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Ali Balkot

Principal Architect & Engineering Leader | Cloud, AI & Sovereign Infrastructure | Founder in Progress 🚀
9.5 yrs experienceBanking
Apr 2026

The move

MoveOraion → MultiBank Group
TitleDevOps Lead → Principal Architect
LocationDubai → Dubai
Career arcRecent arrival
Cross-border moveNo — same country
Native languageArabic, English
Years in UAE3.5
Total experience9.5 years
MultiBank Group headcount501-1,000 employees
MultiBank Group industryFinancial Services
MultiBank Group HQDubai
MultiBank Group founded2005
MultiBank Group typePrivately Held

Career arc

  1. Principal ArchitectApr 2026 — Present
    MultiBank Group· Dubai, United Arab Emirates· Full-time
  2. DevOps Lead2025 — 2026
    Oraion· Contract
  3. QA LeadOct 2024 — Apr 2026
    Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank· Dubai, United Arab Emirates· Contract
  4. QA Chapter LeadDec 2022 — Oct 2024
    Vision Bank· Dubai, United Arab Emirates· Contract
  5. Lead Automation EngineerMar 2021 — Dec 2022
    The Very Group· London, United Kingdom· Contract
  6. Lead Software DeveloperNov 2019 — Mar 2021
    Curve· London, United Kingdom· Full-time
  7. Senior Software Developer In TestMar 2019 — Nov 2019
    Curve· London, United Kingdom
  8. Senior QA Automation EngineerNov 2018 — Mar 2019
    Experian· London, United Kingdom· Contract
  9. Senior QA Automation EngineerMay 2018 — Nov 2018
    Reed Exhibitions· London, United Kingdom
  10. Senior Automation EngineerDec 2017 — May 2018
    Laundrapp· London, United Kingdom
  11. Lead Automation EngineerNov 2016 — Dec 2017
    IGT· Liverpool Street

Education

Languages

  • Arabic · Native or bilingual
  • English · Native or bilingual

Top skills

Google Cloud Platform (GCP)Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)C++Solution ArchitectureWindowsQuality Assurance

About

Principal Architect and Cloud Infrastructure Engineer with a proven track record of building, leading, and scaling both engineering teams and systems. My career sits at the intersection of cloud infrastructure, AI systems, and engineering quality. I've built multi-tenant SaaS platforms from the ground up, led cloud migrations at scale, deployed production LLM-based applications, and managed a live nation-state security incident end-to-end. I've also led engineering and QA teams of 20+, built automation frameworks from scratch, and driven SOC 2 compliance programmes across regulated fintech environments. Currently Principal Architect at MultiBank Group, one of the world's largest financial derivatives brokers, defining engineering architecture and quality strategy across global product line

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