have that belief in, you know, this… the CEO, right? Like, the founder, like, and…
112 00:17:26.440 ⇒ 00:17:39.080 Pranav Narahari: I’m glad, like, it was almost like he was saying a lot of the things that I was already feeling, so I knew at that point, like, okay, this is, like, if, you know, like, the future conversations, like, work out, like, this seems like a great fit for me.
113 00:17:39.380 ⇒ 00:17:56.379 Amber Lin: Okay, I’m glad to hear that. I think next question is very similar, so who were the people you were working with? What were your bosses like? What were your colleagues like? Were you managing anyone? Did you ever have to hire or fire anyone? Just want to get a sense of the people there.
114 00:17:56.520 ⇒ 00:18:11.350 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, totally. So, I’ve never had to hire or fire anybody. I’ve had some experiences with managing people as a team lead for a project, as well as, managing interns.
115 00:18:11.560 ⇒ 00:18:20.989 Pranav Narahari: Really enjoyed that experience, I wish I could have more of those experiences, but I am pretty early on in my career, so I know, like, with time, that’ll happen. …
116 00:18:21.370 ⇒ 00:18:27.109 Pranav Narahari: But, yeah, I would say I genuinely do like working with people, …
117 00:18:27.640 ⇒ 00:18:34.610 Pranav Narahari: it makes just, like, work way more fun, it makes it more engaging, it makes it more motivating. …
118 00:18:35.000 ⇒ 00:18:39.330 Pranav Narahari: And, yeah, I like… I like it more when…
119 00:18:39.780 ⇒ 00:18:56.059 Pranav Narahari: I like having my hands in, like, different workflows, that’s definitely for sure, and, like, that’s definitely something you have to get used to if you’re working at a startup, right? Like, you can’t just be like, I want to stay in this niche and just, like, stay in this bubble, but I also like when there’s, …
120 00:18:56.480 ⇒ 00:18:57.690 Pranav Narahari: kind of, like.
121 00:18:58.320 ⇒ 00:19:08.620 Pranav Narahari: we know that, like, this person is best at design, we know that this person is best at, like, project management, and it doesn’t just always… I’ve been in experiences when it, like, all falls on the engineer,
122 00:19:09.160 ⇒ 00:19:17.110 Pranav Narahari: And I just feel like I’m not being as efficient as I could be in those situations, and so… yeah, that’s, …
123 00:19:17.210 ⇒ 00:19:34.369 Pranav Narahari: I would say the best experiences I had is when I had, like, a really good PM, I had a really good designer, I had a really good, like, QA team. Usually you’re not gonna get all three of those things, right, at a startup. But I would say, really, like, the main thing is, like.
124 00:19:34.400 ⇒ 00:19:52.549 Pranav Narahari: having, like, a good PM. Like, I would say, like, that is my favorite feeling. And so, I… and I think working at a startup just kind of, like, breeds, like, good PMs. Like, from my experience, like, in working at a P… like, at a startup right now, my PM is, like.
125 00:19:52.580 ⇒ 00:19:55.969 Pranav Narahari: I’m, like, so happy to have met him, so it’s like…
126 00:19:56.050 ⇒ 00:20:04.310 Pranav Narahari: It kind of taught me about project, project management as well. So, yeah, that’s kind of like a roundabout answer. I kind of rambled a little bit there, but I think.
127 00:20:04.310 ⇒ 00:20:20.100 Amber Lin: No, I like to hear what people have to say about others they’re working with, because sometimes they run into not-so-great people. It’s also worth hearing of how they navigate that situation, how they feel.
128 00:20:20.100 ⇒ 00:20:27.479 Amber Lin: It helps us learn as well as a company. What would you say your boss is like, and what would you say your boss thinks of you?
129 00:20:28.940 ⇒ 00:20:31.950 Pranav Narahari: That’s a good question. So, had my…
130 00:20:32.330 ⇒ 00:20:41.150 Pranav Narahari: current company, it’s pretty small. I… the boss is… we’re a pretty, like, flat organization, everyone just reports to the CEO.
131 00:20:41.260 ⇒ 00:20:45.989 Pranav Narahari: … I would think he thinks of me as, like, …
132 00:20:47.380 ⇒ 00:21:05.290 Pranav Narahari: And we actually had a conversation where he kind of, like, described to me what he thought of me, like, it was actually right after… because we went on this, like, work call to, like, Dallas, right? Like, kind of like a road trip where we talked a lot, and he was kind of describing how, like, I really like how, like, you know.
133 00:21:05.480 ⇒ 00:21:12.750 Pranav Narahari: you kind of can just, like, really just, like, full focus and put a lot of energy into, like, what you’re doing. …
134 00:21:13.360 ⇒ 00:21:14.580 Pranav Narahari: And
135 00:21:15.240 ⇒ 00:21:34.640 Pranav Narahari: I think that’s, like, a great compliment to me, like, that he said that, because I do feel like, you know, energy is infectious. Like, if I’m working with somebody who is, like, is super passionate about something, like, it could be anything. It could be, like, jump roping, which, like… actually, I do like jump roping, so that wouldn’t help. That’s not a great example, but, like…
136 00:21:34.640 ⇒ 00:21:42.729 Pranav Narahari: I don’t know, like, any sport that I don’t actually play, but if I hear that they’re super passionate about it, like, somehow, like, that gets me, like, excited about it.
137 00:21:42.730 ⇒ 00:21:44.280 Amber Lin: You know, so… Okay.
138 00:21:44.280 ⇒ 00:21:50.890 Pranav Narahari: that’s why I was just like, okay, I’m glad that he feels like I have that quality. … And….
139 00:21:50.890 ⇒ 00:21:52.099 Amber Lin: What do you think of him?
140 00:21:52.800 ⇒ 00:21:58.579 Pranav Narahari: I think, I think he actually has that quality as well. Yeah. …
141 00:21:58.710 ⇒ 00:22:09.870 Pranav Narahari: you know, I don’t talk to him as much anymore, because, like, our organization has, like, grown, like, times two, like, since January, maybe even more. …
142 00:22:09.870 ⇒ 00:22:24.750 Pranav Narahari: But from, like, back then, when we were, like, talking more, like, frequently, that’s how I felt. I felt like, you know, maybe he is not, like, a PhD who has, like, you know, 10 years of, like, academic experience, and who you may, like…
143 00:22:24.920 ⇒ 00:22:30.719 Pranav Narahari: some people, like, I don’t do this, but may assume, like, that they’re the smartest people, and, like, can kind of, like.
144 00:22:31.110 ⇒ 00:22:42.540 Pranav Narahari: just think of them as, like, an authority figure. I think he is kind of a person who’s just, like, you know, he’s just, like, a human being who’s, like, naturally curious and has a lot of energy for, like, the things he’s passionate about. And, …
145 00:22:42.670 ⇒ 00:22:45.430 Pranav Narahari: He just uses all the tools around him to just, like.
146 00:22:45.560 ⇒ 00:22:51.160 Pranav Narahari: like, feed that curiosity. So, he’s built… and, like, it kind of…
147 00:22:51.960 ⇒ 00:23:07.739 Pranav Narahari: I kind of think of myself the same way, too. I don’t think, like, I was born to be, like, an amazing, like, computer scientist or anything like that. But I feel like I do have, like, a lot of curiosity, and, like, I try to, like, stay as, like.
148 00:23:07.880 ⇒ 00:23:10.470 Pranav Narahari: Overall, pretty positive, high-energy person.
149 00:23:10.860 ⇒ 00:23:16.769 Amber Lin: Okay, that’s really awesome. Then my question is, why do you want to leave that job?
150 00:23:17.560 ⇒ 00:23:24.330 Pranav Narahari: I would say I’m not, like, super aligned with, like, the company vision.
151 00:23:24.440 ⇒ 00:23:26.600 Amber Lin: … We’ll come.
152 00:23:26.980 ⇒ 00:23:32.020 Pranav Narahari: they… so, like I said, they’re kind of similar to Brainforge, except that
153 00:23:32.170 ⇒ 00:23:40.100 Pranav Narahari: they’ve recently made, like, certain pivots where, … I’m not so sure how it’s gonna pan out.
154 00:23:40.210 ⇒ 00:23:43.290 Pranav Narahari: And… also…
155 00:23:43.850 ⇒ 00:23:49.860 Pranav Narahari: I just, … and I kind of mentioned, too, like, how I don’t know if, like, everything I’m saying is being, like, listened to.
156 00:23:49.970 ⇒ 00:23:51.080 Amber Lin: ….
157 00:23:51.080 ⇒ 00:24:05.050 Pranav Narahari: Or just, like, yeah, just, like, taken in, right? Like, I just want it to be, like, a… since it’s coming from me, like, a company… like, an employee at the company who I felt like… who I feel like I’ve done, like, you know, a good amount of work there, and, like, built…
158 00:24:06.040 ⇒ 00:24:15.150 Pranav Narahari: enough credibility where I should be able to, like, at least have an opinion on, like, certain, like, decisions. I don’t know if that’s happening.
159 00:24:15.150 ⇒ 00:24:20.359 Amber Lin: decisions about, say, engineering decisions, or do you need decisions about the company? Oh!
160 00:24:20.360 ⇒ 00:24:22.470 Pranav Narahari: Engineering decisions, yeah, like….
161 00:24:22.470 ⇒ 00:24:30.970 Amber Lin: I’m so… I’m so… I’m amused why they wouldn’t listen if it’s decisions. It’s a straight job.
162 00:24:31.370 ⇒ 00:24:33.010 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, yeah.
163 00:24:33.190 ⇒ 00:24:42.359 Pranav Narahari: Me too. I think you’re feeling what I’m feeling, yeah. But, you know, I think also, this is, like, a common thing that happens at companies, you know, engineers might…
164 00:24:42.430 ⇒ 00:24:53.230 Pranav Narahari: say something, or want to say something, but then they don’t know, like, how is the company gonna take it, or they… it might just go in one year, come out the other, you know?
165 00:24:53.570 ⇒ 00:25:01.269 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, so… And I also, to be honest, like, I really just like Utham’s, like, kind of…
166 00:25:01.850 ⇒ 00:25:12.470 Pranav Narahari: his roadmap and, like, his vision for, like, AI engineering for the future, I think there is, like, an inherent flaw with, like, how I, like, we…
167 00:25:12.770 ⇒ 00:25:20.309 Pranav Narahari: create projects at, like, at a merge house. It’s not, like, data-driven.
168 00:25:20.420 ⇒ 00:25:39.170 Pranav Narahari: And I think that is a… I think that really, like, sets you up for a more successful project when you are more data-driven. And I think, just, like, naturally, like, Utham, like, comes from that background. He’s also mentioned, like, certain projects that he’s worked on where it…
169 00:25:39.320 ⇒ 00:25:49.239 Pranav Narahari: that it’s exactly, like, what I’m saying, like, more data-driven. And so, that just seems, like, more attractive to me, like, than what I’m currently doing.
170 00:25:49.700 ⇒ 00:25:53.540 Amber Lin: Okay, nice. Sorry, we’re a little bit over time.
171 00:25:53.540 ⇒ 00:25:54.529 Pranav Narahari: We are, yeah.
172 00:25:54.530 ⇒ 00:25:59.739 Amber Lin: Okay, a bit, as long as you are. I was very curious about a few other questions.
173 00:25:59.740 ⇒ 00:26:04.299 Pranav Narahari: I’m… let me just triple check, but I’m pretty sure I’m good as well.
174 00:26:04.300 ⇒ 00:26:12.300 Amber Lin: Sure, I can go until 10-0, which is 15 minutes, so go for, like, 5-10 more minutes or so.
175 00:26:12.300 ⇒ 00:26:15.309 Pranav Narahari: That’s perfect for me, yeah, I’m… Okay. I have nothing. Yep.
176 00:26:15.310 ⇒ 00:26:21.380 Amber Lin: Okay, all good. I think along those lines, I want to see how…
177 00:26:21.610 ⇒ 00:26:36.200 Amber Lin: how you see yourself of your strengths and weaknesses. I think you touched upon the strengths. I want to see how you see your weaknesses are, and then after that, I want to hear what you think your boss will think on your strengths and weaknesses.
178 00:26:36.410 ⇒ 00:26:38.320 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, …
179 00:26:38.460 ⇒ 00:26:48.679 Pranav Narahari: I would say, like, frankly, like, my weakness is, like, I don’t have a ton of experience. You know, AI engineering, maybe in this field of AI engineering, have a good amount of experience.
180 00:26:48.680 ⇒ 00:26:49.660 Amber Lin: But….
181 00:26:49.660 ⇒ 00:27:00.930 Pranav Narahari: There are, you know, probably, like, software engineers out there that are in their 30s, in their 40s, that, like, have, you know, you know, dozens and dozens of clients that they’ve worked with, and, like.
182 00:27:01.270 ⇒ 00:27:03.969 Pranav Narahari: That experience probably helps them.
183 00:27:04.190 ⇒ 00:27:08.940 Pranav Narahari: in some ways, for, like, you know, future projects that they work on. …
184 00:27:09.070 ⇒ 00:27:18.709 Pranav Narahari: And that is something that, you know, I can’t just, like, snap my fingers and, like, get, right? It’s just only gonna happen from, like, having different jobs, but….
185 00:27:18.710 ⇒ 00:27:19.210 Amber Lin: Thank you.
186 00:27:19.470 ⇒ 00:27:20.190 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
187 00:27:20.190 ⇒ 00:27:36.350 Amber Lin: I think, apart from that, a more meant as a… what do you think as a person or professionally, what you might not be as good at or not as interested in? And for me, as, for example, I cannot do,
188 00:27:36.730 ⇒ 00:27:44.009 Amber Lin: sales, because I don’t want to just go until, like, one after one after one line, sending my.
189 00:27:44.010 ⇒ 00:27:44.520 Pranav Narahari: Is she?
190 00:27:44.520 ⇒ 00:27:50.790 Amber Lin: something hits. So that’s something I can’t do. And if I… I don’t like doing the same thing.
191 00:27:51.190 ⇒ 00:27:51.630 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, yeah.
192 00:27:51.630 ⇒ 00:28:00.699 Amber Lin: like, to do things I haven’t done before, even if I don’t know how to do it and learn it. But then once I learn it, I don’t want to do it again.
193 00:28:00.700 ⇒ 00:28:01.190 Pranav Narahari: Mmm.
194 00:28:01.190 ⇒ 00:28:13.709 Amber Lin: So, that’s my… I know that’s my weakness, and that’s… that could be my strength as well. Yeah. I’m just thinking… I just want to hear from you what… how you see yourself, and what it’s like.
195 00:28:14.440 ⇒ 00:28:25.899 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, so one thing I’m always conscious of, and this is, like, really since, like, I was a kid, like, I want to speak up more. So, like, in meetings, I can sometimes…
196 00:28:26.000 ⇒ 00:28:44.379 Pranav Narahari: like, and this is, like, in a… in, you know, like, a project that we had, like, at a merch house. I felt like during stand-ups and, like, with client calls, like, there was moments where I probably could have spoke up more, but I just kind of felt like maybe, like, certain pressure and, like, also…
197 00:28:44.470 ⇒ 00:28:47.980 Pranav Narahari: Not pressure, like, in terms of, like, the client, but just, like.
198 00:28:49.160 ⇒ 00:28:56.290 Pranav Narahari: I didn’t… I kind of mentioned, you know, like, some of, like, the seniority thing, too, like, if there’s a team lead, like, sometimes I would be like.
199 00:28:56.470 ⇒ 00:29:09.719 Pranav Narahari: maybe I need to get, like, a check from them first before I say something. And I think more often than not, I’m being a little bit too conservative. And so that is just something that I feel like I always check in with myself on, is like.
200 00:29:10.940 ⇒ 00:29:18.799 Pranav Narahari: more often than not, I’m just like, just say it, you know? Just like, if someone’s just like, oh, we’ll touch on that later, like, I’m not gonna get my feelings hurt, you know, like….
201 00:29:18.800 ⇒ 00:29:19.810 Amber Lin: That’s true.
202 00:29:19.810 ⇒ 00:29:20.190 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
203 00:29:20.190 ⇒ 00:29:30.439 Amber Lin: Do you think it’s a fear of confrontation, or do you think it’s, more like, used to having authority figures? I have that issue too, I’m just curious what you think.
204 00:29:30.440 ⇒ 00:29:32.060 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, I…
205 00:29:32.440 ⇒ 00:29:38.830 Pranav Narahari: I don’t know if it’s fear of confrontation, because sometimes I’m like, I want to know what you’re thinking, you know, just tell me, like, straight up.
206 00:29:39.210 ⇒ 00:29:43.980 Pranav Narahari: So, for me, I think it is the latter. I think it is, like, the authority figure, like.
207 00:29:43.980 ⇒ 00:29:47.709 Amber Lin: Probably, I don’t know, like, I grew up with, like, you know, two kind of, like.
208 00:29:47.710 ⇒ 00:29:49.699 Pranav Narahari: strict parents.
209 00:29:50.020 ⇒ 00:29:54.200 Pranav Narahari: In a certain way, like, not super strict, but, like, …
210 00:29:54.430 ⇒ 00:30:01.630 Pranav Narahari: I don’t know. I don’t know, I’m kind of, like, really diving deep now, yeah, but I think… I think we’re… I think it’s probably a common issue, right?
211 00:30:01.630 ⇒ 00:30:15.530 Amber Lin: Okay, okay, I hear you. I think, would your boss say that’s the same thing? Like, from his perspective, what would he say your weaknesses are? Because you already told me what he thinks your strengths are.
212 00:30:15.960 ⇒ 00:30:17.440 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, …
213 00:30:18.270 ⇒ 00:30:31.300 Pranav Narahari: I actually did have a call about this, like, a couple weeks ago, because I was just, like, I wanted to, you know… I’m trying to progress in my career, I want to know, like, if there’s certain rooms, like, for improvement for me. And, …
214 00:30:31.910 ⇒ 00:30:37.810 Pranav Narahari: the main thing they mentioned was experience. They’re just like, there’s nothing really, like, that you’re doing wrong, it’s just that, you know.
215 00:30:38.070 ⇒ 00:30:44.909 Pranav Narahari: With time, you’ll have more experience, and then, you know, you’ll be able to, like, land more, like, lead engineer jobs.
216 00:30:44.910 ⇒ 00:30:46.080 Amber Lin: Hmm. ….
217 00:30:47.210 ⇒ 00:30:48.510 Pranav Narahari: I think…
218 00:30:49.130 ⇒ 00:30:54.600 Pranav Narahari: you know, going… like, aside from that, right, because we already kind of, like, touched on that, …
219 00:30:56.410 ⇒ 00:31:10.040 Pranav Narahari: I do bring up, like, this thing of, like, should I, like, speak up more or not? Usually people say, like, I talk enough, but, they don’t usually say it like that. But, …
220 00:31:11.510 ⇒ 00:31:14.850 Pranav Narahari: I think also just, like, sometimes it’s like…
221 00:31:15.860 ⇒ 00:31:29.109 Pranav Narahari: it’s more of an internal thing, and it’s more of a subtle thing, but for me personally, it just feels more like, oh, I know, like, what my potential could be, and if I do, like, certain things like that, I could reach my potential. …
222 00:31:29.970 ⇒ 00:31:35.710 Pranav Narahari: Other than that… I don’t really… I can’t really think of something that, like, …
223 00:31:36.300 ⇒ 00:31:54.999 Pranav Narahari: And I… well, one thing that is too, right, like, maybe, like, you know, like, your question was, like, what do they think, not what have they said? I think they could be thinking, like, you know, speak up a little bit more if you think that you have more… you have, like, a good opinion on this, or if you feel like, you know, your voice is not being heard on this. …
224 00:31:55.640 ⇒ 00:31:57.480 Pranav Narahari: I think it could be that, yeah.
225 00:31:57.480 ⇒ 00:31:58.170 Amber Lin: Okay.
226 00:31:58.300 ⇒ 00:31:59.730 Amber Lin: Okay, I see.
227 00:31:59.790 ⇒ 00:32:12.979 Amber Lin: That’s what we’re trying to do with the company as well, because, sometimes, as a PM, most of the times, I feel like my engineers are not responding to me. But maybe for them, it’s the same of…
228 00:32:13.010 ⇒ 00:32:22.829 Amber Lin: I… I don’t know when to… what to say and when to say that, and that’s something I’m thinking of as I build processes of how do I…
229 00:32:22.880 ⇒ 00:32:30.190 Amber Lin: have those standards of when people communicate in our processes, and I was just talking to Utam if we can have…
230 00:32:30.340 ⇒ 00:32:45.880 Amber Lin: feedback sessions for especially more junior engineers. He said, can we do three months? I was like, no, I think we need to do one month, every other month, if not briefer, but it depends on different people, if they’re receptive to feedback.
231 00:32:46.140 ⇒ 00:32:54.700 Amber Lin: Yeah. I’ve been trying to get them to communicate more, but it’s been the other way around, as what you have mentioned here.
232 00:32:54.700 ⇒ 00:32:56.260 Pranav Narahari: Okay, okay.
233 00:32:56.260 ⇒ 00:32:56.650 Amber Lin: Yeah.
234 00:32:56.650 ⇒ 00:32:57.230 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
235 00:32:57.550 ⇒ 00:33:08.450 Amber Lin: I want to wrap up so you can have space to ask me questions. I think one last question, I don’t know if Utam asked you, what were your hobbies outside of work? Did he ask you that question?
236 00:33:08.880 ⇒ 00:33:16.030 Pranav Narahari: I don’t think he’s asked me that question. Okay. … I would say…
237 00:33:16.580 ⇒ 00:33:26.749 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, outside of work, like, if we’re going completely outside of work, I love just, like, being outside. Like, so everything outside. Like, this morning, I, like, I went golfing, you know, and it was, like, a great morning.
238 00:33:26.750 ⇒ 00:33:37.610 Pranav Narahari: Like, so I woke up, like, at 6, and, like, I don’t think I’d wake up for 6 for a lot of things. But I love staying active. I’m very just, like, health-conscious, I would say.
239 00:33:37.610 ⇒ 00:33:38.620 Amber Lin: ….
240 00:33:39.070 ⇒ 00:33:41.129 Pranav Narahari: So, I really just try to, like.
241 00:33:41.270 ⇒ 00:33:46.550 Pranav Narahari: Be as healthy, as active, … Recently, also, just, like.
242 00:33:46.800 ⇒ 00:33:52.859 Pranav Narahari: the least stressed, you know? Like, I realize how much that can impact health as well. …
243 00:33:53.000 ⇒ 00:33:56.290 Pranav Narahari: And so, I would say, like.
244 00:33:57.340 ⇒ 00:34:12.560 Pranav Narahari: like, just overall health and, like, well-being is, like, one of, like, the things that I really try to, like, maximize, like, outside. And so, a good excuse for that is, like, you know, hanging out with friends to, like, de-stress, playing ac- like, playing sports, …
245 00:34:12.949 ⇒ 00:34:20.619 Pranav Narahari: really just, like, you know, sometimes just, like, getting out in nature, you know, like, I’m… I’m connected to, like, my laptop, like, whenever I’m working, right? Like, I have…
246 00:34:20.900 ⇒ 00:34:40.480 Pranav Narahari: three screens here, so I’m very much, like, in front of a screen, like, most of my day, and it’s necessary for my career, and I don’t mind that, but I think having, like, the opposite, where I can, like, you know, go on a hike, go on, you know, go swimming, go to the beach, play basketball outside, like.
247 00:34:40.480 ⇒ 00:34:46.570 Pranav Narahari: those are things that I feel like, by doing the polar opposite, it allows me to, like, be, like, a good AI engineer and stay sane, too.
248 00:34:46.570 ⇒ 00:34:58.859 Amber Lin: Yeah, I hear you. That’s the main thing that I’ve been thinking of recently, because this is my first wholly remote job, and for it, when I joined in March.
249 00:34:58.970 ⇒ 00:34:59.890 Pranav Narahari: ….
250 00:34:59.890 ⇒ 00:35:05.390 Amber Lin: Especially when I’m new, and I want to perform and impress people. I work a lot and work so much.
251 00:35:05.390 ⇒ 00:35:06.010 Pranav Narahari: Right.
252 00:35:06.010 ⇒ 00:35:16.109 Amber Lin: And last month, I had a severe burnout, and I was like, no, I can’t be in an hour’s meeting per day. I need… I can survive with 6, which is still a lot.
253 00:35:16.110 ⇒ 00:35:16.700 Pranav Narahari: A lot, yeah.
254 00:35:16.700 ⇒ 00:35:36.210 Amber Lin: I put in out-of-office blocks on my calendar. I finally put in a lunch break box on my calendar, and that has helped me a lot, and I live in downtown LA right now, so I don’t get nature, and I think it’s hitting me. I’m moving to…
255 00:35:36.230 ⇒ 00:35:38.630 Amber Lin: Close to a lake recently, so….
256 00:35:38.630 ⇒ 00:35:39.150 Pranav Narahari: Nice.
257 00:35:39.150 ⇒ 00:35:50.120 Amber Lin: I feel you, and honestly, the only time I got up at 5 was, one, when I had to do a sales job, and that was 2 hours away.
258 00:35:50.120 ⇒ 00:35:50.500 Pranav Narahari: Yeah.
259 00:35:50.500 ⇒ 00:35:59.309 Amber Lin: to when I had to go surf, which… which is, like, also an hour away, and I have to just get up really early and go.
260 00:35:59.310 ⇒ 00:36:05.549 Pranav Narahari: Yeah. And it does suck getting up, but then once you’re out there, I feel like it’s worth it, you know?
261 00:36:05.550 ⇒ 00:36:06.140 Amber Lin: stop.
262 00:36:06.140 ⇒ 00:36:07.550 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, yeah.
263 00:36:07.960 ⇒ 00:36:12.990 Amber Lin: That’s awesome. Any questions you have for me? I have around 5 minutes.
264 00:36:13.340 ⇒ 00:36:30.139 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, totally. One question, and you kind of touched on it, like, how the AI engineering team is, like, very cohesive. Like, how big is that team, and, like, what is kind of, like, the dynamic? Is it, like, they all work on the same project together? Do they work on different projects? What does that look like?
265 00:36:30.340 ⇒ 00:36:33.730 Amber Lin: Okay, our AI team currently is…
266 00:36:33.790 ⇒ 00:36:47.060 Amber Lin: two more junior engineers, and then one automation lead that just joined us. Gotcha. Automation lead, he is more of a business-focused, I believe. He’s… he used to have his own company.
267 00:36:47.060 ⇒ 00:36:56.430 Amber Lin: Which is in hair care, it was very different, but he knows how to communicate with stakeholders, what clients really want, and how to, help teams problem solve.
268 00:36:56.430 ⇒ 00:37:01.009 Amber Lin: And then Engineers has been with us, for a while, and I think there’s…
269 00:37:01.010 ⇒ 00:37:10.910 Amber Lin: they are the best teammates you can have, because they’re very collaborative, open to feedback, they look for work. That’s coming from a PM, which I’m very happy about.
270 00:37:11.540 ⇒ 00:37:16.219 Amber Lin: And I know what they’re doing, and they will tell me what they’re doing.
271 00:37:16.220 ⇒ 00:37:16.660 Pranav Narahari: What’s up?
272 00:37:16.660 ⇒ 00:37:18.540 Amber Lin: If my standards are too low.
273 00:37:19.650 ⇒ 00:37:25.010 Amber Lin: So, I think that team works really well together. It’s currently 3 people.
274 00:37:25.610 ⇒ 00:37:40.160 Amber Lin: They have… we have internal AI projects, which is whenever they don’t have client work, they focus on. Recently, we’re tuning that down, because we have more AI clients coming in, and they usually…
275 00:37:40.650 ⇒ 00:37:48.399 Amber Lin: I… we want to have redundancy in projects, so there’s… since there’s two AI engineers, usually one of them
276 00:37:48.600 ⇒ 00:37:54.369 Amber Lin: On a project, there will be a primary, and a second person will float around to make sure if the other.
277 00:37:54.370 ⇒ 00:37:54.900 Pranav Narahari: I like that.
278 00:37:54.900 ⇒ 00:38:04.350 Amber Lin: out, they can fill in, but they take care of their own projects. There’s AI projects, automation projects. I think we have around…
279 00:38:04.470 ⇒ 00:38:05.650 Amber Lin: …
280 00:38:06.070 ⇒ 00:38:15.860 Amber Lin: two or three smaller automation projects, and then one bigger AI client, and then there’s the internal AI team.
281 00:38:15.860 ⇒ 00:38:16.500 Pranav Narahari: Yep.
282 00:38:16.710 ⇒ 00:38:17.700 Amber Lin: and…
283 00:38:18.500 ⇒ 00:38:32.509 Amber Lin: I think the dynamic is really nice, I think, really enjoy working with them, because they… you’ve heard many good words about them, and I think they want to stretch into multiple things, so it’s… a problem I’ve had somewhere else is…
284 00:38:32.510 ⇒ 00:38:50.730 Amber Lin: which is not really people’s fault, because that’s what they’re hired to do. They’ll say, oh, I can’t do this, I need help, I need someone to do this, I’m blocked, I can’t look into that. I think these AI engineers, they’re willing to stretch into different fields, because they started out just doing AI automations.
285 00:38:50.730 ⇒ 00:38:52.959 Amber Lin: Right now, they can help a bit with…
286 00:38:52.990 ⇒ 00:38:59.289 Amber Lin: Dashboarding. They know a bit about connecting, data sources, which is more….
287 00:38:59.290 ⇒ 00:39:01.349 Pranav Narahari: data engineering work. Yep.
288 00:39:01.350 ⇒ 00:39:07.459 Amber Lin: … And they work really well with UTOM, with our different tech leagues, and with
289 00:39:07.700 ⇒ 00:39:12.089 Amber Lin: very responsive people, so I think you’ll enjoy working with them.
290 00:39:12.260 ⇒ 00:39:23.710 Pranav Narahari: That’s awesome. Yeah, so I did get to talk to Mustafa on Wednesday, and so, yeah, yeah, kind of like what you were saying, like, I definitely, like, felt from him, like, he’s definitely, like.
291 00:39:23.710 ⇒ 00:39:33.890 Pranav Narahari: he has a lot of energy, too, like, the kind of the energy thing. I definitely felt that from him. So, yeah, that sounds like a great dynamic. I really like the floating part, because…
292 00:39:33.980 ⇒ 00:39:46.840 Pranav Narahari: some places might say that’s not as necessary, but I think it makes it more collaborative, and it makes that primary engineer life, like, way more productive. And then also, just, like, on the situations where there’s not someone there, and, like, someone needs to, like.
293 00:39:47.110 ⇒ 00:39:58.839 Pranav Narahari: kind of, like, sub in. Like, they already kind of have most of the context, and they’re not starting from, like, ground zero, so… Okay, that’s… that sounds really cool. That sounds very, like, good to me as well, yeah.
294 00:39:59.190 ⇒ 00:40:01.270 Amber Lin: Yeah. Any other questions?
295 00:40:01.460 ⇒ 00:40:07.560 Pranav Narahari: So, for the clients that you guys have currently, like, are they usually, like.
296 00:40:07.720 ⇒ 00:40:11.900 Amber Lin: What is, like, the average duration, if there is one, for, like, a project?
297 00:40:11.900 ⇒ 00:40:23.640 Pranav Narahari: And in terms of, like, who works on the project, is it usually, like, one to two engineers, one PM, anybody else that’s also staffed on the project? What does that usually look like?
298 00:40:23.940 ⇒ 00:40:43.600 Amber Lin: Yeah, the duration of the clients varies in the company, so usually when it comes from sales, it’s usually smaller, and that will be, say, 2 weeks to a month, and then if we succeed in impressing the client, delivering what they need, we usually get a longer contract, closer to 3 to 6 months. Gotcha.
299 00:40:43.600 ⇒ 00:40:52.620 Amber Lin: So, right now, the smaller projects can be… can be the most basic POCs to some automation work that we do for the clients.
300 00:40:52.620 ⇒ 00:40:54.960 Amber Lin: And then…
301 00:40:55.870 ⇒ 00:41:10.739 Amber Lin: for each of those projects, the small… smaller ones would be usually Utam and the AI engineer, or UTAM and someone else, so there will be two… two people on those projects, and then for the bigger projects.
302 00:41:10.740 ⇒ 00:41:17.630 Amber Lin: That’s in 3 or 6 months. There’s usually… because we’re… a lot of them are data projects we have.
303 00:41:18.010 ⇒ 00:41:31.460 Amber Lin: data analyst, we have an analytics engineer, and we have a data engineer. Yeah. And then I have the PM, who’s me, and then I have a tech lead who flows around and answers questions.
304 00:41:32.160 ⇒ 00:41:39.950 Amber Lin: And, of course, each project has its project lead, which most of the times is gonna be Robert, our CEO, or Utam, that…
305 00:41:40.060 ⇒ 00:41:48.760 Amber Lin: It’s like the account manager for the project that oversees, okay, are we actually delivering value to the client, and how do they feel about us?
306 00:41:49.230 ⇒ 00:41:49.940 Pranav Narahari: Right.
307 00:41:50.110 ⇒ 00:41:50.680 Amber Lin: Yeah.
308 00:41:51.470 ⇒ 00:41:56.600 Pranav Narahari: Okay, yeah, that sounds… that sounds great, yeah. I didn’t, … I think…
309 00:41:57.710 ⇒ 00:42:07.199 Pranav Narahari: it kind of, like, it makes sense to, like, show the value first, you know, having, like, a two-week, like, project, two-week to a month project, …
310 00:42:07.290 ⇒ 00:42:20.600 Pranav Narahari: I think that usually is, like, kind of scary to, like, a lot of, other companies, because they’re kind of like, okay, AI seems like a black box to them, even still, and so if you’re able to, like, provide value, like, that quickly, like, I’m sure they, like.
311 00:42:20.660 ⇒ 00:42:27.769 Pranav Narahari: They… first of all, appreciate that, but then also they feel more comfortable for, like, the next 3-6 month, like, contract.
312 00:42:28.100 ⇒ 00:42:35.450 Amber Lin: Totally. I have a question. So, if you were to join us, what is your notice period for your current company?
313 00:42:36.090 ⇒ 00:42:40.820 Pranav Narahari: I think it’s just 2 weeks. I’m just a 1099 there.
314 00:42:41.240 ⇒ 00:42:42.080 Amber Lin: Oh, I see.
315 00:42:42.080 ⇒ 00:42:46.750 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, so it’s not anything that’s even required, I believe.
316 00:42:47.190 ⇒ 00:42:48.800 Amber Lin: Gosh, no. Okay.
317 00:42:48.920 ⇒ 00:42:49.940 Amber Lin: …
318 00:42:50.770 ⇒ 00:43:02.309 Amber Lin: I think usually for our next step, since you already talked to Utam, Mustafa, and me, I’m not sure if they did the technical interview with… with you.
319 00:43:02.310 ⇒ 00:43:03.030 Pranav Narahari: ….
320 00:43:03.030 ⇒ 00:43:22.819 Amber Lin: I’m obviously unable to do that for you, and usually we start people off with a two-week trial period. We give some tickets to see, okay, how do you work with people? How can you complete tasks? How do you communicate? And then after two weeks, usually we decide on full-time. So that’s the same across the board for any position.
321 00:43:22.990 ⇒ 00:43:33.699 Pranav Narahari: Gotcha. Yeah, so, yeah, Mustafa kind of, like, like, laid that out for me as well. He said, like, he started off 10 hours, and the next week he did 20, and then 30 the following, then 40 after that, so…
322 00:43:33.820 ⇒ 00:43:37.749 Pranav Narahari: Yeah, that sounds… that sounds kind of like the same thing Maggie said. Cool.
323 00:43:38.070 ⇒ 00:43:38.690 Amber Lin: There.
324 00:43:39.180 ⇒ 00:43:47.820 Pranav Narahari: Awesome. Yeah. I don’t have any other questions as of right now, but I’ll just… if I have anything, I can just email you at, like, the same thing that we’re messaging through.
325 00:43:47.970 ⇒ 00:44:00.399 Amber Lin: Yeah, totally. You can also search me on LinkedIn, or just email me, and then I’m going to relate our interview to Utam, and then I’ll ask him about the next steps.
326 00:44:00.620 ⇒ 00:44:03.179 Pranav Narahari: Awesome. Cool, Amber. I really appreciate it.
327 00:44:03.470 ⇒ 00:44:04.720 Amber Lin: Yeah, thank you for your time.
328 00:44:04.720 ⇒ 00:44:05.609 Pranav Narahari: Cool, thank you, you too.
329 00:44:05.610 ⇒ 00:44:06.630 Amber Lin: Bye!