Senior Engineering Advisor · Author · Hyderabad

You've built something real.
Now you need clarity.

Your early moves worked. Learn systems, write better code, deliver more, grow predictably.

Then something shifts. The problems become less defined. The answers less obvious. Effort increases — but impact doesn't.

I work with senior engineers and leaders at that inflection point. Where experience alone doesn't answer the question.

Free 30-min Strategy Call See What I Do

2,300+

Interviews Conducted

Years in Engineering

Person Org at Amazon

Ayan Sarkar

Sr Director of Engineering · Bar Raiser Mentor · Author

Who I Am

A practitioner, not a theorist.

I joined Amazon in 2014 as an IC Technical Program Manager. Over 11 years I moved into engineering management — from L5 to L7, managing managers managing engineers. I left having led an 80-person organization, conducted 1,500+ interviews, and mentored and graduated 10 Amazon Bar Raisers. The Bar Raiser programme is an invitation-only certification — Amazon's mechanism for maintaining hiring standards across the company. As a Bar Raiser Mentor, I didn't just uphold the bar; I trained the people responsible for holding it.

Then DigitalOcean — Senior Director, building the India engineering hub from zero to 60+ across 7 product lines in 8 months. I redesigned their interview process end-to-end. 85% offer closure rate against an industry average of 30-50%.

In February 2026 I left to build this practice and write. The book — The Thinking Engineer — came from frameworks I'd been developing and teaching inside Amazon for years.

I'm based in Hyderabad. I write. I read more than I should. I work with senior engineers and leaders because it's the work I'm genuinely energized by — not building org charts, but the conversation where someone finally sees their situation clearly.

Amazon Bar Raiser Certifications

Interview Bar Raiser & Mentor — graduated 10 Bar Raisers

Document Bar Raiser & Trainer

COE (Post-Mortem) Bar Raiser & Trainer

MCM (Change Management) Bar Raiser & Trainer

Principal Engineer Hiring Panel Member

TPMCon & DevCon Speaker

University Outreach Speaker

Background

What this experience actually means.

2,300+

Technical Interviews

1,500+ at Amazon, 750 at DigitalOcean. Across engineering, product, and TPM roles — from L5 candidates to principal-level. I know what interviewers are actually evaluating at every level.

Bar Raisers Graduated

As a Bar Raiser Mentor I didn't just conduct interviews — I trained the people who conduct them. That's a calibration credential, not just a practitioner one.

Person Org at Amazon

Led three levels deep. 6 L6 SDMs, each leading teams of ~15. Plus Senior SDEs, Sr Manager PMT, PMs, TPMs. Manager of managers of managers.

110+

Professionals Promoted

110+ promotions driven at Amazon — from SDE-I to Principal, from L5 EM to L7. If you're working toward your next level, I've seen that transition from every angle: as the manager who wrote the case, the Bar Raiser who evaluated the bar, and the mentor who prepared people to meet it.

85%

Offer Closure at DigitalOcean

Redesigned DO's entire interview process from scratch. Achieved 85% offer closure and joining rate. Industry average: 30-50%. The process works because I understand both sides of the table.

IC → L7

Amazon Progression

Joined as TPM-II in 2014. Moved into engineering management. Progressed from L5 to L7 over 11 years. I've made every transition your target audience is trying to make.

What I Do

Where I'm actually useful.

Senior engineers and leaders facing the decision that defines their next chapter. When the safe answer isn't enough and you need to think clearly about what comes next.

Interviews

Interview Preparation

Most candidates prepare for the wrong rounds. Technical depth gets you in the room. Behavioral, leadership, and Bar Raiser rounds determine whether you leave with an offer.

I focus on the rounds that decide outcomes. Staff, Principal, Director, Senior EM — at FAANG and high-growth companies.

Staff · Principal · Director · Senior EM · FAANG & high-growth

Career Inflections

Pivotal Moment Advising

The moments where you can't talk to your manager about it. Where your peers are competitors. Where the stakes are high enough that you need someone outside the system who's seen the pattern before.

Promotions, role changes, offer decisions, first 90 days, staying vs. leaving, navigating complexity.

Promotions · Offer decisions · Role changes · First 90 days

Sustained Challenges

3-Month Coaching

For when one conversation isn't enough. When you're in the middle of something that requires continuity — a new role, a difficult org situation, a strategic decision that unfolds over months.

I know your context. We track patterns. You implement and report back. Real work.

New roles · Org complexity · Strategic decisions · 3-month minimum

Start with a free 30-min call.

Real conversation about your actual situation. No pitch. I'll tell you honestly whether I can help.

Book on Topmate

The Book

The Thinking Engineer

Published April 2026 · Available on Amazon

Most engineering books focus on tools and technologies. This one focuses on what actually determines who grows and who plateaus.

The skills that get engineers to Senior stop working at Staff, Principal, and leadership levels. The gap isn't technical. It's how engineers think — systems thinking, judgment under ambiguity, compounding experience, making your thinking visible enough to influence decisions.

The frameworks in this book were developed and stress-tested across 22 years of doing the work — not constructed from theory. They're what I use in all of this advisory work.

For senior engineers who feel their growth has slowed despite strong performance. For anyone approaching Staff, Principal, or leadership who senses that working harder is no longer the answer.

Read on Amazon

From the book

"The engineers who navigate this gap aren't smarter or working harder. They think differently. They ask better questions. They see systems instead of components."

You've built something real.Now you need clarity.

A practitioner, not a theorist.

What this experience actually means.

Where I'm actually useful.

Start with a free 30-min call.

The Thinking Engineer

Weekly essays on leadership and clarity.

Read on Substack

From people who've worked closely with me.

You've built something real.
Now you need clarity.