I am now the Director of Software Engineering at SUPER-H Analytics

I am pleased to share with everyone that I have accepted the position of Director of Software Engineering with SUPER-H Analytics.  I am looking forward to working with under my old coworker Nicholas Whitt, Super-H’s CTO.

It’s been a long (at least for me), interesting, and transformative journey since I resigned from the Ohio Supercomputer Center at the end of January.  I would be remiss if I did not give some acknowledgments to those who have played a significant role in my subsequent job search and professional discovery and development.

First and foremost, I make no secret of my faith (Islam), so I should acknowledge the gratefulness I have to Allah, the Sustainer, the Bestower, the Most Generous, for granting me and my family provision through unexpected ways throughout the past six months of unemployment and ending with a most excellent outcome.

I want to thank my mother, who never failed at encouraging me and giving me seemingly simple advise soaking in wisdom.  She does this for both me and my brother constantly, and I have learned only to appreciate her more.  I can never repay what she and my father have done for me, before this, through this, and no doubt, after this, so I ask Allah to have mercy on her and my father as they took care of me when I was small.

I want to thank my brother, Aladin Gohar.  His professional experience, wisdom, ambition, and brotherly love and guidance have been invaluable to me.  He offered me much consolation and confidence, throughout my search.  Thank you, Alaa.

I want to thank my wife for being my steadfast coach, adviser, cheerleader, all the while maintaining her fulltime job as Director of Domestic Affairs (she never got a day off from work!).  She worked harder than I did in trying to advance my professional career and help me to be successful.  She remains the most positive influence on my improvement and progress in all aspects of my life, and I sincerely appreciate the tireless effort she devotes to me, our family, and all that is good.  Thank you so much, Baby.

This journey has allowed me to meet and engage with many folks that have left an unforgettable, positive impact on my professional journey that I must mention them.

After the encouragement of my brother, I met with Warner Moore a couple of times.  Warner is an old friend from another age for whom reconnection to me was transformative.  Warner, thank you so much for helping me to see the value in what I had to offer, for offering an unmatched kindness and spirit of assistance.  Although I know it comes naturally to you, it means a lot to me and a lot of other people.  Your kindheartedness and sincerity are diamonds in the rough of this sometimes tough tech world, and it made what I achieved possible.  I can only imagine there are many stories like mine out there where Warner had a supporting role, even ones where you probably think you did nothing at all.  Thank you, Warner.

My brother also connected me with Ben Blanquera.  Ben, we only had a few LinkedIn chats and one phone call, but the impact they left with me was immeasurable.  You made me feel valuable for being who I was and what I’d done.  You were the first to help me realize just how valuable my community service with Masjid Omar was even in the professional field.  I left our phone call emotionally rejuvenated and recharged and ready to face the challenges ahead.  In no small part you gave me the confidence to proceed and pursue opportunities that, perhaps, some may have said were “above my pay grade”.  Thank you, Ben.

My brother, again, introduced me to Mike Leibrand (notice a pattern here?).  Mike, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to sit with me.  While it was definitely nice that Salesforce was a great foot-in-the-door topic to get to speak with you, I valued our deeper discussions on entrepreneurship and successful business partner than anything else.  You made me recognize more fully the benefit of my roles, as Ben did, in the community space, and also how everyone has shortcomings and can benefit from partners that complement our skillsets.  After all, no one can do it all, and once we recognize that, we gain new superpowers.  Thank you again, Mike, for showing me that.

I was grateful to meet Sue Johnson along my journey.  Sue demonstrated an extreme passion and compassion in her pursuit of me for a client, and really made me feel like she wanted what was best for me as well as her client.  I felt like she had my back and wanted me to be successful, and I am grateful that she taught me, like Warner and others, that there are truly kindhearted people out there that can both care for you, their clients, and still make a living lining up people for one-another.  Even though I did not end up getting the job, I know it Sue did her best and wanted what was best for both of us.  Thank you, Sue.

I am truly grateful for having met Doug Hayden.  I am having a hard time expressing just what an impression he left with me.  I felt like it was more important to him that I be happy and successful and pursue the best path forward for my own good than even I did for myself.  He has a passion for matching the right people to the right positions.  He puts himself into the matching (something I believe he and Sue share) and was so straight, honest, and spoke with a candor I only hope and pray that I can somehow pay forward what he did for me somehow.

Finally, I am grateful to my old friend and coworker Nick Whitt for reaching out and taking a chance on me.  I am truly looking forward to leading the junior and intermediate devs and other folks forward to be successful, both within SUPER-H as well as in their own professional development.  I can only hope that the investment you have put into me pays off in short order.  Time will certainly tell, and I know it’s going to be an exciting journey along the way.

There are many other supporting actors in this amazing story, but factors such as practicality, privacy, and preference have limited their mentions here.  But know that I am, too, grateful for all that you have done.

If you liked this “story”, let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to share more adventures, stories, and anything else I find interesting in hopes that you may as well.  Thanks for coming along with the ride!

Sincerely,

Basil