1:1 Mentorship · Open for applications

Grow faster as an engineer & technical leader.

Practical, no-fluff guidance from 22 years building engineering teams at JP Morgan, ThoughtWorks, and Visa—covering AI in engineering, platform reliability, quality systems, and career growth.

Pankaj Nakhat
Pankaj Nakhat
Head of QA, Release & Reliability
Head of QA & Reliability · Abu Dhabi, UAE
22+
Years in Engineering
25+
Teams Led
7
Global Banks
4
Continents
Currently accepting applications
01 Who This Is For
⚙️

Software & Quality Engineers

Mid-to-senior engineers who want to level up in automation, AI-augmented workflows, platform reliability, or move into a lead role.

Struggling with architecture or system design decisions
Want to add AI/LLM tooling to your engineering skill set
Ready to grow from individual contributor to lead
🧭

Tech Leads & Engineering Managers

Leads and managers navigating team scaling, delivery reliability, or the shift from hands-on engineering to strategic leadership.

Building or scaling an engineering function
Transitioning from senior IC to engineering manager
Struggling to align teams on quality, velocity, or culture
🚀

Platform, SRE & DevOps Engineers

Engineers working on reliability, infrastructure, or CI/CD who want to sharpen their strategy, grow seniority, or move into leadership.

Implementing DORA metrics or reliability frameworks
Navigating the SRE / platform engineering career path
Want to broaden from tooling to engineering strategy
02 What We Cover

Real problems. Practical guidance.

Sessions are tailored to where you are and where you want to go. No generic advice—we work through your actual system, team, and challenges.

Topics shift based on your goals, but these are the areas I help most.

🤖

AI in Engineering

AI-augmented workflows, LLM evaluation pipelines, multi-agent systems, Playwright + MCP, and avoiding hype-driven decisions.

Platform Reliability & SRE

DORA metrics, observability, incident management, release engineering, and building reliability into delivery pipelines.

🏗️

Engineering Architecture

System design, automation framework architecture, CI/CD strategy, and building technical systems that scale with team growth.

🌱

Career Development

IC-to-manager transitions, promotion readiness, building your reputation, navigating enterprise politics, and job search strategy.

🤝

Team & Engineering Culture

Hiring engineers, building psychological safety, embedding quality and reliability mindset, and getting leadership to invest in engineering excellence.

03 How It Works
Step 01

Apply

Fill out the form below with your background and what you're looking to work on. Takes 5 minutes.

Step 02

Intro call

A 30-minute no-obligation call to understand your goals and confirm it's a good fit.

Step 03

Regular sessions

60-minute sessions every 2–4 weeks via video call. Structured around your goals, reviewed each session.

Step 04

Between sessions

Async support via email or LinkedIn for quick questions, code reviews, and document feedback.

04 What You Get
🎯

Focused 1:1 sessions

60-minute video calls tailored to your specific situation—your codebase, your team, your career. Not generic advice.

💬

Async support

Message me between sessions for quick questions, PR reviews, or feedback on your architecture diagrams and job applications.

📚

Curated resources

Access to templates, frameworks, and references I've developed across 22 years—adapted for your context.

🔗

Network & introductions

Where relevant, introductions to other practitioners in my network across the QA and engineering leadership space.

🧩

Code & architecture reviews

Hands-on review of your test frameworks, CI pipelines, and automation strategy—with specific, actionable feedback.

📍

Accountability & progress tracking

Structured goals set at the start, reviewed each session. You'll always know what to work on next.

05 Expectations

What this is

Practical, experience-based guidance you can apply immediately
Honest feedback on your code, decisions, and career approach
Long-term, structured engagement with clear goals
Space to ask questions you can't ask at work
Accountability to actually do the work between sessions

What this isn't

Job placement or recruitment services
On-demand tutoring or "help me pass this certification"
Writing your code or tests for you
A generic bootcamp or course with pre-written content
Available 24/7 for urgent production issues
Apply for Mentorship

Ready to level up?

Tell me about where you are and where you want to go. I'll review applications and follow up within a week. Spots are limited—I only take a few mentees at a time.

Currently accepting applications. I typically run 4–6 mentoring relationships at a time to keep the quality high. If I'm at capacity, I'll add you to a waitlist and reach out when a spot opens.

Or reach out directly on LinkedIn or at [email protected]. No commitment required.