M.Sc.2023 – 2025
Software Engineering
Kingston University · London, UK
CGPA 2.72 / 4.00
- Modules: Software Architecture, Data Programming, Agile & Quality
- Research: ML-based predictive control for renewable mini-grids
03
Education
The degrees and certificates — and the lessons no syllabus could give me.
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Degrees
B.Sc. (Hons)2017 – 2018 (4 semesters)
Information Technology — Specialized in Software Engineering
SLIIT · Malabe, Sri Lanka
CGPA 3.93 / 4.00
Did not complete the degree; left after 4 semesters.
- Full Scholarship — all semesters
- Dean's List — all 4 semesters
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Certificates & Courses
Machine Learning Specialization
Stanford University & DeepLearning.AI
Spring: Framework in Depth
LinkedIn Learning
Software Design Principles
Codecademy
Learn C++
Codecademy
C++ for Programmers
Codecademy
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Awards & Recognition
Dean's List Recognition
All 4 semesters at SLIIT, for exceptional academic performance.
Full Scholarship
Awarded for all semesters attended at SLIIT.
SLASSCOM Award
For the Energy Management System project I led.
Published Co-Author
“A Survey of AI-Powered Mini-Grid Solutions for a Sustainable Future in Rural Communities” (arXiv, 2024).
🧠 The education that didn’t come with a certificate
My most valuable education didn't come with a certificate. I left a full-scholarship degree two years in, co-founded an engineering company, built systems people actually depend on — and then went back for a Master's. University gave me foundations; the real world gave me judgement. This page keeps both, because the lessons that shaped me most were learned while shipping, leading, and occasionally breaking things in production.
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How I Actually Learn
I learn by building
Tutorials never stick until I've shipped something real with the idea. I reach for a small, throwaway project before I trust a new tool or pattern — the bugs teach me what the docs can't.
First principles over recipes
I'd rather understand why a pattern exists than memorise how to apply it. Knowing the underlying problem lets me bend the rules safely when reality doesn't match the textbook.
Teaching is how I cement it
Mentoring 20+ engineers forced me to articulate things I only half-understood. If I can't explain it simply at a code review, I don't really know it yet.
Production is the best teacher
Nothing sharpens you like owning something at 2am. Real load, real users, and real failures taught me more about resilient design than any course on it.
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Lessons From the Work — Technical
What years of shipping production systems, modernizing legacy code, and wiring hardware to the cloud actually taught me.
Legacy code is a teacher, not an enemy
Migrating modules from Java 8 to 17 taught me that old code encodes hard-won decisions. The win wasn't rewriting it — it was modernising safely without losing the knowledge baked into it.
↳ Cambio Software · Associate Tech Lead
Clean architecture is a loan you pay yourself back
Building LMS, HIMS and recruitment platforms with DDD and SOLID felt slower up front. Six months in, every one of those boundaries paid off when requirements changed — which they always did.
↳ Syntax Genie · Associate Tech Lead
Hardware doesn't forgive sloppy assumptions
Wiring inverters, PLCs and ESP firmware into Azure IoT Hub over MQTT taught me to design for flaky networks and partial failure from day one. The edge has no 'retry later' button.
↳ AI Mini-Grid System · R&D Lead
AI is leverage, not autopilot
Driving GitHub Copilot adoption across teams showed me the gains come from engineers who already know what 'good' looks like. AI multiplies judgement — it can't replace it.
↳ Cambio Software · AI Initiative
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Lessons From the Work — Human
Co-founding a company, leading teams, and taking the long way round taught me things no exam ever tested.
Building a company is mostly building people
Running engineering at a startup, I learned the architecture I cared about most was the team's. Hiring, mentoring and setting standards moved the needle far more than any framework choice.
↳ Syntax Genie · Co-founder & Engineering Lead
Communication is the actual job
The promotion to Tech Lead made it official: translating between business goals and technical reality — in both directions, honestly — matters more than the code I personally write.
↳ Cambio Software · Associate Tech Lead
The unconventional path builds real conviction
Leaving a full-scholarship degree to build something, then returning for a Master's, taught me to trust evidence over expectations. Knowing why I'm doing something beats following the default route.
↳ Personal · The long way round
Ownership compounds faster than instructions
Proposing and single-handedly shipping a company-wide Jenkins build tool nobody asked for taught me that the highest-leverage work often starts with 'I'll just fix this myself'.
↳ Cambio Software · Self-initiated
Still learning, always building.
Curious how this shows up in real work? Take a look at what I’ve built.