From the moment Balki joined our team, he dived deep into understanding our needs and streamlining processes. His ability to find priorities across dozens of small details was unparalleled. Even when faced with uncertainties, Balki consistently highlighted what mattered most, ensuring our projects weren't just completed, but executed with precision.

As our team expanded and I transitioned into a leadership role, Balki was right there to guide and support me. While I already had some team-leading experience, he introduced me to new perspectives and areas of improvement. Those invaluable tips, the seemingly simple yet impactful guidance, and his honest feedback were instrumental in shaping my leadership journey.

Amidst the hustle of code, simultaneous projects, and tight deadlines, Balki never let us lose sight of the human element. He regularly organized our beloved Social Friday meetings, often filled with offbeat topics and his jokes, keeping the spirit lively.

In essence, Balki is more than a manager. He's a strategist, a mentor, and the kind of colleague who brings both efficiency and joy to the workplace. I'm really grateful for our time together.

It is challengingly to combine highly technically issues and make them accessible. Or bridge the gap between business and technology development. Balki is able to do that with an insightful perspective and humor. I will miss how elegantly he models continuous learning and improvement.

As a manager Bala has my highest regard. A lot of times managers lose their technical chops, but not Bala. I have gone to him for technical questions and he has rolled up his sleeves and dug into the problem. You can see the years of experience in the speed at which he solves problems. Also, he takes the time to mentor you and help you attain your goals. I was stuck on a major project and he called and really helped me figure out how to make the project work given that it had not turned out exactly as I had hoped. Through his leadership direction, we were able to quickly find the value and use it. He is a true leader.

Bala has a wonderful combination of exceptional technical skills and true empathy for the client. He leads a team of developers in a highly complex technical support environment and is well regarded not only by his team mates but by other technical teams throughout the company. Bala consistently demonstrates creative problem solving while still remaining aware of any impact to the client. He's also has a wicked sense of humor which can make even the most stressful situation a little easier to work through. I loved working with Bala!

I've had the pleasure of working with Balki the past few years both in a professional, as well as academic capacity. Balki is most often the cool head in the room, and is proficient at fostering team work and a unified vision for groups he's working with.
I've come to appreciate Balki's enthusiasm for whatever we're working on, and the resulting drive to perform that comes from that. He's been responsible for bringing in top industry CEOs to advise us in industry specific issues, as well as bird dogging eventual clients in a professional setting.  Balki is a unique mixture being very detailed oriented and methodical, while also being very creative and capable of thinking outside of the box.

This is the Meetup to attend in Portland if you want to learn how to connect with the job you *really* want, not just a job that happens to be available! At each meeting we hear about a Portland company firsthand from someone who works there, but the most valuable insight comes from hearing how people went about finding their “dream jobs”. Get answers to your questions about networking and interviewing - real advice that works from people who’ve been there, and the opportunity to meet people you’ll want to keep in touch with throughout your career! Balki, Balaji, and Raghavan really promote taking action in your search and want everyone to leave the meeting with something new they can try in the next month. Thanks for creating this terrific forum!