TheServerKid

I’m Meelan Lakhoo—a developer shaped by 8+ years of real-world tech. This is my journey, distilled.

Timeline

~2000s - 2013

The Spark Ignites

It started with a kid who couldn’t stop tinkering—computers were my sandbox. I’d dream of servers and code, sketching out systems in my head. That curiosity set the stage for everything to come.

2014 - 2017

Building the Base

At the University of Witwatersrand, I dove into a BSc in Computer Science (Applied Computing, 2014-2016), then an Honours in Big Data Analytics (2017). It was a mix of code, systems, and data—hands-on learning that gave me roots.

Oct 2016 - Feb 2025

Forging theserverkid

In 2016, still at Wits, I launched Katakwe—a startup that became my crucible. For nearly a decade, I consulted across industries, shaping my skills through every project. AWS, Django, React, DevOps—I built expertise, one challenge at a time.

ABSA Bank (Data Analyst) - Feb 2018 - Mar 2020

Dug into purchasing patterns with SAS and PySpark, designing data marts from Hive and Oracle. Data started whispering stories.

VATGlobal (Senior DevOps Engineer) - Mar 2021 - Jun 2022

Built Zero Trust on AWS EKS with Cloudflare Access and Grafana. I thrived in complexity.

Superb APS (Full Stack Software Engineer) - Jul 2022 - Aug 2023

Migrated a Snowflake warehouse to an AWS data lake with Argo and Athena. Balanced backend and frontend with ease.

Vat Compliance (Lead Front End Engineer) - Sep 2023 - Dec 2024

Led a frontend rewrite with Next.js and TurboRepo in six months, mentoring engineers along the way.

Planet42 (Data Engineer) - Dec 2024 - Current

Built a state machine to track realtime vehicle behaviour and drive vehicle insights.

Feb 2025

A New Chapter Begins

By February 28, 2025, Katakwe had run its course. After 8+ years of consulting, it was time to pivot. I emerged seasoned, forged by code and client wins.

Mar 2025 - Present

TheServerKid Unleashed

Now, theserverkid is my banner. With 8+ years of AWS, React, Django, and data solutions, I’m ready for a permanent Full Stack Engineer role. Let’s build something epic.