How I got here
Born in Pakistan to Afghan parents, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of growing up in eight different countries including Sudan, Indonesia, Egypt, and Switzerland. I am passionate about developing innovative technologies that help transform the world. I’ve got experience in strategic planning and building programs and products from inception to production in fast-paced start-up environments.
This is my CV, and a timeline of how I got here.
A (much) younger Haris, visiting a volcano for the first time, in Bali circa early 2000s
My journey
Full Stack Software Engineer
Ground News
July 2021 - Present
Responsible for technical implementation of full-stack features using SSR, leading development of the web-client, increasing daily active paying subscribers by over 15,000, and increasing web revenue by over 450% in the first year.
Integrated a user-policies architecture on the Ground News Mac App and Web Client, using Swift and TS.
Managed and configured cloud services on AWS including Elasticsearch, EC2, Athena, S3.
Led development on a news diet analysis suite - My News Bias - comprised of user facing analytics scaled to 100,000s of users to better understand their personal news consumption.
Led full stack development on a "Mediaopoly " tool, launching as #2 Product of the Day on Product Hunt, integrating with Twitter's API to determine news ownership breakdown on on any twitter account.
Project Manager, Quantum Computing Outreach
University of British Columbia, Geering Up, Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute
November 2019 - July 2021
Over the past year and a half, I have been leading the development of a K-12 quantum computing outreach program from zero to one. The initiative works to break down barriers of entry into the quantum computing industry, with a particular focus on reaching diverse youth.
Landing this role was a crazy show of faith from my supervisors. I was responsible for managing and allocating a budget of half a million dollars, developing a 2-year roadmap for the project, and implementing Agile and Kanban methodologies. As quantum computing can be a difficult topic to introduce to those without a strong mathematics or physics background, I identified a need to develop educational software tools - as an entry point for new learners. I assembled and managed teams of software developer interns to design, implement, and maintain software tools including quantum video games, web, and mobile applications.
In this role, I worked with young, talented and passionate people. I picked up loads of new skills - wrote proposals for private sponsorships, presented at conferences, and learned about how to market products effectively.
BSc. Physics and Astronomy, Physics Option
University of British Columbia
September 2015 - May 2019
Graduated with a BSc. in Physics in 2019.
Awards I’ve Won
Best Paper Award, Quantum Education, IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing - 2020
Outstanding International Student Award, University of British Columbia - 2015