From Northeast India To Silicon Valley: The Journey Of Akaash Vishal Hazarika

In a world increasingly shaped by technology, media attention often focuses on individuals from major tech hubs or well-known academic institutions. However, some significant stories come from less recognized regions such as Assam in Northeast India, where opportunities may be limited but ambition remains strong. One such example is Akaash Vishal Hazarika, a Senior Member of Technical Staff at Salesforce and co-author of a guidebook on distributed systems. From the surroundings of Assam to Silicon Valley, Akaash’s journey highlights a focus on learning, problem-solving and overcoming challenges.

Growing up in Assam, he did not have access to advanced technology labs, coding bootcamps, or tech-focused peer networks. Instead, he relied on curiosity to learn and adaptability. “My upbringing taught me to find solutions with what I had; that mindset has stayed with me, especially when working on distributed systems where creativity and problem-solving are essential,” he says, reflecting on the early challenges that influenced his approach to technology. This mindset, turning limitations into opportunities, became a key strength in his role as a distributed systems engineer, a field that requires creative problem-solving in resource-constrained environments.

His academic path led him to the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Delhi, where he earned a B.Tech in Computer Science. There, he developed an interest in systems architecture and large-scale computing. This interest led him to North Carolina State University (NC State) for a Master’s degree in Computer Science.

Before joining Salesforce, he interned at Google, where he was exposed to the complexities of globally distributed systems at scale. This experience provided practical insights into the architecture supporting widely used platforms. At Salesforce today, he contributes to real-time, fault-tolerant, and scalable systems that are essential to the company’s cloud-based infrastructure. These technical challenges require architectural thinking, balancing trade-offs between performance, availability, and consistency. “It’s not just about writing code anymore, it’s about designing systems that can survive failure, scale with demand, and operate with minimal latency,” he notes.

Recognizing the gap between academic theory and practical implementation, Akaash Vishal Hazarika co-authored a book on distributed systems with a technology expert from Cognizant. The guide, structured into eight chapters, covers topics from foundational concepts to deployments on AWS and Azure. The book aims to provide professionals with practical knowledge for building production-grade distributed systems. “This book is for software architects transitioning from monoliths, senior engineers responsible for scaling, and managers guiding technical decisions,” he explains.

Currently, he is interested in real-time stream processing and stateful microservices at scale. Addressing high availability without increasing latency is a complex challenge in today's cloud-first context. He encourages engineers to focus on fundamental areas like networking, operating systems, and distributed algorithms, while gaining experience with tools such as Kafka, Kubernetes, and cloud platforms.

As a technologist from Northeast India, he recognizes the importance of representation. He hopes his experiences can encourage students from underrepresented regions to consider careers in technology. “It’s important for young people in smaller towns to know that they can compete and succeed globally,” he says.

Reflecting on his professional journey and personal outlook, he draws an analogy between distributed systems and life: “They’re unpredictable, complex, and filled with failure points—but always solvable with the right mindset,” he states. This perspective has taken him from Assam to Silicon Valley, from a student seeking resources to a technologist contributing to widely used systems.

Akaash Vishal Hazarika’s story presents a pathway for aspiring engineers and students in underrepresented regions, and for anyone interested in setting and achieving goals. With a strong foundation, an interest in solving complex problems, and a commitment to ongoing learning, he shows that goals can be pursued through sustained effort and determination.