Featuring Subodh Dhakal, a passionate engineer who’s circled the globe of tech giants and is now giving back to the next wave of builders as one of the mentors for the Nepal-US AI Hackathon.
From gaming as a kid in Pokhara to building backend systems for Citi and Amazon, Subodh’s path is anything but traditional. Let’s dive in.
🕹️ From Curious Kid to Cloud Engineer
Subodh’s journey started in Pokhara, Nepal, where he didn’t exactly have a blueprint for the future. But he had curiosity—and a knack for solving problems. Whether it was fixing buggy video games or diving into DLL files in Grade 9 or 10, the seeds of a tech career were already sprouting.
“It was less about the games and more about fixing them. That’s how I got into computers.”
Fast-forward to 2015, Subodh moved to the U.S. to pursue a Bachelor’s in Computer Science at UT Arlington. Landing his first job at Citi, he found himself building backend systems from scratch, often with no senior devs around. Talk about being thrown into the deep end.
But that hunger for more took him to Amazon, where he worked on cloud infrastructure and CDN services for clients like Snapchat and SBO. After a stint at JPMorgan, he found himself back at Citi—bringing it all full circle.
💡 Lessons From Big Tech
Working across companies like AWS, Citi, and JPMorgan taught Subodh one thing above all: stay curious.
“Ask questions. Be curious beyond just your domain. That’s where real growth happens.”
It’s not just about becoming a better engineer. It’s about becoming a better thinker, teammate, and builder. Subodh credits his success to always pushing the boundaries of what he knows.
🤝 Why He’s Mentoring the Hackathon
Subodh isn’t here just to guide; he’s here to give back.
“This is such a unique opportunity for both students and working professionals to step outside their comfort zone.”
Having been part of hackathons himself, he knows how transformational they can be. Not just for learning—but for building confidence.
💭 What He’s Hoping to See
From the hackers, Subodh is looking for:
Bold, creative ideas
Genuine curiosity
People asking questions and engaging
A scrappy, “just build it” mindset
“Don’t worry about making it perfect. Make it messy. Make it work. You’ll improve as you go.”
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He’s also excited to see participants collaborate, bounce ideas, and maybe even come up with something unexpected.
🛠 Advice for First-Time Hackers
If this is your first hackathon—maybe even your first time coding a full project—Subodh has a few pieces of gold for you:
Plan first. Don’t jump into coding right away. Lay out your idea clearly.
Keep it scrappy. Make it work first. Optimize later.
Don’t overthink. Just start. Progress > perfection.
“You’ll be amazed how far you can get with a rough prototype and clear focus.”
🎉 Final Words
Subodh is excited to see what you’ll build, and even more excited to help guide you along the way.
“We’ll be there to support you. Just show up, build something cool, and have fun.”