~/code.komet — transmissions from production
I build systems.
Then I write about how they break.
Ashwin Aashu — full stack engineer. 5+ years shipping React frontends and Spring Boot microservices for platforms Fortune 500 teams rely on. Deep dives on databases, architecture, and the trade-offs nobody puts in the docs.
ashwin@codekomet:~$
-- deep dives
Technical writing
Long-form breakdowns of real systems — what was built, what broke, and the trade-off reasoning in between. Published on Substack.
Apache Kafka · Distributed Systems
Be careful what you wish for. Apache Kafka, the hard way (Part 1)
What is kafka and what problems does it solve? I learned it the hard way - by running into a production issue.
read on substack →Artificial Intelligence · MicroprojectsMy first experience with ollama3
I created a microporject to understand how agents are made. While the implementation is rudimentary, it helped me explore concepts that go much deeper.
read on substack →Apache Kafka · Distributed SystemsOrder inside the chaos : Kafka Cluster. Apache Kafka, the hard way (Part 2)
This post is my learning log of what makes a Kafka cluster a distributed system: partition assignment mechanics, replication, the metadata log, controller election, and failure handling.
read on substack →-- mission log
Projects
Things I build end-to-end and document publicly as they come together.
VYO
IN ORBITTeams write raw SQL, get role-scoped dashboards, and query analytical workloads without touching the transactional database. Domain model to deployment.
| role_scoped_authz | Chart-level RBAC — authorization logic developed test-first, so access rules are provably enforced, not assumed. |
| oltp_olap_split | Postgres + ClickHouse — transactional writes stay in Postgres; heavy analytical reads route to ClickHouse. |
| raw_sql_execution | SQL-in, chart-out — users run raw SQL and a lightweight heuristic suggests the right chart type. Deliberately scoped down to ship safely. |
| admin_impersonation | View-as-user — admins impersonate any role to verify exactly what a user sees, closing the loop on the RBAC model. |
| cached_query_path | Redis caching with invalidation — the hottest query path is cached, with invalidation handled explicitly rather than by TTL-and-hope. |
ReactTypeScriptSpring BootJavaPostgreSQLClickHouseRedisDockerAWS
Lockin
LIVEThe prep platform I wanted and couldn't find. Study a concept, get quizzed on your weak spots, then walk into an AI mock interview built from the actual job description you're chasing — all in one focused, distraction-free space.
launch app ↗invite-only beta
| textbook_grade_study | Roadmaps, not random notes — six tracks (backend, system design, LLD, frontend, DSA, AI engineering), with the backend track's 82 subtopics written as long-form prose, and quizzes that target where you're weakest. |
| mock_interviews | Interviews tuned to the role — system design, coding, behavioural and technical rounds, grounded in the JD, your resume and real interview write-ups for your dream companies. |
| your_library_cited | RAG over your own books — upload a PDF, EPUB or paper; it's chunked, embedded and linked to concepts, so study pages cite "from your library" down to the page number. |
| ats_report | Resume scoring you can trust — a deterministic ATS report (keyword coverage, sections, formatting risks) against any JD, with AI rewrite suggestions layered on top. |
| built_to_scale | One Postgres, no sprawl — relational data, full-text search, pgvector embeddings and a SKIP LOCKED job queue in a single database, behind stateless API and worker pods. Backed by 215 passing tests. |
| deep_focus_mode | A room built for long sessions — a floating astronaut, generative ambient audio and 33 radio stations, a Pomodoro reachable from every page, and a Zen mode that kills all motion. |
Next.jsReactTypeScriptFastAPIPythonPostgreSQLpgvectorDockerAnthropic · OpenAI
-- flight history
Experience
For the recruiters and hiring managers in the room — the production record.
Aug 2024 — Present
SDE → SDE 2, Full Stack · Connect & Heal (CNH Care) · Bengaluru
- Architected a production multi-tenant analytics platform (Tableau/Metabase-style) serving Fortune 500 clients — Google, Indigo, MSCI, Bain, Dell. Raw SQL or visual queries against ClickHouse with sub-second aggregations; charts, themes, and filters runtime-configurable per tenant.
- Built end-to-end across React (Router v7 + Vite), Spring Boot microservices, and ClickHouse — OWASP-compliant, WCAG 2.1-accessible dashboards with zero cross-tenant data exposure.
- Led the frontend migration to Vite, React Router v7, and Tailwind CSS; drove team-wide conventions on clean code and MVVM architecture.
- Built the PDF review workspace for an LLM-powered lab report digitisation pipeline — in-document search, image-based report support, mark-pages-for-deletion, scroll-to-page, zoom, and download — giving QC ops a side-by-side view to verify digitised results against the source report. The digitised flow cut turnaround time by 45%.
Mar 2024 — Aug 2024
Senior Systems Engineer, Frontend · Publicis Sapient · Muscat, Oman
- Shipped core mobile features for Omantel's consumer app — E-SIM activation and the Bank Muscat payment gateway — across microservice boundaries.
- Optimised key modules for a ~30% reduction in crash rates; managed Kubernetes pod deployments and production log monitoring.
Apr 2022 — Feb 2024
Associate Software Engineer → Software Engineer · CrossDev Technologies (Gloify) · Bengaluru
- Delivered Baqala — a grocery delivery app for the Bahrain market (Manama), backed by the Bahrain Development Bank — shipped to both iOS and Android with React Native, owning delivery end-to-end.
- Built DusMinute, a hyperlocal delivery platform, across the full stack — React Native mobile app, React web app, and Node.js backend.
- Shipped features for Arrivae, an interior design platform; got trusted to lead lean project teams and manage client communications across projects.
Apr 2021 — Dec 2021
Software Trainee, Full Stack · HighPerFlow Labs · Bengaluru
- Built full-stack dashboards for 3 early-stage clients using React.js and Spring Boot.
-- systems check
Stack
frontend/
- React.js · Next.js (SSR/SSG)
- TypeScript · JavaScript (ES2023+)
- React Router v7 · Redux Toolkit · Zustand
- Tailwind CSS · Shadcn/UI · Radix UI
- Web Vitals · code splitting · lazy loading
backend/
- Java 21 · Spring Boot microservices
- PostgreSQL · ClickHouse · JDBC
- REST · GraphQL · WebSockets
- API gateway patterns · multithreading
infra_and_quality/
- Docker & Compose · Kubernetes · Linux
- Fedora (daily) · Ubuntu Server · macOS
- Jenkins · CI/CD · Git
- Jest · React Testing Library · Vitest
- WCAG 2.1 · OWASP Top 10 · SOLID
🐧 open source — fedora project
🎓 BE, Electronics & Communications — New Horizon College of Engineering📜 Build AI Agents with Enterprise Databases — GCP